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.   

Hatches, Matches & Despatches. Jura Distillery Open Day Fun - Feis Ile Day One

Yes, folks. We’re here again. As yet another year rolls around, with the FA Cup Final out of the way and Glastonbury, Wimbledon and The Ashes on the horizon, what could be a better way to while away your time, than with the Feis Ile: Isle’s Festival of Music and Malt.

Usually, we’d be here right from the off, hitting the eight distilleries in row and then, if we had the time / weather / energy, hit Jura for an hour or so. But not this year. Oh, no. This year, we’ve come to Jura first.

Sitting off the coast of Islay, Jura is an island of ones (save for the TWO doctors): one road, one shop, one church, one hotel, one pub and one distillery. ~188 people live in an area the size of London, seriously outnumbered by 6,000 red deer. It is probably most famous for being the final home of George Orwell and providing him with the perfect isolation where he could write 1984, the piece which, according to some, eventually finished him off.

However, for some of us of a certain age, it also provided the backdrop for one of the most audacious pieces of ‘art’ (or PR stunts, depending on how you look at it) of the 1990’s, when hugely successful British dance outfit, KLF (known at that time as The K Foundation), burnt £1 million pounds. In cash. In 1995.

Even now, nearly 20 years on, it seems utter madness that someone, even in the name of art, could burn a million quid. But that’s exactly what the two members of the KLF, Bill Dummond and Jimmy Cauty did. Many myths and rumours surround this event, with the band claiming that only £900,000 eventually went up in smoke, with £100,000 worth of £50 notes simply flying into the air due to the intensity of the fire. The local police even found up to £1500 in charred notes, which were left for the two members to reclaim if they so wished.

So Jura is a place where interesting things happen and in 1810, a distillery was opened; the perfect place to hide from the excise man. By 1901 the distillery was closed to lay dormant for nearly 60 years, until it was rebuilt in the early 1960’s springing back to life in 1963. Housing the second tallest stills in Scotland, and the largest stills of any island distillery, it is now a single malt which you’ll find all over the world. Yet another piece of art from this small island making a global impression.

The venue for our Turas Mara tastings

This year, Jura held an ‘open house’, over two days running free buses and ferries across from Islay, hoping to attract many more of the folk who have travelled to the Feis Ile for their annual hit of smoky whisky.

With events ranging from warehouse tastings with the ever-energetic Richard Paterson, through to speedboat tastings in the Sound of Jura, (…hosted by yours truly) there were plenty of reasons to drive onto the small car ferry and make the short crossing between islands.  On top of all this, there is an annual festival bottling release from Jura, only available from the distillery during their open days. 

This year, the bottling was extra special, to mark the 50^th anniversary of the distillery reopening, a ‘boutique barrel’, containing whisky from a 1963 French oak cask, as well as containing some heavily peated stock, resulting in a whisky which is both fruity and smoky. 

Jura – Festival 2013 – 1963 French Oak + Heavily Peated 1999 stock – 663 bottles – 52.4% abv - £70.00

Nose: A real treat straight off the bat.  The aroma of a delightfully smooth, almost 70’s peat smoke swirls around the glass initially, followed by some rich notes of spicy sherry/wine tones, some oakiness and a fruity, almost jammy note. 

Palate: Initially dry and hot, with some oakiness delivering a wet wood note, which then fades into a spiciness – a hint of cinnamon and liquorice.  Given time in the mouth, the wine influence takes hold with some bold fruit and a distinct smokiness. 

Finish: The peat lingers alongside an oakiness and a rich fruit note.

Overall: The nose really defines this whisky:  elegant and refined, with a smooth smokiness.  A dash of water develops the fruitiness and direct nature of the spice.  At £70, it’s also very well priced against many of the other Islay festival bottlings.  Well done chaps.

Jura also have a new release, called Turas Mara, which means ‘long journey by the sea’ and is their new offering in Global Travel Retail. Made up from whisky matured in four types of casks (bourbon, sherry, French oak barriques and port pipes) it is priced at £45 for a litre. 

Jura – Turas Mara – GTR only - 42% abv £45.00

Nose: A departure from the festival bottling. Masses of fresh fruit, vanilla, a real sweetness and some subtle spices. Light toffee/peanut brittle, sliced pears and orange zest. Candied and very fruity.

Palate: Sweet and malty, with some herbaceous notes, crème caramel, some sour cherry notes and a hint of creamy oak. With water, zesty lime notes begin to emerge. 

Finish: Clean, with orange zest and a slight drying vanilla oak. 

Overall: Having used this as the main feature for our speedboat tastings, it has established itself as our favourite expression of Jura on the market today.  

Tea, you say?  Turas Mara and cake more like.

It has been a real pleasure spending some extended time on Jura, an island we have only fleetingly visited before. We had no idea as to the hidden beauty of the island and we would highly recommend a visit, and a drive all the way up the islands only road...

Tomorrow we head to Bunnahabhain and try the festival release from Lagavulin...

Islay Odyssey - Day Two: No Joel, This Isn't The Bar We're Looking For - It's The Job Centre

Well here we are well rested and safely ensconced on Islay. Despite the long drive up, there really is no other way to travel over to this glorious isle. Our previous Campbeltown adventure culminated in us already being weighed down with no less than TEN purchases so the car made a reassuring, yet slightly alarming clatter as we pulled away from the Port Askaig ferry terminal to the strains of our 'Now That's What I Call Islay' -  Volume 4. Fresh in our memory was the superb discovery of the Ardshiel Hotel in Campbeltown, home to a great newly refurbished whisky bar with around 1000 bottles of single malt.
Richard Paterson had recently been in to do a tasting and the owners were thrilled that the bar is gathering a real buzz about it.  We elected to have dinner there accompanied by a tasting flight of local drams selected by the bartender Neil MacKinnon.  And what a flight.  Starting with a highly surprising Glengyle Work In Progress 3 (aged around six years old and already packing a rich flavour and plenty of promise for the next few years) we then enjoyed a rich, syrupy and sweet Glen Scotia 12 year old (which paired well with a home made steak pie). To finish, a Springbank 10 year old rounded out what highlights a vibrant and very distinct region of whisky making, which if you haven't already, should be visited at your earliest convenience.

Pulling in to Port Askaig, we were very much now on a mission. With the new (when does it stop being ‘new’) CalMac ferry ‘Finlaggan’ in our rear-view mirror, the full force of the ‘Japanese Mercedes’ powered us down the road to our first port of call, Lagavulin Distillery.

Greeted by the always affable distillery manager Georgie Crawford, we were booked on to the grandly named ‘Ultimate Islay Tour’ which promised unique access to the three Daigeo-owned sites on the island: Lagavulin, the Port Ellen Maltings and Caol Ila Distillery-  All for the princely sum of £240. That might seem like a lot of money, and it is, but included in the price is transport around the island, a picnic lunch (more on that later), plenty of rare and hard-to-find whisky and both the now-sold-out (and already on eBay *sigh*) Lagavulin Feis Ile bottling and the sister Feis Ile release from Caol Ila, hosted by Classic Malts Ambassador Donald Colville.


The tour was designed to show previously off-limits areas around the facilities and our first treat was a trip up the stairs to the long since abandoned Lagavulin malting floors, which lay untouched since the 1970's. The old malt bins and bits of machinery were still there, giving us an idea of how far this now powerhouse-of-a-distillery had come in the last 40 years.   The view from the stone staircase over the bay was probably worth the entry price alone.  Georgie then escorted us to the dunnage warehouses and regaled us with stories of the distillery in the 70's, showing us some rather exciting casks in the process, including the one below:

The story goes that Iain McArthur discovered cask 12162 in the warehouse and remembered it as a significant vessel from his time working at Port Ellen. In fact, it was known as the 'remnant cask', where it was used to store the remaining liquid from every single Port Ellen spirit run from 1967-1983!  So a pretty significant and historical piece of wood indeed.

The cask now holds a ten year old Lagavulin from 2002, which Georgie drew some samples of for us to try. Clearly the cask was chosen back in the day for its neutrality and the Lagavulin retains a lot of its spirit character, alongside some wonderful cream soda notes. Our next dram was a 1966 Lagavulin from cask 552 (which we tried during a previous Feis Ile trip) and the setting for the tasting was the wonderful Lagavulin castle ruins, the fresh sea air making the dram taste even better in our opinion.

After our hit of history from Ms Crawford, we were to head to one of the newer sites on the island, Port Ellen Maltings. Built at the end of the 1970’s / start of the 1980’s, the Port Ellen Maltings worked alongside the now much loved and dearly departed Port Ellen distillery for three years before the spirit-producing side was decommissioned in 1983.  Now a huge factory churning out malt for several of the island's distilleries, we were to be given a tour by (the brilliantly named) Ramsay Borthwick, who had taken over as the maltings manager just a week before, having previously been site operations manager at Talisker.

Reinstalled at the site is the old wooden marrying vessel from Port Ellen distillery, in which every single drop of Port Ellen was stored before being siphoned off for filling. The tap (seen in the picture on the right) has had pretty much every drop of PE ever made pass through it at some stage. Nice.

Onwards and upwards the tour progressed with Ramsay doing a fantastic job of explaining a very complex and highly scientific malting process, through the medium of 'chocolate'. (The outer layer of the chocolate bar being the barley husk and the squares inside the starch molecules) What’s not to like about that?! All in, this one of the most comprehensive tours of maltings I have been on and to say I learnt a lot would be an understatement. It almost required a mini-graduation ceremony at the conclusion of the tour. *applause*

From Port Ellen, we were bundled in to our people carriers and carted off to the peat bogs to meet the legend that is Iain McArthur. After a picnic lunch of rolls made from the grist (flour) at Lagavulin (ergo, giving a sweet and smoky nature to the fresh bread) filled with either locally smoked salmon / smoked venison, it was our turn to have a go at digging out some peat, all aided by a dram of Caol Ila 12 years old, unpeated.

As usual, Neil turned up in totally inappropriate footwear, stomping across the boggy ground in a what can only be described as a pair of plimsolls while everyone else around donned some form of Northface-esque foot attire. Watching him attempt to cut peat in such a get-up almost made the entire trip worthwhile...

Having suitably refreshed ourselves with rolls and drams, it was time to head onwards to the north of the island and up to Caol Ila, stopping firstly for a wee dram at their water source.

Climbing up to the (pretty depleted) loch, we were greeted by Caol Ila distillery manager Billy Stitchell with a rather odd looking decanter, something he’d grabbed from his office before coming out to meet us. It turned out to be the Caol Ila Flora & Fauna series bottling, a rather tasty 15 year old offering:

Caol Ila - 15 Year Old -  Flora & Fauna Series -  43%

Nose: Wow, this is highly unexpected.  Not at all like the modern era Caol Ila bottlings we're used to and perhaps more like Rosebank, if it happened to be lightly peated, or a younger Port Ellen.  Swirls of tropical fruit, mangos, sweet vanilla, butter, coconut and soft medicinal peat and chamois leather note. Absolutely superb. 

Palate:  The fruit continues on the palate, with some lighter notes of stewed plums, green apples and lemon zest, all underpinned with a delicate waft of peat.

Finish:  Lingering notes of syrup and apple.

Overall: Undoubtedly one of the finest Caol Ila's we've tried. Subtle, gentle, yet complex, this bottling is almost like a greatest hits of single malts.  

Having supped our dram while gazing out at where the water to make this fantastic whisky originally came from, we made our way down to the final destination for the day, Caol Ila distillery itself.

Arriving, we were treated to a tour of the distilleries newly expanded operations, with two huge new washbacks and one massive new mash tun, all aiding the increased production at this site which in-turn, will service the increased demand for whisky across the globe.

Ending up at the top of the distillery, (literally on the roof) it was time to try what we thought would be the last dram of the day (but boy, were we mistaken), the Caol Ila Feis Ile 2012 bottling:

Caol Ila – Feis Ile 2012 – Filled: 15/01/2001 – cask no 300897 – 60.4% abv – 70cl (around 620 bottles)

Nose: A huge hit of the classic coal dust smoke, followed by rich runny honey, some mint jelly, hot sand after rainfall and some red berries. With water the spiced fruit notes increase and the whisky takes on aromas of mincemeat.  

Palate: Hot and smoky, this gives off wafts of bacon frazzle crisps, meaty overtones of smoked haggis and sweet cure bacon. With water, the sherried nature of this comes to life with more vibrancy and colour to the palate. Really takes water well.

Finish: Long, lingering and smoky.

Overall: We both agreed that this is the best Caol Ila Feis Ile bottling to date with an excellent balance -  powerful, yet complex.

But- oh no... As everyone turned to leave, the sight of another three whiskies in Billy's office took us all by surprise.  The sound of jaws dropping could be heard as far away as the Islay Woollen Mill. Alongside the 2012 Lagavulin Feis Ile bottling sat  two final drams and perhaps the pinnacle of Islay whiskies in our humble opinion- Port Ellen annual release No.1 (which we reviewed last year and tasted equally as exquisite stood on the rooftop at Caol Ila) and the official bottling of Lagavulin 30 year old.  

Breathe deeply caskstrength...

Lagavulin - 2012 Feis Ile Release - 1998 - Cask 1716 - 55.1% 

Nose: Raspberry ripple ice cream, apple strudel and icing sugar.  Sweet, with the classic cream soda and carbolic soap underneath.

Palate: Vanilla notes, green apple, some chopped hazelnuts and a big hit of medicinal smoke.  Lighter than the 16yo, but slightly more complex than the 12yo.  

Finish: Lingering orchard fruit and a sooty peat smoke.

Overall:  We were divided over whether this was better than the Caol Ila, with Joel preferring it, but Neil feeling the spiciness and fruit of the Caol Ila tipped the balance in its favour.

Lagavulin - 30 years Old - Distilled 1976 -  52.6%

Nose: Candied fruit, tinned peaches, chamois leather, lemon meringue pie, lavender and a hint of Parma Violets.  The smoke is restrained, gentle and super subtle, with just a caressing waft of the classic Lagavulin carbolic soap. Truly astonishing.

Palate: This is where it gets really serious. Coconut, more lavender, light vanilla stewed fruit (rhubarb, strawberry and raspberries) with an underpinning of American oak-influenced creaminess, this whisky just screams - no sorry - whispers perfection. The balance is extraordinary. 

Finish:  The fruit notes give way to more of the light peat and a touch of creamy maltiness for an extremely long finish indeed.

Overall: No doubt, the finest Lagavulin ever bottled.  This is one of those whiskies that demands the time, the company, the setting and your full attention and delivers more than you could ever hope for.  

Despite the relatively high face value of this tasting, if you break down the actual value and quality of the whisky tasted, the two festival bottlings, the unprecedented access to previously off-limits distillery areas and, more than anything, the time spent with the likes of Georgie, Billy, Ian and Ramsay for pretty much a whole day, this is undoubtedly cheaper than the sum of the parts if they were offered individually. As a result, it is one of the best tastings the festival has surely offered thus far.  Lord knows what they're planning for 2013. 

Islay Day 5 - Inspector Gorse

After Monday’s monumental Port Ellen tasting, our palates felt a little fragile and the only remedy was a long walk, to drink in Islay’s other great treat to the senses – its scenery.

We’d signed up to take the 2km walk to Ardbeg’s mighty Airigh Nam Beist (fed by the distillery’s main loch Uigeadail), to savour the surroundings and a few drams on the way. The weather seemed to be calm on our approach to the loch, but as we experienced yesterday, this is Islay- only an idiot would walk around in the countryside without a decent jacket. Thank the lord for North Face. Ok, their fabric is about as natural as a can of Coca Cola but when you have sideways hail hitting you in the face, the hoods are pretty decent.

A little dash of Ardbeg 10yo on the way helped keep out any cold and pretty soon, we’d reached the loch, a brooding black stretch of water, which was spewing out spray whenever the wind hit it. We slipped an empty bottle into the depths and pulled out a sample to try with the whiskes and to take away for our liqueur project (more of which later on.) I’m sure that the scientists among our readers may argue otherwise, but there is something inherently better enjoying a dram in the elements, with a dash of the source water to cut it - and both the Ardbeg 10yo and the liberal slug of the 1990 Airigh Nam Beist we got for the journey back were absolutely sensational.

Our guides Kristy & Neil told us about the chilling story of the nearby Kildalton Castle, purportedly the most haunted building on Islay. The tale goes that John Talbot Clifton, who owned the Castle had planned his final burial place 2 thirds of the way up nearby Knoc Hill, at a point where he would forever be able to see into his wife’ bedroom window. Many years after his death, some telegraph poles were put in, running down the hill, with one directly in front of his grave and on three separate occasions that very pole was felled during storms. It was decided that it might be better to move it away from the grave and the problems remarkably stopped… Spooky.

From one legendary spirit to another and we head down to Laphroaig for their open day. The distillery has continued the tradition of their Cairdeas bottlings with the 3^rd instalment, The Ileach Edition. We enjoyed a quick dram in the tasting room

Laphroaig – Feis Ile 2011 bottling – Ileach Edition – 50.5% - 8 years old - 10,000 bottles (or thereabouts!)

Nose: Wet earth, sweet barley sugar, light but bright medicinal notes, lint bandages and a touch of mint.

Palate: More sweet grain tones, pineapple chunks and a light, zesty note, backed with a wash of medicinal peat. With water, sweetcorn, hot buttered popcorn and a touch of plum.

Finish: Light, but lengthy, with the medicinal peat lingering and sweet cereal notes.

Overall: Not a million miles from last year’s release, perhaps less medicinal than the 10yo, and more in-keeping with the Quarter Cask, without the spirity notes. A decent all-rounder.

By now we were famished, so headed back to our home from home in Gruinart for a slice of our host Joanne’s famous Black Pudding Quiche. But on the way we decided to stop to pick some gorse flowers, for a rather moorish liqueur. Later in the week we’ll be bringing you a little video on how to make this fabulously sweet, zesty recipe, using an Islay whisky as its base.