Malt Fascination

Yesterday I posted this wee question on Facebook, in the hope to get a simple answer and move on:

To the whisky community:

When a distillery puts 2 bourbon barrels with Single Malt (200+ litres) into one sherry butt for finishing (this should fit), can you still bottle it as a single cask?

This proved to be not so simple. At first, the thoughts were that when, at the time of bottling it is a single cask, you can bottle it as a single cask. That makes sense and as far as most people know, that is how things are done in Scotland.

My friend Gal thought to ping an email to the SWA, the whisky watch dog, to see whether the laws and bylaws of the EU and UK have something to say about it and there is were things got interesting.

According to the SWA this is where consumer information becomes very important. Officially there is no definition of what a Single Cask bottling is, but since it is imperative that consumers get the correct information, the SWA thinks that from the moment the spirit is filled until the moment it is bottled, without any revatting, finishing or whatever is what a single cask is.

The strange thing is that even though there are no official rules or laws that state this, the SWA said they would take action to any who would break above rule. Which means all single cask whiskies with a finish, the Dalmore Constellation collection and so on. It means that most of the single cask whiskies around are actually not single cask bottlings!

Dalmore Constellation Collection. Ridiculously priced and also illegally labelled.

Sander B. made a good point in stating that if there is no official definition on this subject, how can a consumer be mislead, since there is nothing defined? And secondly, if there is no definition, but the above rule cannot be broken and will be enforced, is it therefore not defined?

A simple question with a rather complex answer. I’m starting to get the feeling that English grammar is becomes very important here:

“A sherry finished single cask whisky” is something illegal, but when you write it down as a “single cask whisky finished in a sherry butt” you state that the single cask was finished, not that it is a single cask afterwards.

It’s been a while that I reviewed a sample of an independent bottler that didn’t belong to some sample pack I got sent or was a bottle of my own collection. A while ago I did buy samples every now and then and this is on of those that I had lying around for ever.

There’s a lot to tell about Highland Park and some about The Whisky Agency, but I don’t really feel like it. Let’s just say that Highland Park is one of my favorite distilleries with almost everything they make being good. There are some whiskies that are only so-so and they are falling for the we-make-this-is-expensive-as-possible trap with 30 year old single casks that cost in the thousands.

Sniff:
Light and heavy at the same time. There’s some citrus, lemon, hay and quite an aromatic scent to it. Dried flowers or something like that. The heaviness comes in with scents of old wood, leather and I even think I get a hint of iodine. Some heather too. Highland Park without the staple sherry casks mixed in!

Sip:
Sharp and peppery with crushed black pepper, heather and chilis. Not too much alcohol on the palate but there is quite a lot of wood influence. Dried lemon. I don’t think this was a fresh bourbon cask, since they tend to end up sweeter.

Swallow:
The finish is a little bit more sweet with vanilla and lemon curd. Wood, heather. Not too long but rather tasty!

Well this is fun! You don’t come around (well, I don’t) such bourbon cask Highland Parks all that often, but I sure like what it does! It’s a great tasting whisky with enough depth to explore a bit more and I regret finishing my sample and not buying a bottle of this…

Highland Park 27, 1984-2011, 52.5% ABV, The Whisky Agency, Bugs series, used to cost around € 130.

Yesterday saw the annual release of the newest Malt Maniacs Awards. They were two days late, but for such a vast endeavour based on amateur’s activities, hats off!

The first thing I realized was how few of the whiskies they’ve tasted the last couple of months I have tried too. From the gold medal list I only tried the Pl1 by Elements of Islay and that one is, by far, the cheapest on there. Two from the silver medals and four from the bronze league.

The gold medals:

• Glendronach 40yo 1972/2012 (50.2%, OB for LMDW, C#713, oloroso sherry butt, 476 Bts.)
• Glengoyne 1972/2012 (55.5%, Malts of Scotland, C#12044, sherry hogshead, 254 Bts.)
• Glendronach 40yo 1971/2011 (47.5%, OB for Taiwan, C#1248, PX sherry puncheon, 545 Bts.)
• Karuizawa ‘Noh’ 28yo 1983/2012 (57.2%, OB, C#7576, sherry butt, 571 Bts.)
• Glenfarclas 1990/2011 (57%, OB The Family Casks for TSMC Taiwan, C#5098, 596 Bts.)
• Glendronach 41yo 1971/2012 (48.9%, OB, C#1247, PX sherry puncheon, 529 Bts.)
• Longmorn 44yo 1967/2011 (48.3%, G&M Book of Kells for LMDW, C#592)
• Karuizawa 1984/2012 (61.6%, Number One Drinks, “Single Cask”, C#3692, sherry butt, 359 Bts.)
• Glen Grant 58yo 1953 (47.9%, Gordon & McPhail Book of Kells for LMDW, C#2604, sherry butt, 294 Bts.)
• Elements of Islay ‘Pl1′ (60%, The Whisky Exchange, ‘Port Charlotte’)
• Benriach 27yo 1984/2012 (52.2%, OB, Hogshead, C#4050, tawny port finish, 283 Bts.)
• Yamazaki ‘Sherry Cask’ (48%, OB, NAS, 2011*)

The one things that immediately stands out is the vast amount of sherry casks in there. Technically the only non-sherry cask is a Port finished BenRiach (to which I am now hugely curious).

The other thing I noticed on this list (and further down to silver and bronze medals too) is that I should get around to trying more LMDW bottlings, since they seem to score significant prizes every year.

Something of interest from further down the list: There is a remarkable amount of standard bottlings on there. I saw the Glengoyne 12, Lagavulin 16, GlenDronach 18.

Now I of course am not 100% up to speed as how people see the Malt Maniacs and how they decide which bottles to enter the competition, but apparently the sherry casks are far more popular and probably seen as more luxurious. I find it funny how this is the exact opposite direction of where my interests lie at the moment.

What I find a bit odd is that all kinds of whisky are entered in the competition; Grains, Single Malts, Blends and Single Pot Still. The styles I completely miss are Bourbon and Rye. I refuse to believe that not a single Rye or Bourbon would make that list, especially with the amount of super premiums that come out in that category (Buffalo Trace Antiques, anyone?).

So, the list is a nice thing to glance over and be surprised about some picks, but in the end it is, of course, the Nth awards list. I still think everyone should make their own way in whisky and find their own preferences. If this list helps, good. If it doesn’t, fine as well.

Oh, and if you want a bottle of that Port Charlotte on the Gold Medals list, be quick about it. Terrific stuff and probably gone before the end of the week!

I already reviewed our second latest club bottling months ago, right after the decision was made to bottle it. Back then there was a choice of four whiskies and this got top honours. My choice was very different from most other people so I wasn’t all that thrilled and decided not to buy a bottle. I did regret that a little bit, but that was just greed speaking.

I decided that when I could get a sample at Slijterij Zeewijck‘s Whisky & Rum aan Zee festival that I would sit down once more to do a more in depth tasting of this dram and try to stay objective as far as that is possible when doing a personal review of how something tastes.

Sniff:

Glentauchers 14 – Creative Whisky Company for Usquebaugh Society

Rather sharp on the nose with a slightly biting acidity. It makes me thing of green malt, but I’m not entirely sure why. Some over ripe apples as well.

Sip:
The palate stays fairy flat and the flavours I do get are mostly quite unpleasant. Also that acidity again with hints of barley that has been stored wet for several weeks. Sour fruit, milky and sharp.

Swallow:
The finish shows a sudden and unexpected hint of fruitcake with some bitter caramel, but doesn’t last long.

Apart from the sharpness there is not much to recommend about this dram. I can’t find anything I like except in the finish. That then, is very inconsistent and weird. Nope, this isn’t for me.

Glentauchers 14, Creative Whisky Company for the Usquebaugh Society,

For some reason it feels like it’s been ages since I posted a normal review of a whisky. That would mean that the Boutique-y reviews weren’t normal but for some reason it feels like that indeed. Don’t know why though.

Glenglassaugh is a distillery that opened its doors again 4 years ago after having been out of business, or mothballed as they call it, since 1986. That means there is a 22 year gap in production and that is reflected in what is available. The 26 year old is more or less the standard edition at the moment with increasingly rare and pricy drams being released every now and then.

Sniff:

Glenglassaugh 26

A sense of oldfashionedness comes over me. This is whisky how they used to make it in yonder year. There is a certain sharpness to it as well. There’s lots of fruit too with peach, apricot and raisins. A sizeable wood influence and maybe even a trace of peat. Rather light background with dried flowers.

Sip:
Very rich for a whisky of which I didn’t expect it. Now it shows a more bourbon casky influence with gentle spices like ginger and cinnamon. It’s a very well put together mix of all kinds of default flavours. Wood spices, fruit, pepper and even a little bit of a waxy thing going on.

Swallow:
The finish is slightly drying and slightly spicy. Rather rich with quite some wood and a solid base of fruit on which this is displayed. Quintessential highland style whisky!

I tried my sample about a year ago at first and wasn’t too impressed. I think I have grown since then in to the blasphemous ‘smooth and complex’ palate instead of the fruit bombs, spice bombs, sherry bombs, peat bombs and other things that are used by the army.

Now I’ve finished my 5cl and can imagine buying a bottle of this great spirit. I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the truly young things that are being released at the moment, nor the pricing policy of the older bottles. This stuff however, is truly great!

Oh, the things I don’t like, pricing and young stuff, is a necessary evil of course, since they’re a new start-up, there has to be cash flow. Let’s hope they get to 10 years soon and can do the same tricks as Bruichladdich with more a regular release.

Glenglassaugh 26, 46%, OB, available for € 192 at Master of Malt

Bowmore is running their Ultimate Adventure contest in which you can win a trip to Islay and a professional photography course while you’re at it!

On MaltFascination you can also win a few things:

A full bottle of the flagship whisky from the Islay distiller: The Bowmore 12. A second prize is a glass, little water jug and a miniature spirit still lock.

The only thing you have to do is go to their website and subscribe to the Inner Core. That, as whisky lovers, you have already done a few years ago of course. Finally you have to answer one small question: “Tell us what the outdoors means to you?”

You can find all details to the competition here!

To promote this there has been advertising and this post is nothing else, plus a small competition. I was contacted by Douglas Wilson of Yomego (who do the advertising around The Ultimate Adventure) to see if I was interesting in adding my voice to the competition. To be fully honest I doubted whether or not I should, commercial biases and such. But in the end there was an incentive, since I would receive stuff and be able to do with it what I like. Keeping it for myself or giving it away. A kind of a “lord of the rings style” test of character!

I decided to part with what I got. To get your hands on the prize you only have to post the answer you gave on the Bowmore site in the comments to this post and in a few days I will pick the one I think best to receive a bottle of Bowmore 12!

So, join the competition, post your answer below as well and who knows what you might end up with!

One limitation: I can’t send anything to the US due to customs. If I would the shipping would be more expensive than the bottle so that’s kind of ridiculous.