Scotland, Day 5

Today was the big day, with extensive tasting tours at Lagavulin and Ardbeg. Fortunately they are both within 3 miles of where I am staying.

We started at Lagavulin with the standard distillery tour in the morning. Usually these tours are given by someone who is fairly young and has only worked as a tour guide / retail shop employee. The guides are generally well informed, but you just can’t get the insight and depth that comes from an old timer who has worked every job at the distillery through their life. Our tour guide this morning was Marjorie, and she was somewhere between those two extremes. Being a bit older and married to a former Lagavulin distillery engineer (as well as her father having been a malt-man at Ardbeg many years ago), made her a very competent tour guide.

As I explained yesterday, we were told that the size of the cut (of spirit coming off the still) is something that differentiates Caol Ila and Lagavulin. Today we were told that Lagavulin has a slower distillation, which helps it retain its full peat intensity. They likened it to slow cooking food at a low temperature to retain flavor, where Caol Ila has a hotter, faster distillation, sort of cooking off some of its smoky character. I assume they are both correct, and the combination of those two differences in process is what gives the two whiskies their individual styles.

As expected we were banned from photography during the tour, although I did manage to get a shot of the stills through an open door while wandering around outside later in the day.

But the real treat came after the standard tour, when we took the warehouse demo tour with Iain McArthur. This is the real deal, an employee here for 42 years who started off painting the ends of the casks at the age of 15, and he has done nearly every job at Lagavulin. He is a walking, talking history book. No question is too tough, and every answer is honest, not to mention his great sense of humor and wonderful character. Iain leads this tasting demonstration which starts with new make spirit, and goes through samples drawn directly from four casks, progressing in through a range of ages and barrel types.

New Make Spirit, 68-69% abv. Big, hot, interesting mix of floral and smoke. Tastes like Death’s Door with peat smoke added.

12yr, 55% abv, 2^nd fill bourbon barrel. Mild up front, with sweet/fruit flavors, then building, evolving peat smoke flavors, burning embers and campfire.

15yr, 52.4% abv, 4^th fill bourbon barrel. Mild nose, pale color, mild up front, bigger blast of peat, mixed with mild floral notes, flavor comes in waves.

19yr, 53% abv, ex-sherry butt. Smooth, complex, dark fruits, long finish, wonderful balance, sublime.

46yr, abv not specified but claimed to be over 40%, bourbon barrel, fill # unknown. Wonderful mild palate, smooth and easy to drink, very little smoke left at this age, turns too woody on the finish. According to Iain, if they were to bottle this whisky, it would retail between £2000 and £3000 per bottle!

From there, we made are way down the road to Ardbeg, where we had lunch at the Old Kiln Café, which is in their old malt building (outstanding food by the way). Next up was the Old Ardbeg / New Ardbeg Tour.

Ardbeg was shut down in 1981 for what they thought would just be a few weeks at the time. This turned into a long term closing, and the distillery was almost lost forever, but it did come back with limited production from 1989-1996. In 1997 Hiram Walker sold the distillery to Glenmorangie, who restarted production and went to full production a year later. With a long period of no distilling followed by years of minimal activity, they had some huge gaps in the age of their stocks. Because of this, they have had various bottlings run out, and new variations of Ardbeg have replaced them over the recent years. This tour provides a tasting that explores the new varieties versus the lost ones, a rare opportunity indeed.

The tour started off in a former malt building, with a taste of the 17 year, which was an Ardbeg icon before it vanished. The company had found a forgotten surplus of 17yr miniatures that they chose to use for this tour’s tastings.

Ardbeg 17yr, 40%. Bright fruit, light smoke nose. Wonderful back and forth from fruit to smoke through several cycles. Very long finish. Peat flavors are intense but soft.

From here we ran through the typical distillery tour, exploring the various parts of the operation. And finally, we were on a tour where photography was allowed. Distillery photos abound!

At the end we were taken to a tasting room where the rest of the sampling took place. We tried an interesting mix of cask samples, current bottlings, and two more “no longer available” bottlings, one from another stash of rediscovered minis.

10yr, cask sample, 54.7%, 2^nd fill bourbon barrel. Campfire smoke, tar, coal, intense long fiery finish.

Kildalton (generally not available, from minis), made from very lightly peated malt, 24yr (distilled 1981, bottled 2005), 52.6%. Tropical fruit nose, fruit on palate, feels like peat coming on, but quickly gives way to nice mix of fruit (pineapple, mango, etc) and oak flavors which dance around with cask strength intensity.

14yr, cask sample, 53.9%, 2^nd fill sherry cask. Big nose of dark fruit & smoke. Great intensity. Fruit up front followed by a blast of fiery smoke, long smooth finish.

Airigh Nam Beist (a limited edition bottling, almost impossible to find for the last two year, but the distillery still has a few bottles), distilled 1990, bottled 2006, 46%. Mild nose, soft burning peat builds slowly in intensity. Long, lovely finish.

Next we were given a choice of current bottlings – Corryvreckan (aged in new toasted French oak) or Alligator (aged in a mix of bourbon barrels and new American oak with a #4 char). I went with the latter, since I have a bottle of the former at home.

Alligator (no age statement, claimed to be a mix of 10yr to 12yr) 51.2%. Mild nose, sweet vanilla and caramel flavors followed by strong peat which builds in intensity through the long finish.

That was the end of the tasting, but a few guys that were lingering around at the end convinced the guide to give us a small sample of the Blasda, their current mildly peated offering. I didn’t take tasting notes at the time (my palate was pretty much fried by that point anyway). However, I do remember it being enjoyable but not nearly as special as the Kildalton.

This was a really good tour, with the chance to taste whiskies that are now almost impossible to obtain. But I think it could have been better if it had been structured a little differently. We worked through a lot of samples fairly rapidly at the end, and the order in which we tasted them didn’t make much sense. When I do big tastings, I find it best to start with lower proof and less flavor intensity (peat levels in this case), and work your way up. I think this tour would be improved by spreading out the tastings and changing their order. Maybe start in the old malt room with Blasda followed by Kildalton, then tour most of the distillery, and go up to the tasting room for the 17yr, followed by Airigh Nam Beist (which is unavailable now, but was introduced around the time supplies of the 17 tapered off), then follow that with a choice of Alligator or Corryvreckan. At the end, down to the warehouse / cask filling room for a short talk about the work that goes on there, followed by the two cask samples.

After dinner, I somehow managed to wander over to the local pub for one last drink. I tried the Bruichladdich First Growth Cuvee C: Margaux (Chateau Margaux) 16yr. This was a very nice way to finish the day after endlessly bombarding myself with peat monsters.

Scotland, Day 4

We had a long travel day today, but still managed to squeeze in some whisky activities. An early drive across Mull put us on the first ferry off the island. After bumbling about Oban in search of a petrol station, we finally started the drive south toward the Kennacraig ferry terminal. Half way there, we whittled away a spare hour with a stop at Kilmartin to check out some carved stone relics and a museum dedicated to the area’s rich ancient history.

We arrived for the 1:00 ferry to Islay with perfect timing. The 2 hour ferry ride was pleasant all along, but the last 30 minutes through the Sound of Islay provided stunning views of both Islay and Jura.

I took my first dram of the day on the ferry, sampling the Black Bottle blend, which is heavily peated, containing many island malts. I’ve read about it and wanted to try it, but never had the chance at home. In this part of the world, it’s hard to find a place without it. I even had time for tasting notes: mild nose with an odd note that I can’t place. Smooth up front, then moves into moderate peat levels on the palate. It builds a bit before turning warm on the smooth finish. Probably the most heavily peated blend I’ve had, but still quite easy drinking.

Finally, we landed on Islay (please pronounce it correctly – eye-luh). This is it, the dream destination of all lovers of heavily peated single malt, the Mecca to which they must make a pilgrimage. Straight from the ferry, we made the short drive to Caol Ila and caught the 3:30 tour. Caol Ila is owned a large conglomerate named Diageo (they also hold Oban and Lagavulin in their portfolio of 20-something distilleries. And “no photography” during a tour seems to be corporate policy. Oh well.

This is the company’s workhorse distillery, with a massive capacity of nearly 6.5 million liters of spirit able to come off the stills each year and 95% of production going to blends. They just reopened after a 6 month shutdown for improvements, adding a massive new mash tun and two new washbacks complimenting the original 8. This upgrade is likely pushing the 6 enormous stills to nearly maximum capacity.

Now the interesting tech bits – most single malts are double distilled. The first (wash) still brings the alcohol level up a bit, and the second (spirit) still finishes the job. But whisky is only made from the “middle cut” of liquid from the spirit still, not the stuff that comes outl first (foreshots) and last (feints). But that liquid is collected and put through the spirit still with the next batch.

During the tour, it was claimed that Caol Ila tastes less peaty than Lagavulin, even though their malt is peated to the same level. This is because Caol Ila takes a tighter cut (less liquid from the center portion of what comes out of the second still), causing less of the heavier peat notes to be carried over.

Also we learned that the feints and foreshots being carried over to the next distillation is very important to the flavor of the whisky - so much so that when Caol Ila closed for repairs and upgrades, that extra liquid from the last batch was collected, pumped into a tanker truck, and sat in front of the building for 6 months until the work was done and it could be added to the next batch through the stills.

At the end of the tour two drams were offered from a selection of three – the standard 12yr (which comes from 2^nd fill bourbon barrels), Moch (a “no age statement” bottling from bourbon barrels picked specifically for their flavor profile), and a cask strength that is only sold in the distillery shop and is made from a mix of American and European oak. We asked about the unpeated 12 year that they were selling (which hasn’t been made for 7 years), and an open bottle appeared for us to sample. The shop also sold the standard 18yr, 25yr, Cask Strength (from all bourbon barrels) and the Distiller’s Edition (finished in Moscatel casks).

After dinner I did manage to walk over to the local pub in the Ardview Inn, which has an amazing selection of hard to find Islay malts. I took it easy on the first night, just sampling the 15yr Bruichladdich and a 16yr Isle of Jura from Murray MacDavid which was distilled in 1992 and finished in sherry casks after starting in bourbon barrels.

Scotland, Day 3

I only planned one full day and two overnights on Mull since it has but one distillery. Now that I’m here, I’ve fallen in love with the island and could easily spend a week here alone. After the traditional full Scottish breakfast, we made our way down to Tobermory distillery for an 11:00 tour. For a brief history of the distillery, see the third paragraph of my G&M Ledaig post.

Right in the heart of town, the distillery is a large triangle of connected buildings with a courtyard in the center. We started with a short video in the little tasting room which is connected to the distillery shop. The first question I asked was if the malt for the Tobermory single malt was slightly peated. The tour guide told me it is not, but the water they use does run through peat and picks up some of its flavor, giving the final product a subtle peat note. She said some can taste it, others don’t pick it up. Nice to know I was on point with the tasting notes I made last night.

As we moved into the distillery, we were again told no photography. Hopefully this trend doesn’t continue. The tours all follow the same basic pattern of grist mill – mash tun – wash backs (fermenters) – stills & spirit safe. But as you go along and ask a few politely prying questions, some interesting details usually emerge. The one that got my attention here was that they run a much longer fermentation for the peated Ledaig than the unpeated Tobermory. The former running close to four days, and the latter going about two days. We also learned that most of the aging is done in former bourbon barrels (I think exclusively for the Ledaig 10yr and the Tobermory 10yr), but the Tobermory 15yr spends 14 years in bourbon barrels, and is then transferred to sherry barrels for one year. (I’m not sure if I was misinformed by the tour guide or simply misunderstood her, but I have since learned that the 15 year is aged exclusively in Oloroso Sherry casks which spend 14 years on the mainland before coming back to Mull for a final year of maturation.)

Toward the end, we learned that in the late 1980’s, the distillery was close to going bankrupt after being mothballed since the mid 1970’s. When it was bought, the new owner had to raise capital to get it going again. They chose to sell of the warehouse building across the street to a real estate developer who turned it into apartments.

The whiskey is now aged in the warehouses of Bunnahabhain, on Islay, who are owned by the same parent company. They do still have a tiny warehouse space on site where we got to see something special. They have several barrels (sherry butts I believe) of Ledaig from 1972 that will be bottled later this year as a 40yr, probably selling for upwards of £1000 a bottle. A few years ago they did a similar release of a 32yr Tobermory, with just 902 bottles released, it sold for about £200 a bottle.

Finally back to the tasting room for a dram, we were given a choice of either 10yr. I went with the Ledaig, a well made heavy hitter of peaty island character. I picked up a miniature to take home, detailed tasting notes to follow.

We spent the afternoon on a long driving tour of the island – glorious tight twisting single track roads surrounded by stunning scenery. I could ride my bicycle here for days on end.

After dinner I opted for a 15yr Tobermory for dessert, and took notes. Rich candied fruit nose, same heavy body as the 10yr, but a little deeper, darker and more richness on the palate, with fruit and spice notes emerging later, and the spice notes eventually taking over on the finish. The finish is slightly delicate compared to the 10yr. It evolves well, showing nice complexity.

After dinner we popped into the Aros Lounge (the pub in a hotel on the waterfront with close to 100 single malts) for a few drinks. No tasting notes as we were enjoying a chat with a few of the locals, but I did try a Tomatin 12yr and an Old Pulteney 12yr.

I had noticed floor to ceiling windows facing the street in the still room during the tour, and was told that they ran a night shift at the distillery, so I went back after dark to get a picture of the stills when they could be seen from the outside. I’m persistent, what can I say?

Scotland, Day 2

After finally getting some of sleep, day two in Scotland seemed a bit more civilized. Following breakfast, we caught the 11:00 tour at the Oban distillery, just a short walk from the B&B we had stayed in. Sadly, they didn’t allow photography anywhere in the distillery, so I only have a picture of the outside of the building and a few inside their shop (which sells some hard to get, high end singles malts from their parent company Diageo).

The tour started off seeming sort of mundane, but as we asked questions along the way, we got some interesting details from the guide. One example is the fact that Oban lets the fermentation process go on for four days, where most other distillers stop it after 2 or three days. This produces a higher alcohol wash (the fermented liquid) of 9.5% abv, where most others are around 8% to 8.5%. They also claim that this longer fermentation time is responsible for the fruity-orange flavor that Oban is known for.

Oban only has two commonly available official bottlings, a 14yr which is aged exclusively in 2^nd fill ex-bourbon barrels (meaning they originally held bourbon first, then they were re-used for single malt from another distillery, then they are re-used again for Oban. After that, Oban sells the barrels on to other distilleries to be used once more.) The other is the Distiller’s Edition, which is the 14yr that has been aged an additional 8 months in European oak Sherry casks. At the end of the tour we were taken into the cask filling room where we got a special treat – a sample of 12yr cask strength Oban drawn straight from the barrel. After that we moved on to the tasting room for a dram of the standard 14yr. We were then informed of a special bottling exclusive to the distillery. It was at cask strength with no age statement, but they claimed it was mostly 14yr with some older Oban mixed in, and possibly some variety of cask types. Being a lover of Oban single malt, my father decided to take one of those home, I’m looking forward to trying it.

We got in some sightseeing and lunch, then took the Ferry over to the isle of Mull. It was a very scenic ride with nice views of Ben Nevis (the mountain, not the distillery), then we drove across the island to Tobermory (the town, we visit the distillery tomorrow). It’s a stunning drive along the inland coast of the island, in all its rural glory, with a two way single track road, slowly crossed by sheep while you wait.

A spot of dinner to sample to local seafood, then out to the pub for more scotch. I got caught up in conversation with a colorful local character, so not many details on what I drank at Macgochan’s, but I did sample the 15yr Tobermory, a Glen Grant that I never found out the age of, and Glencoe 8yr single malt at cask strength (58% abv). All quite enjoyable, but very different from each other in style.

The single malt collection at Macgonchan’s made the selection at Cuan Mor the night before look unimpressive by comparison. The later had about 34 bottles, with a few being Distiller’s Edition’s and a few others higher up the age scale, but most were the run of the mill flagship offerings from well known distilleries. Macgochan’s on the other hand had upwards of 60 bottles, with several from closed distilleries, many obscure brands, some uncommon variations of well known brands, and a couple of cask strength bottlings. I could drink in there every night for a week and find something I was excited to try every time.

Finally, back to the B&B, which has the wonderful feature of complimentary single malt Scotch, for one last drink before bed. Now I’m sipping on the 10yr Tobermory (un-chillfiltered at 46.3 abv). It’s a little malty (and maybe slightly herbal) on the nose and quite full bodied. It is mild up front, but picks up flavor intensity quickly from the mid palate through the finish. It has a nice mix of malty flavors, mixed with floral notes, but they seem to be on the spicy and of the floral range as opposed to the perfume like floral flavors that I have an aversion to. I get a little more flavor late in the finish, it could be subtle oak notes, or a very minimal peat influence, hard to tell.

Scotland, Day 1

I stretched myself a bit and really made the most of the first day in Scotland after a sleepless night of flying, the highlight of which was a free sample of Ardbeg in London Heathrow during my 3 hour layover. As I marched toward my connecting gate, I was drawn over to the table from 20 ft away by the smell alone, and much to my delight they had a choice of 10yr, Uigeadail or Corryvreckan. “Uigeadail? Yes please. Thank you. I’ll be at the distillery in a few days”.

If you can navigate the tangle of roads in Glasgow, Auchentoshan Distillery is only 15 minutes from the airport. It took me a bit longer, even with GPS. But I got there eventually. As luck would have it, it was open house weekend: free tours all around. I was a bit knackered from the travel, so I think some facts went in one ear and out the other, but it was an interesting and informative tour nonetheless.

The tour ended in a lovely tasting room, with two drams on offer. The first was their flagship Classic (I think the tour guide said the age range in the Classic was typically 7yr to 9yr and it was aged exclusively in bourbon barrels). Auchentoshan is one of only three remaining lowland distillers, and the only one to continue the lowland tradition of triple distillation, so this dram is rather light and easy drinking by nature. Next up was a bottling from their Travel Retail range. The web site descriptions gets right to the point of how these are made, but the airport store shelf talkers made the whole line sound like contrived marketing-speak. I’m glad to report the at least the “Heartwood” version was a worthwhile whisky, with a lot more weight and flavor development than the Classic.

From there we made a slight detour out to the Glengoyne distillery. It is just outside Glasgow, but technically it falls into the area designated as the Highlands. We loitered around the distillery shop trying to decide if we wanted to wait 30 minutes for the next tour. The wonderful women working there poured us a small sample of the flagship 10yr, and after chatting with us for a good bit offered a taste of a special bottling called the Teapot Dram. This special edition of 3105 bottles came from 5 first fill Sherry butts married together (3 9yr American oak, 1 13yr American oak, and 1 14 year European Oak), that was enough to convince me to take the tour – my father opted for a nap in the car this time around.

The tour started in the tasting room, with a proper pour of the 10yr and a short video, then, it proceeded through the distillery. More extensive tasting options were available, but I still had a few hours of driving to do, so I picked up a miniature of the 21yr instead. The 10yr is nice, but its very prominent fruit flavors dominate a little too much for my preference. I think with more age and heavier sherry influence, it becomes a much better balanced whisky. I’m basing this on past tastings of the 17yr, and the lovely Teapot Dram that was bottled at 58.8% abv. I’m kind of regretting not spending the £50 on a bottle. This was another informative tour, during which I learned that many steps are taken throughout production to maximize the spirit’s contact with copper, giving it the strong fruit flavors that are characteristic.

The best part of the day was seeing the still setups and comparing the different methods used by these two distilleries. Auchentoshan gets its light style through triple distillation, and looking at the three stills, the second is smaller than the first. This makes sense, there is less liquid as you move through the process and the alcohol becomes concentrated. It stood to reason that the third still would be smaller yet, but it wasn’t, it was sized between the first and second. I asked the tour guide about this and was told that the third still would be too small, and not as fuel efficient at that size. So they made it bigger and they run two batches through the first two stills and combine them in the upsized third still before it gets fired up.

At Glengoyne they have a very different philosophy. They double distill, but have three stills. All of the liquid runs through the first still, then, it is split into too even smaller batches which are run through two smaller but identical second stills. This is done do increase the ratio of copper surface area to liquid (and gaseous) spirit in the second distillation, adding more of the fruit flavors that they are after.

After a long drive to Oban, we took a nap, went out to dinner and ended with a nightcap at Cuan Mor, a local bar with a respectable single malt collection. The highlight there was the Cragganmore Distiller’s Edition. It started off with a dry malty nose, followed by malt, biscuit and cocoa (all in a dry way) on the palate, and wound up with a smooth, warming finish. None of the floral notes that turn me away from the 12yr bottling were evident.

And so it begins

It all started simply enough about seven years ago, when I posed the basic question “what’s the difference between bourbon and scotch?” to a group of friends and family. The only attempt at an answer that I got was “bourbon is made by drunk hillbillies in Kentucky and scotch is made by drunk hillbillies in Scotland”, not exactly the level of detail I was looking for.

And that was the beginning. The beginning of my quest for information about, knowledge of, and experience with all things whisk(e)y. I strove to unlock the mysteries of this ubiquitous brown liquid and dissect its inner most secrets. It has been a mission of reading and research, tasting and comparing, conversing with those more knowledgeable than myself, and of outings in search of rare expressions.

But there came a time when even all of that was not enough, I needed more. I needed a sense of place and perspective. I needed to explore the origins, to peer into the inner sanctums of whisky production, and to experience the process first hand. That need has resulted in my quest manifesting itself into an epic journey. As I type this, I’m sitting on a 747, midway over the Atlantic, en-route to Scotland. Ahead of me lays a path of discovery and exploration, and a two week itinerary laden with a full spectrum of whisky related activities. My hope is to write daily, but I may do so less often if is too cumbersome. Join me.

Old Grand Dad

stats:

Old Grand Dad, Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 86 proof, no age statement, $15

Old Grand Dad Bonded, Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 100 proof, no age statement, $17

Old Grand Dad 114, Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 114 proof, no age statement, $23

As I mentioned recently, the American whiskey industry has been on a path of steady growth for the past three decades. Much of this growth has been fueled by the interest generated from an ever increasing number of specialty bottlings and limited edition releases.

The 1984 release of Blanton’s, the first single barrel bourbon, got the ball rolling. That momentum was built on when Jim Beam released a series of small batch bourbons between 1988 and 1992, consisting of Knob Creek, Booker’s, Baker’s and Basil Hayden’s. 1990 saw the introduction of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, which brought about the phenomenon of limited annual release whiskeys that are highly sought after and only available for a short period of time each year. More recent additions to this trend include bottlings that change each year, such as the Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection, the Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection and the Old Forrester Birthday Bourbon series.

However, with this growth has come a new generation of consumers. Many of those who have been drawn in by the hype and media attention surrounding the rare and unique offerings end up being interested in little else. They ignore the distiller’s “everyday drinker” flagship whiskeys, while they hunt down oddities like the Buffalo Trace’s Single Oak Project or the Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve bourbons, which enjoy a cult-like status.

Admittedly, I followed I similar path when I got into bourbon 10 years ago, with Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek sparking my interest, and a few years later Old Rip Van Winkle 10yr 107 proof opening my eyes to the fact that there was a whole world of great bourbon out there. Fortunately, I eventually came around to discovering the gems that were hiding in plain sight (and modest price ranges), such as Wild Turkey 101 and Old Weller Antique 107.

Still, I find it a bit bothersome that there are people who will scoff at the mere mention of Old Grand Dad (likely without ever having tasted it), but will wax poetic about the virtues of Basil Hayden’s, all the while being completely ignorant to the fact that Basil Hayden is Old Grand Dad, both in name and spirit.

When Raymond Hayden built a new distillery in 1882, he named it Old Grand Dad to honor the distilling tradition of his grandfather, Basil Hayden. The brand has changed hands many times over the last 130 years, and has been owned by Jim Beam since 1987, paving the way for a small batch version of OGD to be included in Beam’s Small Batch Bourbon Collection. The better tasting barrels of Old Grand Dad are set aside to age longer, and are eventually bottled at a lower proof to make Basil Hayden’s, but it all starts off as the same distillate, born of OGD’s unique “high rye” recipe and proprietary yeast strain.

None of the three Old Grand Dad variants carries an age statement, which legally dictates that they are aged at least 4 years. By contrast, Basil Hayden’s carries an age statement of 8 years and is bottled at 80 proof.

All three are medium amber in color, with each becoming slightly darker as the proof goes up.

86 proof

Light, clay to dry/floral spice on the nose. On the palate, it starts off pleasant, though lacking complexity. The finish is respectably long, but the direction the flavor profile takes doesn’t do much for me. It seems that the spice notes and other flavors are at odds with each other.

100 proof

Similar nose to the 86 proof, with a bit more intensity, and more prominent oak notes. A little more complexity, beautiful spice flavors, and a longer, more intense finish. The flavors are much better integrated from start to finish.

114 proof

The nose is still in the same vein, but with more intensity/density of aromas. A little punchy and kind of hot. Generous rye spice notes, but the flavors seem to dart around a bit at times. Compared to the 100 it comes across as edgier but also less sophisticated.

I don’t really feel that I’m qualified to rate whiskies on a 100 point scale, but for the sake of comparison I’ll do it here, giving them an 82, 88 and 86, respectively.

Whiskey is hot!

I generally have little respect for most online spirits and cocktail related articles. Much of it is just literary fluff, written for the going rate. Useful knowledge and relevant information are rare commodities, with a modicum of entertainment being provided at best. I do still get sucked in by a juicy headline, but always expect to be let down. So, when I saw the title What Your “Drink” Says About You On A Date, I clicked onward with skepticism. Sure, it started off as the usual drivel, but then, the listing for Whiskey Neat: You’re hot. Regardless of gender. Well, good to know, and who could argue with that. Perhaps I should go on more dates.

Gordon & MacPhail, Bunnahabhain 8yr

stats: single malt scotch, Islands, 86 proof, $32

You may have noticed the boom and bust cycle of the whisk(e)y industry as a recurring theme on this blog, and with good reason - these recurring swings have had a great influence on the industry over the centuries, and they continue to be a driver of trends in current times. But these cycles do not always transpire concurrently on opposite sides of the Atlantic. World War II was bad for everyone, and growth followed that period all around. Bourbon fell on hard times again in the 70’s, in a big way. Scotch’s dark days, however, didn’t arrive until the 80’s. The American whiskey industry started to bounce back in the 80’s and has built a head of steam with slow, steady growth over three decades, to what many call the current “golden age” of modest prices, great product variety, and mostly balanced supply and demand. The business turned around in Scotland in the mid 90’s, but it did so in an explosive way, boosted by tremendous demand from emerging markets, such as China and India.

Scotch production ramped up rapidly in the late 90’s and early years of the 21^st century. This has left many distilleries in the difficult situation of having healthy stocks of whiskies with 30+ years in barrel, an abundance aged 12 years or less, and very little in the middle. One solution has been to mix the young and the old, forgo an age statement, assign a proprietary name (preferably in Gaelic) and charge a premium price (some are worth the cost, others are not). Another answer has been to find a marketing pretense under which to sell young whisky – Ardbeg did this with a series of bottlings from spirit produced after a change of ownership in 1997. Very Young (6yr), Still Young (8yr), Almost There (9yr) and Renaissance (10yr) were all bottled at cask strength, but still went for much higher prices than they could have commanded if not for their rare and historical nature.

Nevertheless, as we all know, the last three years have been marked by recession and uncertain economic times, especially in the U.S., which is still a major market for scotch. Gordon & MacPhail has responded by releasing a series of value oriented 8 year old single malts. It seems that the independent bottler has reacted to the market (and taken advantage of the surplus of young whisky) much more quickly than the companies that actually produce the whisky.

The range started out with Tamdhu, Highland Park and Glenrothes. A Bunnahabhain bottling followed shortly after. They are all priced between $30 and $35. I’ve tasted three of the four and they are all good, but the Bunnahabhain really stands out for me, so that is what I’m sipping on tonight.

Light golden-yellow, appearing Chardonnay-like. The spirit in the bottle seems to have a green hue in certain light – perhaps there is a slight tint to the glass. The pleasant grassy-grainy nose has fruit undertones (pear?). The grass-floral-fruit flavors of the palate are followed by warming spice notes (reminiscent of cinnamon spice candies) on the finish, which is surprisingly long. The alcohol level and flavor intensity are in harmonious balance. Quite an enticing single malt – I keep coming back to this bottle for more. 

Silent Stills part 2: Gordon & MacPhail, Littlemill 18yr

stats: single malt scotch, Lowlands, 80 proof, $50

When I first became aware of the phenomenon of closed distilleries and their finite stocks of whisky which would eventually disappear forever, I viewed the situation with a sense of tragic loss. Something special, something unique and irreplaceable was being lost to the tumultuous up and downs of an unpredictable industry.

But over the years my outlook has grown to be much more philosophical. When stills go silent, their whiskies gain a certain mystique. Some of these malts would go unnoticed by most, with the bulk of their production ending up in blends, were it not for the attention drawn to them by the closure of their distilleries. This really adds to the intrigue and allure of Scotch whisky, in my opinion.

I now view these losses as an integral part of a cycle, and with endings come new beginnings. Mothballed stills have been relocated and repurposed in new endeavors or restoration projects. Long defunct distilleries have come back into operation, decades or more after closing, even if only in name. The expansion periods can even give birth to entirely new distilleries.

Littlemill was a Lowland distillery with many owners over its long history, possibly going back as far as the mid 1700’s. The Lowland tradition of triple distillation was practiced until the short closure of 1929 – 1931. Upon reopening under new ownership, the switch was made to double distillation. The operation was supposedly mothballed from 1984 – 1989, but the bottling I have claims to have been distilled in 1985, so there is a slight discrepancy there. Littlemill was modernized and reopened in 1989, but only made it to 1994 before closing again when its owners went bankrupt. The equipment was dismantled in 1997, and plans to restart production never came to fruition. The remaining buildings were lost to fire in 2004.

Straw in color, it is ever so slightly lighter than the Rosebank reviewed in the last post. The nose has a good amount of density, going a bit floral / piney. This is rather big on the palate, surprising considering its modest 80 proof. The flavor profile starts off fruity then it drifts into the realm of cat pee, but not to the point of being detrimental. It eventually turns to warming oak flavors. Good complexity, it evolves nicely from the start through the lengthy finish.