Absent Friends: Lagavulin & Caol Ila Feis Ile Bottlings

Bling comes to Paradise Island

For the better part of a decade now, Caskstrength has been trekking up to Scotland on an annual pilgrimage to Islay, for the annual Festival of Music and Malt, the Feis Ile. It is a thoroughly enjoyable event and one of the warmest whisky welcomes you can receive anywhere in the world, with outstanding whiskies and tasting sessions, the likes of which are rarely seen outside of festival time. Put it this way, when else would you see Micky Heads, dressed as a Gangsta Rap star?

This year however, our diaries did not allow for a trip up to the whisky isle during festival time, due to other presenting and writing commitments. Fortunately we had already popped in to say a quick hello to the good people of Islay with a visit a few weeks beforehand. With the most recent Caskstrength post being on the latest Laphroaig offering, the next two will feature other Islay distilleries and some of their more unusual output, as a tribute to the great festival.

One of the big draws for visitors to the festival is the annual batch of special releases which the distilleries roll out and there has been no change at the 2014 festival, with the island's eight distilleries (and not forgetting Jura, too) creating something unusual and limited to reward those making the long journey to the Inner Hebrides.  The outturns have changed significantly since the distilleries got behind the festival began back in 2000  - and considerably since 2007, when Caskstrength began its Islay voyages.  

Alas, gone are the single cask offerings, replaced by bottling runs much larger in number. A shame, as we feel that the travellers making the (not inconsiderable) effort to get to Islay should be rewarded for their efforts. But with the huge success of the week-long event and vastly increased visitor numbers, the small outturns left a lot of visitors extremely disappointed when they couldn't pick up a special bottling from their favourite distillery, only to see said bottles arrive on popular auction sites for super-inflated prices a week later.  

It's simply a case of dammed if they do, dammed if they don't for the distillers.  One option could be to explore the possibility of customising the releases for the bottles purchased at the distillery.  Perhaps a special necker/ hand applied shoulder label, or a different capsule colour - or a simple space on the back label for the distillery manager to add a signature if you can track the busy folks down... food for thought, marketing folks out there. 

Anyway, a sample from each of Diageo's Islay-owned distilleries (Caol Ila and Lagavulin) turned up earlier this week, which we were eager to explore. Regular readers will be aware that we usually keep a daily diary of our adventures at Feis Ile and the seven previous Lagavulin releases have been superb, so this gives us a good opportunity to look back at those releases, while trying the 2014 edition. Click on the dates below if you want to see our tasting notes from the previous bottles: Alas, 2007's tasting notes seem to be lost somewhere in the darkest archives of the website, but trust us, it was a fabulous release. 

2008/2009/2010/2011/2012/2013

Lagavulin - Feis Ile 2014 - Distilled 1995 - Bottled 2014 - 54.7% - 3,500 bottles

Nose: A dry, medicinal/carbolic note opens up the proceedings, followed by classic Laga smoky bacon/charred meat, Star Wars figures (apologies, as we've used this ref. before, but take a whiff of a vintage Princess Leia or Chewy action figure and you'll see what we mean... sad but true) some earthy, moist leaves and darker sherry wood notes. The charred notes are dominant, as is the dryness. It's not the most sizzling and vibrant of Lagas, but let's not forget that this is nearly 20 years old now and maturity has taken this beast in a much more sublime direction. 

Palate: Sweet off the bat, into a swathe of drying woody notes, some sweetened black Lapsang tea, more smoked meat, with a surge of peat, zesty lemons and a dusting of both coal and icing sugar. It's rich, powerful and dry, but hangs onto the right side of woody, before the rot begins to set in. 

Finish: Very lengthy, with the smoke subsiding and the resonant sherry sweetness coating the tongue.  

Overall: A tricky toss up here: The recent Jazz Festival bottlings perhaps edge this for sheer brilliance, but without doubt, it still claims a premier spot when it comes to limited edition peated gems. Given the pedigree of Lagavulin - and its staple core whisky with the 16 year old, which pretty much redefines peated whisky, there will always be high expectations placed on the shoulders of those involved in the choosing the releases. Again, they have played a blinder, as this one will absolutely delight the enthusiasts who can get hold of one. 

Our 'mini-journey-from-our-desk' takes us up and onwards to the north of the island, to Lagavulin's sister distillery, Caol Ila. It always amazes us just what a consistent dram Caol Ila is, from the excellent core rage offerings through to independent single casks, rarely do we find a bottling from this distillery that is not exceptionally drinkable. 

When it comes to festival bottles, Caol Ila has also been releasing a series which started off as single casks and developed into longer run offerings, kicking off in 2008.

Caol Ila - Feis Ile 2014 - distilled 2002 - Bottled 2014 -55.5% - 1,500 bottles

Nose: Tremendously spicy on the first sniff, with cloves, cassia bark and a sprinkling of nutmeg, all vying for your attention with black pepper and of course some sweet peat smoke. It's incredibly aromatic, light in character and also in possession of a little fruitiness too: think soft ripened bananas and some freshly picked raspberries too. 

Palate: Very sweet, into the classic lingering Caol Ila sootiness, but backdropped by sweet black coffee, some oaky smoke, a touch of orange zest and nutty breakfast cereal.  On the back there's a slight menthol which, all in all, gives this a sublime balance.  

Finish: Lingering sweetness and a fresh zesty orange note nestles against the slightly sooty/dry peat.

Overall: An outstanding release. Not too woody (somewhat ironic, given the nickname of the current distillery manager, David Woods) and well balanced, this is a whisky with swagger strength and balance. A great bottling indeed.

It is clear to see how there has been a shift in strategy of the Feis Ile bottlings released by the Diageo-owned Islay distilleries in the last two years with the runs increasing dramatically to meet the demand. But this is an issue faced by every distillery on the island and with the continued fascination that Islay holds for new whisky enthusiasts, it is only going to get more tricky to cater for everyone wanting something special. When it comes to the Lagavulin, £99 for a limited release 19 year old is is a valiant attempt to 'keep things real' with the pricing strategy, which has, in recent years become a little absurd.

Fair play guys and see you bright and early next year.   

Mouton Rothes?

A little while ago, I was lucky enough to purchase a bottle of 2007 Dow's Vintage port. Recently declared as the best vintage in Dow's history, it seemed like an opportunity to grab something at a reasonable price (under £45) to lay down until the time is right. Hopefully, the time will be right in 15 or so years and my £45 investment will have paid dividends, in terms of flavour.

1995 was another interesting year for Bordeaux. Mouton Rothschild bottled a superb Pauillac, the vintage gaining the plaudits from both Robert Parker and the queen of the grape herself, Jancis Robinson. But what of 1995 as a vintage for whisky? A quick search of Google reveals that there was a 1995 Highland Park bottling, an Oban and a Glen Spey. All got highly credible reviews from the looks of things, so when a Glenrothes 1995 miniature arrived at our door, I was very excited.

Of course, the fact that other 1995 whiskies were highly commended is fairly meaningless in the whisky world. I suppose the only way to really measure the quality of a vintage is against another vintage from the same distillery.

So, here are our thoughts on both the recently released 1995 release from The Glenrothes and the 1985 release.

The Glenrothes - 1995 Vintage - date filled 26/10/95 - bottled in 2011 - 43%

Nose: Some drying sherry notes, slightly aromatic, a minute whiff of something sulphury/spent match, perhaps. with a dash of water, sugar paper, chopped almonds and white sugar cubes.

Palate: Very dry and aromatic. The drying sherry wood notes recur and there's a hint of malted barley, coupled with some vermouth notes.

Finish: The drying cask influences linger, with a further hint of the malted barley notes.

Overall: A little off key. It isn't as juicy and rich as previous releases, such as the Robur Reserve or the 1991 vintage which were both hugely enjoyable. This one just didn't sing out as loudly or in tune as I'd hoped. A shame really.

Glenrothes 1985 - Date filled - 21/7/85 - bottled in 2005 - 43%

Nose: Coconut flakes, wonderfully zesty blood oranges, sweet fudge/caramel notes and masses of chopped nuts, brazil, hazel and a touch of almond.

Palate: Sweet, very rich and fruity, with a citrus undertone (more of the blood orange), coupled with some lighter, bourbon influenced butteriness, more coconut flakes and a last ditch blast of dried apricot.

Finish: The zest gives way into the dried fruit notes, with a superb length.

Overall: Maybe it's unfair to compare these two whiskies - after all, the 1995 vintage is a clear 5 years younger than the 1985 release (considering when they were both bottled) But there isn't really any competition; the 1985 is a magnificent whisky. It has such weight and depth, but maintains a perfect balance with a bright, zesty zinginess and wonderful sweet fruit. My bottle has been open for nearly 2 years now and it is still as exciting as the day I opened it. The 2005 just can't keep up at all, i'm afraid.

If you haven't had a chance to visit The Glenrothes distillery, take a look at the video below. They might even find a wee dram of the 1985 for you, if you ask nicely...

Arran Adventure - Part 2 "The Eagle has landed"

We woke on Day 2 of our brief trip to Arran to a wonderful view of the coastline from the attic room of our B&B. The previous evening was spent munching fish and chips in the restaurant of a nearby hotel, drinking the local Arran Ale (a pint of Squirrel anyone?) and playing “guess the dram” with a selection of whiskies from the bar. And what better way to awake than to a view of the northern Arran coastline and a full cooked breakfast!

Our first appointment (aside from the eggs and bacon) was a distillery tour. Arran is the third most visited distillery in Scotland. A remarkable achievement for an island distillery and it highlights the enormous possibilities of this venture. A specially built cafe-cum-art gallery, The Eagles Nest houses the distillery shop and a small tasting room where tours start. We were lucky enough to taken on our tour by distillery manager James MacTaggart, an Ilach who spent over 30 years working at Bowmore before making the short hop across from Islay to head up the production at Arran. From the Eagles Nest, James took us across some fields to the local stream which runs down from Loch na Davie,where all of the distillery’s water is sourced from. With only three ingredients, the water source is always a point of pride for any distillery and this small brook which feeds Arran is clean, clear and beautiful.

James, playing the Malt 'Timpani'!

From here we made our way, via the barley store (with its ingenious weight system of measurement) and mill into the heart of the distillery itself. A small operation, Arran is producing 750,000 litres per year and has just two stills housed alongside the single mash tun and washbacks in one main space. Brewing had just begun again after a 3-week break but sadly the distillation was still a day or so away, so no chance to try a cheeky white dram! We did get to try a glass of '2nd Water' from the Underback - wow! Warm, sweet, and malty. You could bottle this stuff as a health tonic...

However, our next trip was into the warehouses. Arran has the facility to store some of their production at the distillery site and a new warehouse was recently added, where each cask is individually slotted to allow for easy access to all casks. Fortunately for us, James needed to check the progress of one of their earliest casks, from 1995 and oh!... how fortuitous for us that we happened to be there too.

Arran – Cask Sample – Filled 1995 – Ex 1st fill Bourbon Cask - 52%

Nose: Incredible fruit, vanilla and fudge notes. The colour of the whisky (deep amber) indicates the level of quality wood the distillery is using and it shows. With water, a real hidden depth begins to unravel from within the glass. Dark chocolate notes, into creamy white chocolate, nutmeg spices and spicy /malty rye notes all come to the fore.

Palate: An Incredibly oily mouthfeel, with lemon zest, more rich vanilla, big bourbon influence and a lighter malt note developing on the death. Despite the brilliance of the cask, the distillery character has so much room to breathe.

Finish: Drying spiced notes, sweet chocolate and a touch of pepper/salt.

Overall: With casks like this at their disposal, it is no wonder why the 14yo has matured into such an interesting beast. It all bodes incredibly well for the future and the proposed 18yo expression, which we can't wait to try. It's probably some way off yet though!

As we gazed longingly around the warehouse (including a future king's cask!), James came back with something very interesting indeed. A wee sample of peated Arran whisky. Utterly delicious, it certainly isn’t Arran’s intention to take on its island neighbours on the other side of Campbeltown, as their core distillery character is now flourishing under the 10 and 14 year old banners, but this will add another interesting profile to their growing portfolio of excellent fringe bottlings, when it’s eventually released -watch this space.

You can pick up two different single cask bottles in the distillery shop (and online) – one bourbon cask, one sherry cask, both in the region of 200 bottles only for the utterly amazing price of around £45. Value for money? You can bet your bottom dollar on it!

Our time at Arran was drawing to a close and, after a cheese and ham sandwich back in the Eagles Nest and some wonderful stories from James about his experiences in the business, it was time to head back to the CalMac ferry port and our train home to London.

Waving goodbye to another magical Scottish island, we grabbed a map and started planning our trip back. It’s frighteningly easy from Glasgow to access this island, which makes it such an attractive visitors destination. Now tourists have another great reason to visit: the whisky.

A huge thanks to everyone at Arran Distillery for making our trip so wonderful.

Is this, or is this ain't an Islay?

It's all very exciting! I've received an email from our airline, confirming that it is less than five days until we fly out to Islay. Well, sort of. First off we must fly to Glasgow, where we pick up a hire car and drive north, then west, then south and finally settle for the evening in a small hotel just south of Kennacraig, ready to recharge our batteries for the morning ferry ride over to the isle. So what way to heighten the expectation of another 10 day trip to Scotland than with a wee dram of something from Islay. Newly purchased, I hastily cracked open a bottle of...


Caol Ila - Distillers Edition (Finished in Moscatel Cask) - 1995 - 43% - 70cl

Nose: Ginger, butter, hints of sea weed and some honeysuckle. Not at all like an islay!

Palate: This is where it gets very strange indeed. If you didn't put Caol Ila on the bottle, you'd be hard pressed to pin-point the region, let alone the distillery that this comes from. The Muscat takes the driving seat providing a sweetness you'd more commonly find in a sherry finish Spey. Not at all overpowering, there are limes, ginger ale, hints of peat smoke and salt. A very different experience for any Caol Ila fan.

Finish: Subtle red chillies, a touch of peat. The sweetness from the start hits the back of the mouth after a while. Fairly long for something so subtle.

Overall: It's like ginger beer mixed with salt and seaweed, which oddly throws up a combo which won't be to everyones taste but I found very drinkable. Roll on Islay!