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The Dram Initiative #010 – Ardbeg with Ruaraidh MacIntyre

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The Dram Initiative #010 – Ardbeg with Ruaraidh MacIntyre

March 18th, 2014

 

I’m delinquent in posting these write-ups.  Apologies to all involved or any who may be interested.  No excuses, just keeping busy.  With that out of the way, let’s get on to sharing the word on a recent Dram Initiative whisky club tasting here in Calgarythat took place a few weeks.

You had to know it was coming.  It was only a matter of time before we were going to break out the big guns and unleash Ardbeg on the masses.  Said masses being the faithful folk of the club, now 56 members strong, that is. 

Long time readers of ATW (or even just those with a little bit of observational wherewithal after skimming a few posts) will undoubtedly know that I have an unhealthy appreciation for the phenolic phenom known as Ardbeg.  While I concede that part of me just likes corralling others into appreciating my vice, there was more than simple selfishness that lead to our club event.

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Ardbeg is a malt that needs to be a part of any whisky enthusiast’s base of knowledge.  It’s a touchstone.  It’s an extreme.  Much like anything else in life, in order to truly understand whisky you need to experience it in all it’s guises.  With whisky, I believe you need to drink it young and old, good and bad, soft and harsh, sweet and smoky.  Ardbeg represents the biggest and boldest.  This is not a malt that has ever been meant to exemplify subtlety (though in some of its older incarnations, it does exactly that).  Once you’ve had Ardbeg, nearly all else will seem relatively tame by comparison.

So, educational value aside…there was a further reason Ardbeg was always going to crop up on the menu at some point.  And that reason is Ruaraidh MacIntyre. 

Ardbeg - Ruaraidh 3

A fair while back now, I met Ruaraidh at an event Andrew Ferguson put on.  This event was a once-in-a-lifetime whisky tasting affair which culminated in the paired drams of 1974 Double Barrel.  These two ’74 sister Ardbegs were, and are, an unequicable highlight of my tasting experiences to date.  Like…’top 5 ever’ kinda highlight.  No exaggeration.

That particular night was special for a multitude of reasons.  Good food, good drinks, good people, good ambiance.  But much of the credit has to be laid at the feet of a great host for the whole affair.  That host was, of course, Ruaraidh.

Ruaraidh is a native Ileach (the appellation by which the good folk from Islay are known by).  He spent that evening regaling us with tales of Islay…stories of the people…descriptions of the sights and smells…and kept a vibrant thread of personal experience woven throughout.  The authenticity of a native Ileach was a huge part of what made the night memorable.  That’s not to discount the fact that he’s simply a damn fine speaker and snappy dresser to boot.

When the opportunity arose for us to lock down Ruaraidh for our own Dram Initiative Ardbeg event we were tickled pink, and wasted no time in cementing all of the logistics.

Dram Initiative Ardbeg 098

Interest was high for this club event.  (Was that a result of my incessant flag-waving, or simple curiosity on the part of the members?).  We ended up with about 60 folks in attendance for a gathering that ran us a good solid three to three and a half hours.  Laughs were plenty…and the mood was jovial throughout the night.  We broke the tasting into three sections again, in order to allow a little bit of interaction and discussion amongst the members who made it out.  During these wee breaks, Ruaraidh circulated and answered questions and such for a few of the keeners in the audience. 

A great speaker and a roomful of the faithful does not necessarily make for a great tasting though.  Cue the green bottle.  We pulled a few long-gone gems off the shelves in order to make this all happen.  It became sort of a ‘who’s who’ from the past couple years of Ardbeg releases.  A few of these bottles are now sadly fetching ridiculous sums on the secondary market, but that’s neither here nor there.  It was a pleasure to be able to crack ’em open and enjoy in the company of a lot of good people.  That is what whisky is for, after all.  There are a few sounds that should forever be linked: The pop of a cork…the clinking of glasses…the laughter of friends. 

Ardbeg Bottles

 Here was the evening’s ‘menu’ as we tackled it:

Ardbeg Ten
Ardbeg Blasda
Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist (2008 ed.)

Ardbeg Uigeadail
Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Ardbeg Galileo

Ardbeg Ardbog
Ardbeg Alligator
Ardbeg Supernova SN2010

…and a little something extra to finish it all off…

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Here’s where I have to give tons of credit once more to our kind host, Ruaraidh.  We lobbed a few gentle barbs and bits of fun his way all throughout the night in an attempt to keep him on his toes.  Like the quintessential professional, he handled all with grace, self-deprecating humour and the occasional return volley.  This carried through right up until the final malt of the evening, which we poured blind and asked Ruaraidh to take a whack at.  Maybe it was a little underhanded and disingenuous on our part, but the final drink of the eve was a dram of Douglas Laing’s ‘Big Peat’, built on Ardbeg, Port Ellen, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen. 

I won’t tell you whether or not he was close in his guess as to what it was. 

All in now, this was probably one of the club’s best events to date.  The bar was raised a little.  Makes it tough on we poor coordinators to try to line up an event to follow.  Such is.  Challenge accepted.

Dram Initiative Ardbeg 034

Sincere thanks again to Ruaraidh for spending a wonderful evening with us.  It was appreciated, and hopefully we can do it again soon.  Many thanks to Jordan Cameron, who once again came through on behalf of Charton Hobbs/LVMH to help us coordinate a knockout event.  And finally…thanks to Charton Hobbs themselves for their support for the second time in two months.  From us to you…we appreciate it.

Members…see ya next time!

 

– Words:  Curt

– Photos:  Curt

Black Bull 40 y.o. (Batch 3) Review

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Black Bull 40 y.o. (Batch  3)063

41.6% abv

Score:  89/100

 

Time for another high end blend.  This time at a rather remarkable 40 years of age.

Black Bull 40 is a batch production whisky, and at the time of writing (May, 2014) I believe batch 4 is the most current expression to hit the markets.  I’ve tried this whisky a couple of times over the past few years, generally at festivals and such, but this is the first time I’ve been able to sit down and jot some proper notes on it.  Further…I truly have no idea at this point which editions I may or may not have tried in the past.  (Odd how fuzzy some details are after a night at a whisky festival, huh?)

Sitting down with this striking old blend in a controlled environment is quite a treat.  To cop a redneck term of measure, there’s a shit ton of good on offer here, and you don’t have to dig deep to find it.  In fact…at first nosing, I’d be hard-pressed to guess this was a blend.  Primarily due, I imagine, to the incredibly lopsided ratio of malt whisky to grain whisky in this one.  There has been no attempt at striking any sort of middling balance between the two (usally a cost-saving effort) and that is a-ok with us.  The character of Black Bull 40 is built almost entirely on the malts.  If the stories are to be believed, this has anywhere from a mix of 85.6% malt to 14.4% grain ratio to a straight 90% malt to 10% grain.  Not sure which exactly is correct, but either way this is an unprecedentedly large variance, and one that benefits the consumer more than the producer.

The distilleries represented in the alchemy of BB40 apparently include Ben Nevis, Bunnahabhain, Caperdonich, Glen Grant, Highland Park and Invergordon.  Not that you’d recognize and of these distillery’s charactereistics, but nevertheless, awareness of bloodline is always appreciated. 

There’s one other thing that bears mentioning here.  This is an outrageously priced whisky.  And for once I mean that in a good way.  I think we in Alberta can buy this for around $250 locally.  $250?  For 40 years?  Who else is releasing whisky at that kind of price point?  Short answer:  No one. 

For those out there looking to mark a milestone birthday or such, this is undoubtedly the most affordable 40 year old on the market.  A helluva bang-for-your-buck bottle.  More importantly though…it’s just really, really good whisky.

So…let’s see what a 40 year old blend is like…

Nose:  Rather tropical.  White pepper and pineapple.  Some peach and orange.  Butterscotch pudding.  Some wax.  Maybe a bare whiff of smoke.  Eucalyptus.  Light, clean and lovely.

Palate:  The palate doesn’t scream ’40’ like the nose does.  More assertive oak now.  Touch of latex paint and wax.  Tart, fruit notes.  Maybe still some pineapple.  Some lemon and honey.

Thoughts:  A little thin on arrival, but beautifully struck.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Talisker 25 y.o. (2008) Review

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Talisker 25 y.o. (2008)055

54.2% abv

Score:  90/100

 

Let’s get back to some of these wonderful older Talisker releases, shall we?  This is another of those limited Diageo runs, but from back in 2008 this time.  As I’ve already mentioned here a couple of times, whenever these do hit the shelves they’re few and far between and rather pricey.  Having now tried a bunch of ’em, I can swear that they’re definitely worth both the effort to track them down and the hefty outlay of cash.

Talisker has a profile that serves just like a barbed lure.  Once it’s passed the lips, you’re hooked.  The 10 year old is a gateway for so many, but the distillery doesn’t truly show it’s brilliance till you hit the 18 year expression.  That’s where the magic begins.  But it certainly doesn’t end there.  By the quarter century mark, as expected, all of those softer fruit notes begin marching forward to center stage and the smoky, peaty and peppery edges become less the stars and more just solid character actors in this incredible production.   Makes for one hell of a cohesive whole, I must say.

Nose:  Coastal and maritime meets peppered peat.  All downwind from a beachside campfire.  Briny seaside notes.  Smoked oysters in oil.  And a touch of smoke, in general.  Grassy and herbal.  Chocolate and honey…kinda like a Toblerone, I guess.  Honeydew melon and cantaloupe.  Citrus.  Graham cracker crust.  Paint/latex.

Palate:  Great arrival.  Peaty, peppery and perfectly Talisker.  Granny smith apple and lemon juice.  Some licorice.  Nice firm oak notes.  This one is a stayer.  Hangs around for eons.

Thoughts:  Another absolutely great Talisker, but I prefer the ’05 edition to this ’08.  Now just need to try any in between…

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

GlenDronach Grandeur 31 y.o. (Batch 3) Review

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GlenDronach Grandeur 31 y.o. (Batch 3)092

45.8% abv

Score:  90.5/100

 

Generally speaking, any little whisky write-up I do will have some sort of pithy angle to it.  That’s just me trying to keep it interesting for myself, and hoping to entertain a litte while we get our ‘geek’ on.  But, like it or not, sometimes the best approach is a straight forward one.  (Having now conceded this, does that now make it an angle in and of itself?  Hmmmm.  Let’s just move on…)

A good mate of mine contends that GlenDronach are the big dogs when it comes to sherry casks nowadays.  Forget Macallan…forget Glenfarclas…forget Aberlour.  It’s tough to admit he’s ever right, but at the same time it’s becoming increasingly hard to argue the point when the distillery puts out drams like this.  Simple fact of the matter is that all of the best mature sherry bombs I’ve tried in recent times have all borne the ‘Dronach moniker.  Spending a couple hours in the distillery’s warehouses is now one of those bucket list things for me.  Would make a hell of a write-up too, if I ever get ’round to it.

GlenDronach Grandeur is a 31 year old distillery bottling.  Or was, I should say.  This Batch 3 from a wee while back is apparently the last of this grandfatherly old malt to bear this unique age statement.  After a period of fallow, Grandeur is now to be resurrected as a 24 year old.  A sign of the times, unfortunately.  Especially as I can’t imagine we’ll see a compensatory price drop when this happens.  Time will tell, I suppose.  We’ll hold to optimism, however, that the end product continues to be held to the same standard of near flawless Oloroso butt vatting, ’cause let’s face it…this is exceptional.

Nose:  Dried tropical fruits and rich jammy notes.  Oiled leather.  Figs.  Espresso.  Sandalwood.  Furniture polish.  Sticky toffee pudding.  Bitter, high cacao chocolate.  A vaguely waxy, latex note.  All with a berry coulis sweet thread throughout.

Palate:  Very mature fruity notes on arrival.  Some coffee again and chocolate fudge.  Glosette raisins.  Almond paste.  Maybe even raw almonds as well.  Or toasted almonds.  Walnut.  Oily savoury notes too.

Thoughts:  Great cask selection.  A couple of well chosen barrels…and absolutely no ‘blending away’ of crap.  This is what mature sherry should taste like.  I find I actually crave this flavour profile some evenings.

*Big thanks to my mate, J Wheelock, for the opportunity to try.  Ahem.  More than once.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glenglassaugh Torfa Review

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Glenglassaugh Torfa008

50% abv

Score:  79/100

 

Here we have the third official Glenglassaugh from the recently revived distillery.  It started with ‘Revival’ a couple years back…continued with ‘Evolution’ last year…and now we have ‘Torfa’.  ‘Torfa’ comes from the Old Norse word for ‘Peat’, according to the distillery’s website.  (Wondering if others will others follow suit now with these Scandinavian naming conventions.  Highland Park blazed the trail, of course, and now ‘Glassaugh has blown the Viking horn in turn.  Have we now moved laterally from our Celtic roots to our wider Germanic lineages in choosing names for our malts?  Meh…so be it.  Some fun for the linguists out there, I suppose.)

First things first…I have to raise the same concerns here as I did in the review of Revival.  Basically, that it’s too young and maybe hiding its true self a little (here it’s the peat, there it was the Oloroso).  Now…before you think I’m down on this one, hear me out.  This is actually quite a decent spirit.  There is a lot of potential in the glass here.  At the moment it’s kind of like a young colt chomping at the bit, but given the right amount of time and attention, it very well could be a winner.  And likely will be.  In fact, this peated variant is like a more syrupy version of a young Kilchoman, which bodes very well for the future of Glenglassaugh.

Pre-distillation peating for Torfa was apparently to about 20ppm, but as you likely know, that level of phenols does not necessarily translate directly to the bottle.  Irrespective though, the fact remains that this is a relative smoke monster.  It’s youth ensures that its feisty claws are firmly dug into the billowy cushions of smoke and that those peat notes are bold and forefront.

In briefest summation: This seems like a bit of a novelty bottling.  I’m more interested in seeing what the distillery’s true naked profile will be in a few years.  In the meantime, we’ll have fun with these releases and watch patiently as it comes into its own.

BTW…do note that I’ve scored this a full six points higher than the ‘Revival’.  Nice upward trajectory in a mere two years, wouldn’t you say?

Nose:  Dry smoke and ash.  Pepper.  Dusty asphalt.  Lemon, lime and dry pie crust.  Slightly nutty.  Brine.  Hay.  A touch of custard.  The smell of a cast (as in plaster, fabric and some vaguely sweaty medicinal notes).  Not dissimilar to Kilchoman new make.  Some creamy vanilla notes come out after a while.

Palate:  Thankfully tastes a little more mature than it noses.  Pulpy apple.  Smoke.  Citrus, as we’d expect.  Wet rocks and salt water.  Some sweetness.  A touch of oatmeal.  Granny Smith apple and Bartlett pear skins.  Sauvignon blanc.  While this may be mainland peat, it certainly tastes like the more oceanic Islay bog matter.  Rather neat.

Thoughts:  This was not ready to be bottled.  Smells younger than it is even, if that’s possible.  I’d guess a year or two if blind.  The thing is…you can’t fault the whisky here, only the decision to bottle it in its infancy.  Generating cashflow is imperative in a fledgling operation (or revival), but you gotta balance that against the currency of your reputation in future years.  I look forward to what this will be in another 5-10 years.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Lagavulin 12 y.o. (2011) Review

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Lagavulin 12 y.o. (2011)051

57.5% abv

Score:  90/100

 

Can’t believe we haven’t yet covered one of these beastly young Lags here on ATW.  Lagavulin is so intrinsically identifiable as the refined old gent of Islay-  the more austere and mature dram of the big three (Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig) – that getting to see it in its untamed youth is kinda like seeing old photos of your grandparents and finally realizing that these beautiful old souls you know and love were once young, active and full of verve.

Lagavulin is most often seen in its 16 year old flagship incarnation.  That whisky is a classic.  A touchstone.  A personal favorite.  (And, in my humble opinion, still in great shape, irrespective of what some others say regarding quality slippage).  But once a year we smokeheads and peat-o-philes are blessed with a scrappy and snarling 12 year old annual limited release of Lagavulin.  That four year age variance constitutes a world of difference in terms of what the final product turns out to be.  To be honest though…I’m not sure which I prefer more.  I suppose the truest answer to which Lagavulin is my favorite would have to be ‘the one closest to hand’.

One quick note on appearance now.  Not cause the aesthetics mean anything, but because it may speak a little about the casking for this one.  This malt looks fairly blonde.  Much lighter than the 16, which I believe has some sherry influence.  Does that mean that this is primarily (or entirely) bourbon barrels?  Or that the 16 is heavily coloured?  Dunno.  I do know, however, that the 16 carries more notes I’d associate with some sherry in the mix.  Either way…having a bottle of each on hand ain’t a bad thing.  Just sayin’.

By the way…drinking this stuff while on Islay is the stuff dreams are made of.  This is the distilled essence of the island.

Nose:  Coastal as hell.  Band-aids soaked in brine.  Ocean water.  Cracked white pepper.  Smoldering peat fire and bucketloads of tasty smoke.  Mint leaves candy and green ju-jubes.  A touch of soil.  Oysters on the shell…with a good squeeze of lemon.  Some cocoa behind it all.  A touch of coffee.  Horse blanket.  Something kinda creamy and sugary.  Sweeter and fruitier than I’d imagined it could be.

Palate:  Sweet, smoky delivery.  Very earthy.  Lemon and shellfish.  Intense salt and pepper.  Bittersweet chocolate.  A little anisette.  Grains are crisp and clear.  Sour apple peelings.  The smoke and medicinal notes echo on and on.  Man…I love a whisky that lingers on the tongue like this.

Thoughts:  Lagavulin is just as impressive in youth as it is in maturity.  Here we get to see the power of the peat before time has really knocked the jagged edges off.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Compass Box The General Review

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Compass Box The General019

53.4% abv

Score:  93/100

 

Now here’s a whisky that has generated a significant amount of buzz over the past few months.  Not to mention garnered pretty much universal acclaim in nearly every printed word I’ve seen so far. 

Reading these reviews and write-ups, without having been able to taste for myself,  has been a bigger tease than the proverbial virgin prom date scenario.  It’s no exaggeration to say this was probably my most anticipated dram of the last year or so.  I’ve been anxiously looking forward to this one since first hearing about it.  Not because blends generally turn my crank, mind you, but because I think nearly all of John Glaser’s work is rather exceptional. 

Glaser has a gift for sourcing great casks.  That in and of itself is a blessing in an industry rife with mediocrity in terms of available barrels hitting the market, but that’s only half the battle.  It’s what he does with the whiskies he does secure that is cause for amazement.  ‘The General’ is a release that very possibly eclipses all that came before it in the company’s already rather impressive portfolio.

‘The General’ is a blend of two other blends, each of which was married in relative youth and allowed to mellow for further decades.  If rumour holds true, one of these blends was at least 33 years old, while the other is probably somewhere into its forties.  I’m not sure what the component whiskies are that eventually ended up coming together under the name of ‘The General’, but man…what a fateful meeting.  These are like perfectly cast pieces of a puzzle that were always meant to be together as parts of a whole.

If Compass Box, a relatively small upstart of a company, can pull off a release like this, why can’t the big guns in the industry do the same?  Or better?  If only more whisky makers would approach blended whisky with the same reverence that Compass Box does, perhaps the style would be much less maligned today.  ‘The General’ is a pristine example of the true ‘blender’s art’ whisky.  This and ‘The Last Vatted Malt’ (yes, a blended malt, not a blend) are simply in a league of their own.   

Sadly, for the masses, there were only 1,698 bottles of this whisky produced.  If you didn’t get one early on, you’re not likely to find one.

Nose:  So much harmony here.  Creamy fruits, dusted in nutmeg.  A little bit of orange.  Smooth polished oak notes.  Toasted caramel or toffee.  Creme brulee.   Meringue.  Old fashioned candy shops.  Almost notes of syrup and eucalyptus.

Palate:  Oh, my god.  What a delivery.  Thick and oily.  Mouthcoating and mouthwatering.  Chewy and rich.  Deep toffee notes.  Marmalade.  Figs.  Coffee cake.  Some sort of spiced fruit and nut mix.  Luscious.  Long finish.  All brilliant notes ebbing on the finish.

Thoughts:  This is simply beyond good.  Tastes like more.  …And that’s what I’ll have next.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Port Ellen 24 y.o. Cask #2466 (A.D. Rattray) Review

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Port Ellen 24 y.o. Cask #2466 (A.D. Rattray)052

60.6% abv

Score:  91/100

 

Opening a new bottle of Port Ellen is becoming more and more a cause for occasion as the days go by.  The shelves are barren of releases from this shuttered Islay distillery, and what is out there – if you do manage to find it – is priced beyond the common man (which I most certainly consider myself).  To put it simply…Port Ellen is nearly as rare as hen’s teeth nowadays.

For this very reason, it was a treat to crack a bottle of this 24 year old malt for a group of mates a couple nights back as we sat around and pretty much behaved as you’d expect a bunch of pretentious 30-somethings to behave (even though we brought along a 40-something and a 50-something, just for their worldly ways and charm).  A great quote which I’ve long since lost the attribution for went something like this: “don’t collect the whisky; collect the memories you can make with the whisky”.  And so we did.  Hey…you can’t take it with you, right?

There’s an interesting tale behind this release.  Cask #2466 was a split cask for A.D. Rattray, in which 188 bottles were released in 2007 as a 24 year old at 60.6%, and the remaining 199 bottles were released in 2008 as a 25 year old at 60.4%.  Not an occurrence we see often, and one, I can only imagine, that would drive some completist collectors absolutely batty in trying to track down both halves to this whole.  Fortunately, that’s not me.  I just drink the stuff.

If it helps, though…I believe the 25 year old portion of this malt was released only on European shores, while the 24 year old was a bottling that landed here in Alberta and was an exclusive for Liquor Barn and Liquor Depot.  The latter is what we have in hand, have now tried a couple of times and will speak to here.  I believe it is now gone, but incredibly was still on the shelves up until just a couple of weeks back.

Before we dive into my notes on this one, I just wanted to mention that the only other tasting notes I saw for this release (again…the 24 year one) were passed on to me by a mate, and referred to it as similar to an Octomore.  Until I popped the cork on this one I was a little skeptical about comparing a 24 year old PE with a fiery young Bruichladdich, but the comparison is surpringly apt.

This isn’t a whisky with a lot of complexity, but what it lacks there it more than makes up for in personality.  A rather fascinating mix of young and old profiles from this cask that was filled in 1982, just one year before the distillery finally closed its doors for good.

Nose:  Enormous.  The biggest Port Ellen I’ve ever encountered.  Peat and smoke.  ‘Burning barnyard’ farmy notes.  Iodine.  Seabreeze.  Vanilla ice cream.  Pepper.  Tar and chocolate.  Lime zest and green Jolly Ranchers.  Herbal.  White chocolate dipped honeydew melon.  Gets better and better the longer you nose it.  Surprisingly starts to get a little creamier as it relaxes.  Apparently this came from a sherry cask.  Ummm…ok.  If you say so.

Palate:  Hell yeah!  Huge and hot.  Peaty and oily.  The cereals are everywhere.  Minerally and slightly tart.  Leaves and branches (not that I’ve ever eaten them, but it’s like the palate’s equivalent of that olfactory experience).  Slightly medicinal.  Ash and charcoal.  Much less fruit than I’d expect for 24 years on, but maybe some hard fruit candies.  Especially the green ones.

Thoughts:  Like an oily Caol Ila slamming head-on into a farmy Octomore.  Wow.  Just wow.  And more importantly…how the hell did this one manage to come out at such an astronomical, blinding abv after 24 years?!

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique Review

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Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique048

Cask #W080225006

59.2% abv

Score:  91/100

 

Let’s head East again for another great ‘world whisky’.  Namely, Kavalan’s Solist Vinho Barrique.

The Solist releases, as we’ve covered in past reviews, are the Taiwanese distillery’s massive, limited run, cask strength offerings.  This particular Solist expression was matured in American oak ex-wine barrels.  According to Kavalan, these barrels held both red and white wines for a little extra added complexity.

First things first…while I may only be a moderate Kavalan fan in general, I am definitely a HUGE fan of the distillery’s Solist series.  These strong and youthful whiskies are so deeply marbled with flavour and nuance that it’s honestly difficult not to get lost in the experience every time I pour one.  This isn’t hyperbole.  The Solists are malts to be slowly savoured.  The depth of character and utterly unique profile are worth complete attention and focus.

This Vinho, being a variation on a theme, was a welcome addition to the range.  I’ve tried a handful of the Solist sherry releases, a couple of the bourbon ones and one of the Fino.  All I can say is…man…I truly recommend getting out there and trying this stuff.  This particular bottling bears all the hallmarks of Kavalan’s now-familiar profile: exotic spice, rich woods, dark fruits and a surprising maturity.  What the wine cask influence brings to this one is open to debate (being nowhere near as ‘wine-y’ as I had expected), but I can certainly say that the sum total is dead on for my liking.

Great whisky.  Somewhat expensive.  Worth every penny.

Nose:  Deep, wet woods.  Aged rum.  Damp oiled leather.  Dark chocolate.  Cherries, plums and purple grapes.  Dark…almost burnt…vanilla.  Uber rich.  Some very mature notes on here, which are surprising considering the relative youth of this one (I’ll be pickled if it’s older than 5-7 years).  Reminds of some sort of Asian sauce.  Great waves of spice.  May be just a touch of smoke too.  Way less wine influence than I’d expected.

Palate:  Tart and tangy.  Juicy and mouth-watering.  Viscous, like a rich sauce.  Dark fruits and somewhat jammy (plum).  Slightly over-oaked, I’d say, but it somehow sorta compliments the over-the-top enormity of this one.  Sourness here too that is quite enjoyable.  Touch of varnish.

Thoughts:  This was a slightly polarizing one locally, but I loved it.  Something struck a chord here.  I’ll be honest and concede the palate is a little rockier than the nose, but it works for my own biases.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glenturret 10 y.o. Review

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Glenturret 10 y.o.024

40% abv

Score:  79.5/100

 

Man…I actually dreaded sitting down to write up this whisky, knowing as I do the distillery’s connection to The Famous Grouse (arguably my least favorite blended whisky).  Imagine my surprise then, when the malt in question turns out to be a rather ok, if unspectacular, dram.

While the debate about Scotland’s oldest distillery is one that is liable to rage on indefinitely, Glenturret is yet another distillery that has thrown its name into the hat for having a legitimate claim to the title.  A claim, of course, does not necessarily make it so, and while 1775 is definitely an early entry into the books, the reality may be a little different than the assertion.  Let’s just say I buy into this one as much as I buy into that 1608 claim from our good friends at Bushmills.  For those that care to read a little further, an interesting rundown of the Glenturret history can be found at the Malt Madness site.  No point in regurgitation here, when they’ve already done such a splendid job of sharing the benefit of their wisdom.

So…while the history and the bloodline of the malt is one of my favorite aspects of Scotch whisky, I imagine you’re here to read about whether or not the whisky itself is actually decent stuff, so let’s move on…

Glenturret is indeed one of the key components of The Famous Grouse.  While the distillery produces a mere ~350,000 litres of spirit annually – some of which is bottled as single malt – it still somehow manages to have a hefty influence on the Grouse.  Try the two side-by-side and you’d be hard-pressed not to recognize the DNA.  The thing is…the malt-heavy, syrupy, caramel-laden ‘blah’ that is the Grouse personified is only mildly present here, making me believe the ‘blender’s art’ is probably mostly to blame for the Grouse’s stodgy and (for me) almost undrinkable profile.

As for the Glenturret 10 though?  At the end of the day, it’s pleasant enough for a young malt.  Go into it knowing that you can expect a whisky with a rather milquetoast personality.  It’s a generic, malty, grain-driven dram.  Not overly complex…not a trailblazer in any way.  But so what?  It’s young, affordable and drinkable.  Its unpresupposing nature makes me like it a little more than the score belies.  I don’t mind drinking this when I want something simple.  I believe that’s called ‘damning with faint praise’.

Nose:  Decent nose.  Dusty grains and clean barns.  Slightly floral.  A touch of orange and grapefruit.  Sugar cookies with a faint dusting of old cinnamon.  Biscuits or scones with currants.  A little bit of pepper.  Then a little more pepper.

Palate:  Clean.  Drying barley and grassy notes.  Prickly delivery, but not tooooo aggressive.  Slightly metallic.  Spice and powdered ginger.  A little bit of apple.  Woods and walnut.  Maltier than expected.  Is that a touch of smoke?  Maybe.  Somewhat tannic.  Finish is all wood and under-ripe pear.

Thoughts:  This is a summer evening malt, not without some old school charm.  Not great, not bad.  Just…good-ish.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt