Malt Fascination

A nine year old Bruichladdich could be on similar terms as the current releases from the proudly independent hebridean distillers. At a whopping 65.9% ABV (!!!) it should burn its way right through me and I expect to have to water it down a bit before the flavours are released.

Nose:
The first thing that surprises me is how gentle this whisky smells. No burning sensation in my nostrils or teary eyes at all. The scent is rather weak to begin with. I decided to let it breathy quite a bit before smelling again, about 20 minutes. Then you get some white cheese like ricotta and a rather medicinal scent. Not iodine, but more ether and other hospital odors. After a bit more time you start getting biscuits, coconut and vanilla, grass, wet straw and flower stems.

Taste:
VERY sharp. Hot, burning with heaps and heaps of fresh cut pepper. When this settles down a bit I got vanilla and the flower stems again. ether and the dairy flavour is here too. Seems like ‘A cheese board in surgery’ is rather well chosen.

Finish:
Here, all of a sudden, I get some light orchard fruits and white grapes. There’s some wood too. The sharpness is present for a little while. It’s sweet with barley sugar, but not many new flavours.

To be honest, there’s quite a bit happening, but it’s not very interesting. It’s a nice enough whisky but I’m not overly thrilled by it and I think the alcohol isn’t doing it any favors. For some reason I felt like watering down would quickly kill it (after nosting and tasting) since the flavours are never very pronounced and I let it air for about half an hour. Not my style,  I think.

Fun fact: I almost killed the distillery dog when I was there. It was trying to bite my tires while I was still parking.

Bruichladdich 9, 11-2001, SMWS, ‘A cheeseboard in surgery’, 65.9%, Refill Barrel, available at the SMWS for € 72.

The first review of the SMWS Bottle-Share! I’ve waited a while to start reviewing until all packages had been sent or delivered. While that technically isn’t the case (I’ve got two left) I didn’t feel like waiting any longer.

Glen Moray is one of those distilleries that you barely ever see bottled. Until recently that is. For some reason casks have been popping up left and right and especially the SMWS has picked up a couple. I tasted two last year, and now there is another old one.

Nose:
Slightly alcoholic at first with some toasted oak and the crust of dry roasted peanuts. There are quite a few spices present with dry ginger and nutmeg. I also get dried apples, pear and some tropical fruits, mostly peach. The woodiness becomes more prominent if you dig deeper.

Taste:
It’s quite gentle for an old whisky still at 53.6%. There’s quite a lot of wood dust. Liquorice, dried peaches, apple peels and a hint of brown sugar. When I’ve had this one swimming around for a bit I also get some overripe banana. Very fruity indeed.

Finish:
The finish is a bit more ‘fresh’ with some mint and vanilla. It’s still slightly drying because of the woodiness. Very friendly without ever burning and quite long. The wood becomes more prominent towards the end.

While this isn’t the best 30+ Glen Moray I’ve ever tasted, it certainly is damn fine. The SMWS name ‘Every Flavour Beans’ makes sense since this whisky really is all over the map. The fruitiness with the wood spices is a very nice combination and makes me think of Christmas cakes with all those confit and dried fruits in it. Delicious!

Glen Moray 33, 12-1976, SMWS, ‘Every Flavour Beans’, 53.6%, First Fill Bourbon Barrel, available for € 150 at the SMWS.

Yesterday was for the general impression of the Whisky Fair, today will be about some of the whiskies we had there. We made sure to taste a mix of new and old releases, since it’s all nice to taste something from way before you were ever put on this planet, but I also go to festivals to decide which bottles I want. Of course, as any whisky enthousiast, I usually don’t buy those since “I already know them”.

A Glen Moray, with a big typo on the label. Tried it to stay with the few old Glen Morays I know and this one fits right in. Not overly complex but it offers a good mix of flavours and will surely entertain you for all it’s 70cl. Fruity, with some wood and spices, and ‘old’ scent and flavour too. Nice and complex finish.

Glenturret (also by Malts of Scotland), from the Famous Grouse, is one that isn’t easily available from indies, but it seems to be picking up. This was a weird one. Somewhat more one dimensional than the Glen Moray, more like a lemon drop with quite some acidity. Really interesting, since that definetly was a flavour I’ve never tasted before!

I’m not sure what it is with Adelphi, but I’ve gotten a more hit-and-miss feeling with these guys the last year. There still are some absolutely terrific bottlings but there is also stuff like this Clynelish 16, which just doesn’t do it for me. Way too sharp and hot, and with water it felt drowned right away. Bummer.

From Adelphi we also tried a Mortlach which was a bit better. Still not up there with Kintra’s Mortlach we tried in Alkmaar, though.

Whisky Doris is usually not available in The Netherlands, so I thought this to be the perfect opportunity to try some. I’m still trying to find an Inchgower as good as the one I tried in Alkmaar, but this one isn’t it. All flavours were there, but there was something in it that didn’t appeal to me. Some off note I couldn’t pinpoint.

An old Bunnahabhain which also didn’t fulfill my expectations. I’ve tried some from about a decade before this one that were absolutely terrific, but I’ve still got a 22 year old version from Dun Bheagan in my mind that this one couldn’t overcome either. I really start feeling like a snob now.

A little lighter than expected, but very good. The thick leathery body of Ben Nevis by The Unicorn was definetly present and this was a highly enjoyable dram!

I’ve tried this Rosebank from the sixties before in Alkmaar, and I still think it is an absolute stunner. Only 40% ABV it still knew how to overcome the beasts we just tried, but you do need a moment to relax with it, to let it truly shine. All flavours are there apart from smoke and the meaty palate you sometimes find in sherried whiskies. Floral, fruity, spicy, some wood, everything. Very, very good.

We just had to try an old Springbank by Murray McDavid and while this one ticked all the boxes; salty, grainy, not too heavy, some spices, some vanilla. It just wasn’t it. Although it’s a 30 year old from 14 years ago, it was boring. Bummer 2.

The “Book of Kells” Longmorns are something of legend. When we saw this 5 minutes after coming in, we knew we had to come back for it. While we might have tasted it a bit too late in the afternoon, it was packed with flavours. The intense woodiness you find in old present-day Longmorns is remarkable, but the fruity and Christmas cake spices are terrific.

This one directly made it to my wishlist. The Glen Keith by Silver Seal was the first whisky from this bottler I ever tried, and while they are really expensive, I can understand it a bit when trying instant classics like this. The spiciness was incredible, maybe the most intense I’ve tried in a Scotch, with a powerful background of fruit and wood. Absolutely stunning.

We, of course, tried some of the Whisky Fair‘s own bottlings and we started with the concurrent Imperial 1995. A very fruit and full powered dram, current with last year’s fruity hype. Lots of lemon and other citrus fruit and quite summery.

After that it was a head to head with the Glenfarclases (or “A Speyside Distillery”) with a 37 from this year and from last year, if I’m correct. The slightly older one had the same heavily sherried palate as the newer version, but the older one was more pronounced on all fronts. More fruity, more spicy, more wood, more Christmas cake, better.

 (the newer version)

  (the olderversion)

Just before leaving Bram let us try a sip from a Bladnoch 1956 or 1965 (don’t remember which) which was possibly the strongest Bladnoch I’ve ever tried. Maybe it wasn’t the highest in alcohol but it sure tasted high in ABV. The floralness was there, but at this point I think I was getting a bit spoilt.

This weekend the annual Whisky Fair in Limburg an der Lahn was happening again. Although I’ve been planning to go for years, there was always something preventing me from going there. Usually fun stuff, luckily. This year I could finally go and I booked everything ahead (which usually isn’t all that necessary). 4 Months before the festival all hotels with websites were fully booked so we ended up in a neighboring village.

The hotel room was a trip to history, right back to 1975, but everything was clean and neat, so I was satisfied with that. Because of the Fair, the taxis were all booked and the traffic was too thick for buses to get through, so we walked the 3 miles to Limburg. As it happened it was about 25 degrees C outside, which means we were all sweaty by the time we got there. We stopped for lunch and a Hefeweize first. A great start to a great weekend!

At the festival we met loads of familiar people from the Usquebaugh Society and tasted quite a few drams (those will be blogged about tomorrow). Of course we walked around to inventory all stands while having a few whiskies here and there. We had about 5 hours to fill at the festival and that was enough for me. We walked out at some point to enjoy an ice cream. That was a first at a whisky festival!

The festival itself is nicely set up. Of course there were some jams at some point during the afternoon, but that is bound to happen with whisky lovers moving in flocks. Usually it was pretty okay to get to a stand, choose your dram and get them. Not too crowded.

There were many collectors there, which meant quite a few old and rare bottles to be tasted. I think there were probably more bottles that were no longer available in shops than there were modern bottling.

In the evening there was a Bruichladdich BBQ, at which you could get sausages and steaks accompanied by a couple of Bruichladdich drams. Unfortunately there were about 200 people there, so it was quite impossible for the presenters to get over the din to explain what there were doing there. Also unfortunately, one of the drams was the Laddie 10 (good, but not new), a cask sample of Chateau D’Yquem Bruichladdich (new but far from good) and a random cask of Port Charlotte (‘meh’ in this case). Having a couple of beers at the Irish Pub in town made up for it though.

A little bit early to do the last post of the month, but Monday is Koninginnendag, Queens Day, and a national holiday, so I won’t be blogging then. This month was the first time, well, two times to be honest, that I received orders from Brewdog. In them were all kinds of highly limited bottles and shareholder only brews, so expect those below.

Rasputin Bruichladdich Barrel Aged – De Molen
I had this one before, but it is just do damn good, I cannot recommend it enough. Just get some and try some!

Weer & Wind – De Molen
A small bottle with a massive punch. This barleywine does what I expect one to do. Give me a buzz after 25cl.

London Stout – Cocky Rooster Brewing
My own brew. I’m very satisfied with this batch. The one that is most drinkable so far. The others are improving with age, like this one but I already like it a lot.

Lost Dog – BrewDog/Lost Abbey
The first rum cask aged beer I actually like and isn’t too sweet. It gets more interesting as you empty your glass as it has to open up.

Hops Kills Nazis – BrewDog
The best red ale I’ve had so far.

Anarchist/Alchemist – BrewDog
Triple IPA? I don’t know what it means but it packs a mean punch. The IPA style reminds me of Great Divide’s but with a weird little BrewDog twist. There is some underlying sweetness here.

Nero – De Bierfabriek
Good beer, not overly spectacular, but very good. And the fact that they brew it at the restaurant helps too.

Abstrakt 08 – BrewDog
Deconstructed Imperial Stout. All flavours are there, built up from different parts than a regular stout, which makes it just a little different. Well, quite a bit different, actually.

A BrewDog heavy month, but not without reason. They are one of the most consistent high quality ‘craft’ breweries out there, and together with De Molen and Great Divide my absolute favourites. Too bad it’s of no use promoting the Equity for Punks program anymore…

This was the first dram I ever had at the first whisky festival I went to in Leiden. It must have been around 2006 or 2007 I think. For some reason it was also one of the first Springbanks I ever tasted apart from the regular 10 year old (review will follow some day). After that, the virus more or less struck.

Not that I think Springbank is the best distillery in the world, or anything short sighted like that, but I do like the style, the old fashionedness and the people. Even more so after visiting the place in 2010.

Nose:
Lots of cereal and nutty marsala influences (no surprises). The saltiness typical for Springbank is still present but has been pushed back a little bit to be replaced by a kind of an earthy sweetness. Also some mint, winey sweetness and moldy cream. More vanilla after a short while.

Taste:
Smooth on the tongue, but does build a bit of a byte after a few seconds. More woody, still quite grainy and the nutty, earthy sweetness is very much present here as well.

Finish:
A bit short but with quite the bite. The sweetness lingers but the salt is completely gone. A hint of pepper and a bit of creme brulee too.

When I first got this one I really really liked it. But since my sense of taste and smell have developed a little bit more I find it a more simple dram. The flavour and aroma is absolutely good, but there’s not a lot of stuff going on. The typical Springbank flavours are a bit overwhelmed by the Marsala cask, I think. Still, a very decent dram.

Springbank 9, Marsala Wood, OB, 10-1996 – 08-2006, 55%, available at Uw Top Whisky for € 62.18

I realized I didn’t have this on my blog yet, just like yesterday’s Rosebank and the bottle is almost gone. The major difference is that I have a spare one for this baby. It’s not just any Highland Park 18, but the previous previous version. The one that was exceptionally good. The big dumpy bottles. You know what I’m talking about!

Nose:
Well, the words smooth and complex are loathed by some people I know, but here it applies. Fruit with a slight earthiness, a touch of smoke. Sweet sherry and quite a bit of wood, but not overpoweringly so. It does build up nicely to a more thick aroma with more straw, bakery spices, dried fruits and it keeps getting warmer and fuller.

Taste:
The palate is, at first, a little bit dry, but that goes away quickly. Full with dried peaches and apricots. Wood, coffee, tobacco, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon.

Finish:
The finish is beautiful, and with the first sip not too long, but as the whisky opens, the finish lengthens. It’s a bit less sweet and I get a touch of charcoal, the wood is more pronounced into European oak without it getting meaty.

This is an absolute cracker of a standard bottling. If it was still available it would trump the Lagavulin 16 as my favorite regular OB. There is just so much going on, it’s impossible to pinpoint everything, and if I would be better at this, I could have written down a lot more. All edges of the flavour spectrum are covered, except for maybe the salty, typically Islay, flavours.

Is it worth spending that extra money on, on top of what the regular one costs? It depends on whether you can find it and at what price. I’d spend a € 100 on this without question. € 170 is something I rarely spend on any bottle, but I can see this one fetching that.

Highland Park 18, OB, 43%, +/- 2004 and it used to cost around € 50, but I’ve seen it at € 170.

Another Rosebank review, just before I finish the bottle! That’s probably tonight, since there’s about one glass left in it. I bought the bottle about two years ago, more or less random at a moment I felt like buying a bottle. That sounds about as decadent as it is…

Nose:
More coconut than I’m used to in Rosebank and more than I remember this one having too. Also a fruit and spices mix that’s typical for an American oak cask with banana and vanilla cream. Some cookie dough. Also typical for American oak, if you take a very long and deep sniff above the glass you get some cleaning spray eventually.

Taste:
It starts of with a rather sharp edge, but that disappears quickly. Some green pepper corns, a little dry and quite a lot of wood, also a little green. Some straw but this all appears with a little greasy thick edge.

Finish:
The finish is light, quite long and a bit dry. It reminds me of sugary coconut biscuits.

A whisky that I’m not sure I like all to much. The strange thing is, it’s very tasty, and all flavours are pretty nice, but it’s not a typical Rosebank as I’m used to it. The gentle grassy and floral notes are suppressed by the cask’s influence. So, something that’s very tasty but in a different way than you’d expect?

Rosebank 16, 03-07-1991 – 05-2008, Gordon & MacPhail Reserve, Cask # 2095, 54.4%, about € 80 at Passie voor Whisky.

De Bierfabriek (the beer factory) is a restaurant and bar in the center of Amsterdam in a random office building on the Rokin. They have a very small menu with only a few salades, three or four main courses and some snacks.

Why you go to a place called the beer factory is, of course, the beer. Even that they don’t have many on the menu, only three. But what’s cool is that they brew those themselves!

Nero:
A deep brown porter (not black!) with a very smooth profile. Maybe a bit too smooth! Quite some grain flavours with a little bit of that roasted kernels thing going on.

Rosso:
An orange-red ale with a light hoppiness in it. A little too unpronounced for me, but a very nice and very drinkable beer anyway.

Pure:
A beer they brew to their own recipe at the Alfa brewery in Limburg. This is their regular beer and sold too much to brew in house.

I only tried the Nero and the Rosse, and their very nice, with a good body to them. I think they use quite a bit of malt to get the sweetness they want, without adding too much sugar. It did smell a bit yeasty like my own brews did before they were bottle conditioned.

For dinner I had a grilled spatchcock, which was very good and before that we had some snacks with a few beers. All in all a very good place to go for a quick bite or with a club of friends. This might just happen this summer, as I’m planning to do a brewery tour through Amsterdam (and we’re not going to the Heineken Experience).