The Ultimate Christmas Spirit - Part 1

Apologies for the lengthy absence. Both of us have been travelling extensively, all in the name of Spirits Exploration and we have come out the other side, blinking in the December sunlight, filled with knowledge from the world of fine, well crafted spirits. 

As it’s the first of the month (assume you all have your Master Of Malt Advent calendars… if not, get cracking and play catch up!) we’ve decided to take a leisurely look at the spirits you should be drinking this Christmas. 

We start off with a definitive winter warmer; something to ease you into the month helping banish any chills you may be experiencing and set up your palate firmly for the numerous log-fired, lazy family filled holiday dates that are coming later this month. 

The spirit in question is a whisky. It’s name is Glendronach and for those in-the-know, it’s a distillery that in recent years has begun to excel at producing hugely powerful-yet complex sherry cask monsters - but for a fraction of the price of a 'Marque' brand like Macallan. This particular bottling was selected by our friend David Margulies, owner of the Grapevine retail website and it’s an absolute cracker…

GlenDronach – 1994 Vintage – Pedro Ximinez Sherry Puncheon – 52.1% - Cask No: 279 (£80)

Nose: An initial hit of rich caramel toffee, some woody spice and then a syrupy fig/raisin laden fruit cake. The spices are amplified with a little water and the sherry notes become slightly sweeter – more like bonfire toffee, with a Manuka honey topping. 

Palate: Much like the nose, the dried fruit, spice and drying oak come through on the first wave, with a very sticky, unctuous mouthfeel.  With water, the sherry becomes more dominant and the spice a little more pronounced, but for us, this is absolutely superb straight, at its full 52.1%.

Finish: Lingering notes of toffee, oaky spice and raisins.

Overall: A stellar sherry cask choice, highlighting that for the money, there’s plenty more options out there than just diving in with the big bucks for a massively well known brand costing twice the price.  

The Twelve Drams Of Christmas - Part Twelve

So here we are. Christmas Eve morning and All is calm and all is.... well, bright pink.The sky has bruised over and I have just left the Ridley Manor Leicestershire for the wiles of North Yorkshire to visit Mrs Caskstrength's relatives.

2012 has been a sensational year for drams and Joel and I have had a fair bit of difficulty in deciding our festive choices, but here you go...

The moment the car is unpacked, shoes are off and replaced by warming slippers, shivering trunk snuggly wrapped in a padded silk smoking jacket, the leather reclining chair tilted back to its fullest extent and the strains of The Rat Pack Christmas emanating from the stereo, I know I can completely relax. I'm sure Joel will echo these simple sentiments too, minus the slippers and poncey jacket.

Ridley's choice of Festive Dram:

'In years gone by, I have often struggled to choose between the titanic flavours of 'Peat' and 'Sherry' as part of the the ultimate Christmas day tipple. I compromised last year and went for a sherried version of a peaty classic (Lagavulin Distillers Edition) which went down so well, there was only a tiny drop left to wash down the Boxing Day turkey sandwiches.

This year, i've adopted a slightly different tact and gone for something balanced, fruity, warming and ridiculously drinkable. It also makes a mean Manhattan, a sizzling Sour and can be sipped, slugged and slurped over ice, with soda or just about any way you choose. So a perfect offering to any whisky-reticent relatives! My Christmas time dram is Yamazaki 18 year old.... Kampai!'

Yamazaki - 18 year old - 43%

Nose: Instantly open on the nose, this bears all the hall marks of a classic Japanese whisky. Mossy, musty, rich sherry, dark orange marmalade, with loads of polished rosewood and big spice.

Palate: Swathes of sherry, leading into rich, thick dark sugar and milky coffee, with an extra sweet backing of barley sugar. The sweetness dies away giving a very well balanced back palate of cereal and starchy overtones.

Finish: Lingering spice, bulging dried fruit, sherbet and more sweetness. Very lengthy and enjoyable.

Overall: Little more needs to be said about this magnificent whisky. So rather than take up additional room with superlatives, here's a picture of some contented Christmas dogs.

I'm the one on the left...

Harrison's choice of Festive Dram:

'For me, this year's festive dram is a distillery we haven't featured very frequently, The Glendronach. I took this home to balance out the wanton desire to have a peated whisky. The 'Lennon' to the Glendronach's 'McCartney', has to be the Lagavulin Distillers Edition, 1995 / 2011. Additional maturation in PX casks means I'm carrying on the same sherry theme, but warming my cockles with a some soft peat smoke. Yum!!'

The Glendronach - Single cask (full term Pedro Ximinez Sherry Puncheon) - 1995 - (08.11.1995) - bottled 2011 - 15 Years Old - Cask #4681 - 725 bottles - 56.2% £55.00

Nose: Everything you want in a sherried whisky, inc well balanced. Rich rose scented candles, heavily polished oak table, old leather shoes, second hand book stores and... Christmas pudding, freshly lit.

Palate: Rich, oily and full of flavour. This hits BIG: burnt sugars, candied orange slices and cloves. Stewed red fruits.

Finish: Sweet and dry with hints of black cherry.

Overall: Just a top, top whisky. Single cask, 56.2% abv, full term PX and £55. Amazing value for a stunning whisky.

Joel & I wish you all the most merry, peaceful and relaxing of Christmas holidays. And wherever you happen to be and whatever your choice of whisky, pour a large one and share a festive toast!

Cheerio and happy holidays.

Neil & Joel x

The Twelve Drams Of Christmas - Part Five

Hitting our stride now, as the big weekend looms large, both Joel and myself feel chipper that the lion's share of our Christmas shopping has amazingly been done (in one mad rush down Oxford Street the other night, no less.)

Sheltering from the intolerable cold, we immediately feel revivified by our next suggestion of an ideal festive dram, this time courtesy of one of London's finest bartenders and all-round guru of liquid experimentation, Ryan Chetiyawardana. Ryan is one of the brains behind The Whistling Shop; a subterranean watering hole of mind-boggling proportions - part Dickensian gin palace, part science laboratory. When Ryan isn't feverishly working the controls of his Rotovap still, in search of a new dimension in flavour, he's the purveyor of some of the finest hand selected malts in the capital.

'So this is actually a perfect Boxing Day dram. Christmas Day for me is a mixed but usually entirely food-led affair. So a festive dram comes late Boxing Day, by a fire in an old country house! What i'm looking for is a whisky, which is rich, but not something that will put me to sleep before I beat my sisters at Pictionary. So with that in mind, my call for this year's festive masterpiece is Glendronach Parliament. A welcome after-dinner livener!'

Glendronach - Parliament - 21 years old - 48%

Nose: A rich and inviting mixture of woody, but fruity sherry and oak. Big hitting, thick PX tanginess, with a slightly drier, spicier Oloroso note. Almost resinous, but with a little waft of Italian lemon and orange zest to break up the Spanish party.

Palate: The spices (think predominantly cinnamon and nutmeg dusted cocoa beans) take hold first, followed by orange marmalade, some plump raisins and more of the lemon zest. A real mouthful and then some...

Finish: The oak, spice and intense dried fruit give this a lingering complexity. You'll certainly be bored with all your presents, by the time this subsides.

Bulldog vs Hockey Mom

Politics. It is a funny old game. We are less than a week away now from the US Presidential election to see who will replace George W. Bush in the White House. But before citizens of the United States go to the polls there is weeks and week of electioneering. Candidates travelling from coast to coast and spending unfeasibly large amounts of money (money that could, if both parties agreed not to spend it on marketing, be used to build schools, hospitals and feed the poor). But the election run-up is about educating the people. Empowering the good folk in the U. S. of A to make an informed decision at the polls. To know each candidates agenda. To understand why they believe their campaign. And most importantly to find a candidate they trust.

This is much like whisky.

"Er, okay. How on earth is this like whisky?!" I hear you cry. "You've finally gone mental."

Well, whisky is all about education; education of the palate. Travelling from coast to coast and spending unfeasibly large amounts of money (money that could be better used to build schools, hospitals and feed the poor. Or just to pay my bloomin' mortgage!) on learning about different wood finishes. Learning about peating levels. Learning about age. Learning about regional styles and regional variations. Understanding blending and vatting. And trying out as many different distilleries as one can get ones hand on! Education before you finally put your "X" in the box of a whisky that you dearly love. A whisky you would trust as your leader. A whisky to run your free world. A Whisky with it's finger firmly on the button.

It was with unbounded joy then, that we recently came across a bottling from a distillery which neither of us had sampled before; Glendronach. An open bottle of 15 Year Old, 100% Matured in Sherry, this was going to be a real eduction for the palate.

Glendronach - 15 YO "100% Matured in Sherry" - 40% Vol - 1 ltr

Nose: A touch of peat smoke (very light indeed), some aniseed, lots of Christmas spices and Rum 'n' Raisin ice cream. Yummy!

Palate: The raisins again mixed with some light summer ale. Ginger root and a slight medicinal (TCP) quality. Nice and warming.

Finish: Lingers for a short while with cola but the depth in flavours is let down by the low alc content. Sherried whiskies of this age need more oomph to carry their substantial character across the finish line.

Overall: A real education. This is a pleasant enough dram but I'd love to try this spirit in bourbon casks, as was tried in their 12 YO release called "The Original" (second fill, mainly bourbon). It feels over disciplined in the sherry casks at this age.

Best In Glass Awards 2008

As the end of the year approaches, we here at Caskstrength.net shall be looking to place an "X" next to our favourite whisky of the year, as we announce the nominations in our first "Best In Glass" Awards (BiG Awards). A short list of 8 - 10 whiskies shall be drawn up and announced at the start of November. The only criteria for this is that the whisky must have been released in 2008. From the short list there shall be only one winner, to be revealed Monday December 1st. Keep and eye out for further announcements.