Author Archives: antihero7

The Dram Initiative #000 – Longrow & Founders Meeting

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The Dram Initiative Meeting #000

Founders Meeting & Longrow Range Tasting

 

The first (un)official meeting.  A decision was made early on to consider this meeting #000, in order to allow the Founding Fathers to lay the cornerstone and make some informed decisions before the masses claimed their numbers.

The main reason to not consider this a proper whisky club gathering was that only seven were allowed to attend.  A few other paid and committed members were unable to make it this night, and a couple others were told to hang tight till an official roll-out with all details.

So…meeting #001, the first true ‘open’ club meeting will fall next month.  Tentative date…April 18th.

This night however, March 8th, 2013, was a necessary step in the evolution of this new collective.  On top of some laughs, good malts and great companionship, a five member sitting committee was established…a few future agendas (errrr…selection of malt ranges to be tasted) were set…costs were established…a few ground rules laid…a few suggestions made.  Voila.  The Dram Initiative is suddenly real.

There is now a category along the left hand side of this website marked ‘The Dram Initiative’.  This is where all club-related news, tips, notes, tidbits, gossip, etc will be found in coming days.  I’ll be sharing details of successes and obstacles here as well.  A future piece will concentrate on what we did to launch this club.  Hopefully this will help some others who have questioned me on this subject in the past.  Perhaps our blueprint will help a few others start up their own circle of malters.

I also plan, in future e-pistles, to provide a few proper tasting notes on the drams.  In this case though…we were simply too preoccupied with the business at hand.  So…no tasting notes to speak of yet, but…I’ll share a few thoughts here, anyway…

First Dram Initiative Flight:

Longrow CV – A brilliant entry level malt in the range.  One of the better young whiskies out there.  Divided the peaters from the non-bogheads.

Longrow 10 y.o. 1996 – Creamier and mellowing nicely.  Peat is still smoking, but there is balance here.

Longrow Red – Longrow meets Cabernet Sauvignon…WTF?!  It works though.  Not completely, but…it does work.  There was some debate as to just how ‘wine-y’ this one seemed.

Longrow Gaja Barolo – Still a favorite, and holds up well in the line-up.  Love it.  If you can find one…do so.

Longrow Rundlets & Kilderkins (advance sample) – Thanks to Andy Dunn for hooking us up with this one.  Look forward to the official release.  This malt and I…we need to spend some time together.  Quite dug it.

Longrow 18 y.o. – Awesome.  Pretty sure all loved this, even the non-peaters in our midst.  Brilliant balance.  Simply put…great whisky.

Longrow 12 y.o. Single Cask 1996 – Off the rails.  An absolute sulphur mess.  Though I will revisit, can’t say this was enjoyable off the cork.

Springbank 18 – An incidental extra thrown in.  Loved by all.  Hey…what do you expect?  It is a mature Springbank, after all.

 

Good line-up, no?  And where else will you find a Longrow range tasting?  But…enjoyable as it was…it was nothing compared to next month’s range.  Good things to those who wait.

To those who came out on first night to kick this thing in the ass…here’s to ya!  To all involved and all to be involved…here’s to many years of enlightenment!

 

Wanna be a part of The Initiative?  You know where to find us.  Drop a line for details.  uisgebeatha7@hotmail.com

 

– ATW 

Longrow 18 y.o. (2011) Review

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Longrow 18 (2011)013

46% abv

Score:  92/100

 

A beautiful Longrow that falls right in my wheelhouse.  18 years (give or take) is pretty much the perfect time for seeing the true coming-of-age of mature peated whisky.  It is that place in time where the peat is fading from the forefront to become just another nuance.

When you can finally take the palate and nose blistering effects of fiery young peat (and generally Longrow is peated to a whopping 50-55 ppm) out of the equation, you can actually see the true character of the spirit and cask quality.  A magic time in a whisky’s life cycle.

This expression follows a couple years after the brilliant 2008 release of Longrow 18, and though I’ve had both, I have yet to try them tete-a-tete.  Having said that…there was absolutely no question as to quality in either case.  Love this distillery…love this expression.

Nose:  Fruits are peeking out again through the peat at this age…but tart and tight.  A bit of creamy meringue.  Distant pepper (likely a lot more prevalent in its youth, but mellowed by now).  Slight floral note.  Grassy meadow.  Some brilliant ‘old cask’ notes.  peat and smoke are only hinted at.  Not a heavy hitter by any means.

Palate:  Apple and orange marmalade.  A bit of sweet lemon (not tart at all).  Sweet barley and oak.  A really nicely integrated and rather complex spice palette (actually quite tough to dissect).  Now some smoke and deep oiliness.  Almost ethereally earthy.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Longrow CV Review

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Longrow CV030

46% abv

Score:  88/100

 

At one time Campbeltown was considered the ‘whisky capital of the world’.  This little slice of Scottish heaven was home to more than 30 operational distilleries.  Throughout the twentieth century factors internal (slipping quality and overproduction, cask policy) and external (the depression, closing of the mines, prohibition) led to closure after closure, until finally only Glen Scotia and Springbank remained in production.

In 2004 the Mitchell family of Springbank purchased, and put into production, neighboring Glengyle distillery.  This step was instrumental in protecting Campbeltown’s status as a whisky distilling region, bringing the region’s sum total distilleries from 2 to 3.

So…while there is now a relative dearth of options when it comes to Campbeltown malts, Sprinbank are doing their damnedest to give we hungry consumers some options at the tills.  This family-run distillery is responsible for producing Hazelburn, Longrow and Springbank.

Here we have Longrow CV.  There are alternate schools of thought as to what the ‘CV’ actually stands for, but most reputable and authoritative voices suggest ‘curriculum vitae’ over ‘chairman’s vatting’.  Either way…stellar young malt from a distillery bent on adhering to the time-honored tradition of ‘DIY’ and ‘quality-first’.

Nose:  Wow.  Very old school style dram.  Meaty and malty.  Smoke and peat, of course.  Ashy.  Figs.  Caramel.  Leather.  Dark and lovely old dunnage warehouse notes.  Smells that bring to mind the aromes at the distillery itself.  Some far off echoes of the new spirit.

Palate:  Perfect correlation of nose and palate.  Smoky.  A bit of an iodine note.  Oily and heavy.  Hefty peat.  Spiced apple.  7-up (lemonade, for our overseas friends).  Some almost industrial notes.

A very classic, traditional style malt.  Brilliant entry level whisky.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

The Dram Initiative – Calgary Whisky Club

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Dispatch #1

It’s here.  Calgary’s new whisky club.  This Friday, March 8th, is the inaugural meeting of this collective of individuals.  All details will be finalized in a couple of days amongst the early members.  Look for the club to go mainstream in the next month or two.

Interested?  Drop a line.

 

– ATW

Dailuaine 1973 (Berry’s Own) Review

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Dailuaine 1973 (Berry’s Own)048

41.8% abv

Score:  93/100

 

One night night long ago (Burns Night, 2013, to be exact) a mate and I sat down to a rather extravagant line-up of ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s malts.  Though there were a few brilliant drams in this midst, none quite measured up to this ’73 Dailuaine.  It was pretty much love at first sniff ‘twixt this whisky and I.

Dailuaine is a Speyside distillery, the output of which rarely finds its way into single malt release.  Most of the spirit from this Diageo brand ends up in Johnnie Walker blends.

In a ridiculously odd nod to the fates…

The night I sat down to sample this one (and subsequently had it charm the pants off me) I immediately texted Andrew Ferguson at the Kensington Wine Market, who had shared this sample with me so many months prior, to see if there was any of this malt still available on the shelves and to ask him to put aside a bottle for me.  Sadly…just sold out.  That very night.  Coincidental, yes, but here’s where it gets really weird…

A few minutes later I got a text from another friend of mine, who just so happened to be in at KWM that very eve and grabbed the second-to-last bottle of this stuff off the shelf.  A gent there reached in behind him to scoop the very last bottle.  Sonuva…!

Lesson learned.  Be a little quicker on the take.  Should have tried this sample when it first came my way.  In the meantime…every few days I text this mate of mine and ask him if he’s ready to relinquish his hold on this bottle.  It will be mine.  Oh yes…it will be mine

Nose:  Sweet soft-skinned white fruit.  White chocolate.  Peach and cherry.  Vanilla ice cream.  Very mild cinnamon.  Toasted bread.  Some tropical fruit juice.  Comfortable, like gramma’s homemade baking.

Palate:  Grains, oak and soft rising cinnamon bun dough.  Peach and more fruit.  Bold vanilla bean.  Coffee note comes through on development.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Octomore 2008 Cask Sample Review

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Octomore 2008 Cask Sample

?% abv

Score:  88/100

 

Here’s one just for fun.  Not bottled…not available…not really meaningful to many others.  However, this is my vanity project and I simply want to do it, so…

Twice now in the autumn month of September I’ve sipped Octomore from the cask in the warehouses of Bruichladdich.  The first time it was a clean, fiery and pristine dram.  Not to mention being an absolute thrill, as a fan of Octomore, to be able to taste straight from the cask.

The second was like a coal-burning train careening wildly down my throat, throwing off black billows of smoke and hellfire.

Yep.  In other words…both glorious.

This latter dram is the one I’m writing about now.  I believe this was an over-charred hoggy, but as to what may or may not have been inside the cask before its innards were lambasted by the might of Octomore…who knows?  What I can tell you is that this is a nearly unparalleled whisky.  I can’t think of anything even remotely similar.

Many thanks to Allan Logan at Bruichladdich for the opportunity to taste this (and many other casks), as well as his generosity in providing a healthy sample to bring home and write-up in relative peace.  Cheers, Allan.  Here’s to ya!

Nose:  Peat gets almost buried with other such broad stroke scents.  Char and campfire.  Borderline absurd notes of burnt rubber.  And normal rubber, for that matter.  Bitter dark chocolate (think high 90s, in terms of cacao content).  Caramel and burning grain.  Dark European breads and caramelized brown sugar.  Vinegar.  Farmy notes (like cowshit).

Palate:  Again…burnt rubber.  Someone said like ‘biting a pine tree’.  Personally I think it’s more like licking a bicycle tire.  Smoke.  Grilled lemon.

This one needs to open for a loooooooong, looooooooooooooooooooong time.

I will have to follow up the folk at Bruichladdich to see what happens to this cask.  (Pictured above).

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Port Charlotte PC8 Review

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Port Charlotte PC8

60.5% abv

Score:  89.5/100

 

Ar Duthchas.  Land Of Our Heritage.  The 4th release in Bruichladdich’s Port Charlotte ‘PC’ series.  Not the best of the bunch, but certainly a more than worthwhile addition to the range.

With this expression we’re back to the mix of bourbon and madeira casking we saw with PC6.  The result is similar, but there seems to be a little less of the playful nip of the earlier release, and a little more confident movement to the place where the fruits begin to fight back against the peat.

Nose:  What else? Peat and smoke.  Amplified clean cucumber and hints of dill.  Toffee.  Cola.  Citrus zest.  Hint of chocolate.  Vanilla ice cream.  Green and weedy.  Iodine and seaweed.  Wet rock.  Licorice.

Palate:  Fruitier delivery here than in early incarnations.  Slightly (and I mean ‘slightly’) easier smoke.  Sweeter and more caramel.  Lemon drops.  Oily and tarry.  The finish is smoky and woody and moves on into green apple skins.

Most balanced of the PCs up to this point, but I miss the jagged tors of the earlier releases.  A little more complex to be sure, but I personally lean to the more youthful bite.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Port Charlotte PC7 Review

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Port Charlotte PC7

61% abv

Score:  90.5/100

 

Port Charlotte PC7.  Subtitled ‘Sin An Doigh Ileach’, Gaelic for “It’s the Islay way”.

The tins used to house the bottles on this release, much like those of PC6, pay tribute to some of the Ileach who helped take Bruichladdich through its early years.  Good, good stuff.  We like the downhome pride this distillery exudes in spades.

Being primarily bourbon and sherry cask matured makes this one a bit more seemingly aggressive than a couple of the others in the range which saw some Madeira influence.  The more ‘organic’ nature of this one works for me on some primeval level.  The very elemental nature of these peat monsters resonates.  This is a bottle of firewater though, make no mistake.  Expect it to take no prisoners.

Nose:  Sharp smoldering peat and smoke and ash.  Pungent woodiness.  Enormous caramel sweetness.  Freshly picked garden herbs.  Cola and citrus.  A bit of pepper.  Some coastal notes.

Palate:  Fires of hell.  Dense smoke.  Touch of dill.  Mouthcoating.  Everlasting, but what would you expect? At this ABV and this heavily peated, these flavors ain’t going anywhere.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Auchroisk 20 y.o. Review

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Auchroisk 20 y.o.022 (2)

58.1% abv

Score:  90.5/100

 

I quite like this one.  Auchroisk is a neat little malt from a ‘seldom seen’ distillery.  A relatively young distillery at that.  Auchroisk was founded in 1974, and has served primarily as blend fodder ever since, with the J&B Blended Scotch brand receiving the lion’s share, if what I’ve read is correct.

Here’s a malt that at first glance would appear to have a relatively easily pronouncable name.  The reality is, however, that sometimes ‘hooked on phonics’ just ain’t the way to go.  Though I’ve seen various conflicting ways to pronounce ‘Auchroisk’, it would seem ‘ah-thrusk’ or ‘arth-rusk’ would be closest.  Ummm…ok.  Damn Gaelic.  My favorite tongue (mind) twister of a language.

Call it what ye like though.  Either way…delicious.

Nose:  Malty.  Caramel cookies and butterscotch puddin’.  Biscuity.  Nutty notes.  Muted orange and tangerine.  Maybe peach.  Toasted marshmallow.  Vicks Vapo-rub.  Freshly painted walls.  Oh, man…the depth of balanced spice.  Thick, creamy and syrupy.  A pleasure to nose.

Palate:  Concentrated orange notes and cinnamon.  Like chewing on raw bread dough.  Baked pastry and maybe some raisin scones.  Mint.  Finish is long.  Keeps on keepin’ on.

This is a whisky of depth and complexity.  A hell of a dram that should have been packaged for the masses and have made its way into general release ages ago.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt