18 Under 30 Part 13: Drinks By The Dram (Not Optimum Spirits Blended Whisky)

In this series of our top picks for items under £30, we have looked at some excellent offerings which give you fantastic 'bang for your buck'. However, it can be a total minefield out there, and you have to be very careful when treading the boards at the lower end of the marketplace.

Okay, this is also true at the top end of the whisky world, too. But it seems to be a truism that at the higher end, you're much more likely to get a bottle of excellent booze than you are the bottom end of the scale. It's just that at the very high end, the big question tends to be around 'value for money', because if something has an extreme price tag attached, the key element is 'just how good is the hooch'?

Hopefully this selection of short posts will acts as some sort of a guide when it comes to the cheaper bottles around; your pillars of fire in the night and cloud in the day, to guide you to the best purchases in town. But on this one occasion, we're not just going to give you some advice on what to spend your 'hard earned' on, but also something to studiously avoid...

So our first DON'T EVEN GO THERE EVEN FOR UNDER £30 comes in the form of this hideous monstrosity:

"Optimum Spirits Blended Whisky"

Sitting comfortably on the shelf of my local Tesco store, in the Scotch Malt Whisky section, (you naughty, nautghy people, Tesco, you) the label doesn't mention the word 'Scotch' at all. In fact, one quick glance at the rear of this 'eco refill pack' shows it's actually from a Dutch distillery, the Toorank Distillery (I guess with a name like this, at least there's a modicum of honesty...) to be precise... which most certainly makes this NOT a Scotch whisky.

It's not often that we sing the praises of the Scotch Whisky Association (who can be seen to tie the creative hands of the whisky-making community in Scotland a little). However, it is situations such as this where you'd hope they'd flex some of the muscle of which they so often talk and at least have a word with Tesco to make sure this item is not simply stuck in the middle of the 'Scotch' bottles on the shelf. 

How about some sort of stickering to make the average consumer aware of the authenticity of the 'whisky' inside this pouch? And I've not even begun to describe the giant '14' on the front label. 14 Years Old? Nope, '14 servings of whisky inside'... I think Michael Caine put it perfectly, here, when it comes to this product.

In the interests of good journalism, I decided to purchase a packet for the princely sum of £8. Yes, that's £8 Shall we see what we get for our money:

Optimum Spirits Blended Whisky – 14 Servings – 30% abv - 35cl - £8

Nose: There are the typical notes of heavy grain whisky, with a huge amount of spirit and acetone. This whisky is YOUNG! As a result, some tinned peaches in syrup and a hint of fresh pine are about all you're going to get.

Palate: Ugh, this is simply one of the worst whiskies I've ever tasted. It's like a bad Frankie Boyle joke: bitter, horrible and leaves an awful taste in your mouth. It's like someone has tried to glue my mouth shut using a fixer made not from the whole of a horse, but just from the genitalia.

Finish: If I'm being polite: very young, spirit tones and a hint of bright banana. If I'm being honest: salty and synthetic... utterly awful.

Overview: “Dear Tesco: what the f- do you think you're playing at?! Seriously. With this stuff, I might have to get all Malcolm Tucker on your ass...”

So, what do you buy for your £8 which might be better than this total liquid let down, this purgatory in a pouch? 

Well, not a lot to be honest. 

Yesterday's £10-ish 20cl of Lagavulin 16 doesn't so much as play both Emperor and King over this Jester of an offering, but also plays God to something which tastes like Satan's house whisky from the bowels of hell.

But if £8 is your limit, your absolute maximum for a purchase, then head over to Master of Malt, who do their wonderful 'Drinks By The Dram' selection. Here, you may only get 10% of the size of the pouch above, but you won't feel like you've had Dutch squatters in your mouth, using your tongue for a mattress and your molars as toilets.

The Most Adventurous Advent...

I. Love. Christmas. 

In the run up to Christmas, every company seems to roll out 'ideal' whisky related gift ideas:  whisky books, that haven't sold very well throughout the year are now re-badged as the 'perfect gift for dad', in addition to repackaged or newly released whiskies - some actually reflecting the festive flavours and aromas we associate with Christmas.     Recently, we reviewed a rather wonderful Mature your Own Whisky kit from the Copper Fox Distillery, which, in our opinion is about as perfect a Christmas present as we can think of, assuming that boredom and the brooding cabin fever of staying with the in- laws doesn't lead to just drinking the immature newmake spirit after a couple of days.

But all these pail into comparison next to the latest work of genius from Master Of Malt.  Not only have they solved the tricky problem of counting down the days to Christmas, but they've also come up with the gift-that-keeps-on-giving for every big kid on the planet.  Move over chocolate-filled advent calendars... here's the whisky-filled advent calendar.

The premise is so deliciously simple.  24 doors, each one with a different 3cl individual wax sealed Drinks By The Dram style miniature.  And behind one of the doors (maybe the 24th?) is a measure of 50 year old whisky.

Yes, this is perhaps the most expensive advent calendar in the world (£149) (ed... actually not, as it would seem Harrods once released this gratuitously opulent monstrosity) but it's a total no-brainer, for the sheer brilliance of a dram a day in the run up to Christmas...imagine the anticipation of just what's behind each of those malt-filled doors of joy...

And for those who aren't keen on whisky (why are you reading this blog??!) MOM have put together a gin-based advent calendar too.  

Gents, we salute you.  Festive idea of the year, hands down...

For more information on the whisky advent calendar, visit Master Of Malt.  But get your (ice) skates on... there's only 19 says left till 'door one'... ;-)

Scotch 75

Many of you may remember that Joel, the other half of Caskstrength last year celebrated his 30th birthday in style at London's SMWS, with a whole host of whiskies from his birth year of 1979.

Being that bit older (my birthday is in 1975) I am less inclined to feel celebratory about the impending prospect of my next milestone birthday being the big 40. However, I am feeling a little better considering just how many great whiskies were made in 1975. So rather than wait until 39 years and 10 months to start collecting for the inevitable party, (hey, hope Mrs Caskstrength is reading this) i've begun my stockpiling now, whilst they're still relatively reasonably priced.

A couple of months ago we reviewed a particularly great Berry Bros Glenlossie from 1975, which is absolutely on the list. I've also rooted out a superb Linlithgow from the Murray McDavid Mission range, notes of which will feature on our Warehouse shortly.

Last week, I was lucky enough to try a really cracking array of handsome devils from '75, courtesy of Master Of Malt's 'Drinks By The Dram' collection. Anyone considering a similar project to myself, would be wise to see what they have on offer from certain years- it's a great way to effectively try before you buy and avoid any disappointment when all your assembled party guests are anxiously waiting for you to pop the cork on your prized selection!!

Imagine the scene, as you take your first sip from a bottle you've been waiting 5 years to try...

'Oh. It's a little bit bitter and woody'. To which your irritating uncle (who somehow gained an invite to the party) will no doubt quip 'Get used to it, now you're 40!...it's all down hill from here, son...'

3 drams which caught my attention are listed below... Did they have the WOW factor? Or are they reaching for the Viagra and a pair of slippers....

Glenfarclas - The Family Cask Series - 1975 - 51.4%

Nose: Big healthy dose of sherrywood for this oldie, folks, but not overly drying. There’s perhaps a slightly fruity aged cognac note, combined with a touch of menthol and some chocolate covered raisins.

Palate: Dark sugar, treacle and then prunes, figs and those chocolate covered raisins all come to the fore. There is a slight dustiness, but no real hint of over-oaking here.

Finish: The figs lead into a slightly spicy Christmas pudding note, giving the finish a wonderful warming length indeed.

Overall: A great example of Glenfarclas at its best. The cask selection for this age is superb and I’ll certainly be considering this for the party!

Ardbeg -1975 - 43% bottled in 1999

Nose: Dessicated coconut, dry wine notes, herb/fern notes, very medicinal peated notes classic swimming pool notes, sweet red berries and fresh cream. Superb nose, similar to the '77 but perhaps a bit sweeter and fruity.

Palate: Slight notes of wet cardboard/chewed paper, hints of pepper and a little licorice, quality chocolates, dry chardonnay notes and some iodine peatiness. It is a little thinner than the nose would suggest, and quite dusty.

Finish: The dusty notes linger with some of the lightweight peat, milk chocolate and a dusting of cocoa coating the palate. It shows sign of age now and is certainly a different beast to anything produced by the distillery in the last 20 years.

Overall: The nose displays some solid character, giving you a wonderful insight into the distillery character 4 decades ago. Sadly, on the palate it isn't as brilliant as perhaps the 1977 or the superb 1974 single cask bottlings, losing something through its weakness in strength.

Glenrothes – 32 yo – Distilled in December 1975 - refill Hogshead - Old Malt Cask (Douglas Laing) 50%

Nose: A definite note of initial waxiness, demerera sugar, ripe pears and clean, malty cereal notes.

Palate: The fruit really develops across the palate, with more of the pear developing into some tropical fruit flavours. Further in, lingering wax notes emerge, with a slightly rum like sweetness.

Finish: Pleasant spice note develops as the palate dries, more of the rum like fruity-sweetness, with a cedary woodiness developing on the death.

Overall: Very good and drinkable indeed. This bottling has managed to grow old gracefully, retaining some of its more youthful character, whilst maturing and softening nicely.

All the above whiskies are available from www.masterofmalt.com

What a Dram Good Idea....

Novel Idea Of The Week time again folks!

Ever seen a bottling that you've dreamed about getting your teeth into, only to find that it is way beyond your wallet's current capacity ? It has certainly happened to us... probably on a weekly basis, truth be told! Well our chums at Master Of Malt- ever the innovators have been racking their whisky addled brains for a while now, for a solution to this problem.

What they've come up with is brilliantly simple but terrific idea- Drinks By The Dram. Why not open a few of their most coveted bottlings and pop a generous drams-worth into a sample, so you can enjoy it for next to nothing...

According to Ben Ellefsen, (one of the Masters Of Malt), "As pretty serious whisky fans ourselves, we wanted a way that we could sample new releases from our favourite distilleries and bottlers without the expense of committing to a whole bottle of each before we'd even tried it. Drinks By The Dram started life as a way of allowing our staff and friends
to compare and contrast a range of whiskies, safe in the knowledge that the
investment required was not one that was likely to land them in the
dog-house on a semi-regular basis."

Three cheers to that!! Perhaps we'll no longer need to leave new (and slightly ill-advised) purchases in the boot of the car now, until Mrs Caskstrength has popped away for the weekend.

A sneak preview of some of the brands that are coming up include Glenfarclas, Bruichladdich, Murray McDavid, The Vintage Malt Whisky Company, Renegade Rums, Alc-hem-ist, Signatory, Edradour and many more, with a number of Master Of Malt bottlings also included. There's also a full list of the drams that are available Here:

As you can see from the picture above, the lads have gone to town on the packaging- each sample bottle is individually wax dipped to seal them, with the label printed on local hand-made paper.

Within the next couple of days approximately 40-50 whiskies will be available, with several hundred more available within a month.

If you fancy finding more about Drinks By The Dram, check out the link Here: