When will this tour end? The car smells of burning hair.

Excuse the tardiness readers. As you will have seen from our Islay adventure, we hit the road like it was the last trip on earth and by the end of our 14 days away from home, we began to resemble the characters from Sideways. As we arrived back at our various homesteads, the mileometer read 1750- a substantial number on its own, but it is a misleading figure, when you consider that was 1750 miles over Islay's innumerable potholes, in the torrential rain and gale force winds, with 17 cases of whisky packed into every orifice - the car's, not our's fortunately.

It was a testing time for the sanity of Caskstrength. But we came out fighting, tougher than ever and determined to do the whole thing again next year, with added zeal. A few days away from our computers have done us the power of good.

Our final leg of Feis Ile 2011 took us to Arran and their open day, which was sensibly scheduled on the Sunday after the Feis Ile final fling and by the number of people we recognised there, a shrewd move from this smart forward thinking distillery. We'd visited Arran last year and the sun was blazing, but this time, alas the Islay weather front had been carried over and our ferry crossing was particularly sketchy. Joel and I have never particularly suffered from the ill effects of a cruel sea, but the crossing from Claonaig to Lochranza (just 2 cars braved the trip, inc. our whisky-laden automobile) was arse-clenchingly unnerving. At one point, the car looked to be lifting onto 2 wheels, as the small ferry yawed violently.

Were we thinking of our own safety? Of course not! We had a cargo full of Feis Ile bottles. "No matter what happens, save the whisky, Joel," I commanded. "And should we go down, pass the sad news onto Mrs Caskstrength and my faithful companion Bobby (who despite wearing a bowtie, is actually a ships cat from the seaside town of Poole.)

We made it, just about intact, but with the hearty cooked breakfast we enjoyed earlier almost paying our tonsils a return visit. What we needed was a stiff measure of something to settle our stomachs and there was only one dram on our minds.

Caskstrength have their very first celebratory whisky!!

About a year ago we thought we'd put our money where our mouse is and save up the cash to buy a cask of something. Nothing too big, but something fun to celebrate Caskstrength turning 3 years old. The good folks at Arran had just what we were looking for and before we knew it, Cask 1554 was being drawn from the warehouse for the last time and sent for filling. It yielded just 92 bottles, which were eagerly waiting to be collected from the distillery...

The Arran we selected follows in the tradition of the distillery's wonderfully light, buttery, fruity character and is a first fill bourbon cask, filled in 1998. In the coming weeks we'll be revealing more details about it and what our plans are - but until then, here's a sneaky video we shot from the distillery.

with the car safely loaded with 15 cases of Caskstrength & Carry On Arran tessellating perfectly, we settled down for a masterclass from Arran's roving ambassador and all-round top chap, Andy Hogan. In the distillery's Crofter's Cottage, we sat down to try several expressions from Arran's 15 year history, including the 14yo, the recent Machrie Moor peated expression, an Amarone wine finish, a great sherry cask bottling and this year's Arran festival bottling.

Andy had paired up locally produced food with each whisky - fresh oysters with the 14yo (a pairing, which I decided against trying, for reasons you can view here) but the whole experience really bought home just how good Arran have become at producing a robust, distinct spirit, yet with so much lightness and character. Here's our pick from the bunch:

Arran- Machrie Moor - lightly peated single malt - 46%

Nose: Very light, heathery peat, fresh apricot skin, brine and wet sand. With a touch of water, a hint of mossy, wet woodland emerges.

Palate: Fresh pine, crisp salad, dried apricots, with an underlying dose of pineapple chunks and fresh coconut.

Finish: Light balsamic notes, more fragrant pineapple and a Lapsang tea flavour, gently decaying, as the palate dries.

Overall: A really interesting change of direction for this decidedly 'non-peated' distillery, which certainly doesn't aim to emulate its neighbours. Machrie Moor is a solid whisky and a sign of promising things to come, with more peated expressions on the cards.

Arran - Single sherry cask bottling- Distilled 1998 - Bottled 2010 - 57.1%

Nose: Wonderfully rich and fruity, with boozy cherry notes (Griottines), dark polished wood, cracked leather and mint notes. There is also some wonderfully buttery/creamy notes one would usually associate with a bourbon cask. This really has it all. Very impressive.

Palate: Again, surprisingly light and tropical, with mango, coconut, butter toffee and apricots hitting the palate first, followed up by the usual darker dried fruits and oakiness associated with a sherry butt.

Finish: More of the tropical fruit, but slightly aged, less vibrant and richer- reminiscent of some older Bowmore bottlings, but without the massive lingering depth.

Overall: A real standout here. I bought a bottle of this last time I was on the island and foolishly gave it to someone as a present, without trying it. Now I have, I immediately regret being so generous. Can we squeeze another bottle in the car Joel? Please??

Finally, the Arran open day bottling - we luckily got to try last year's bottling on our previous visit, so it'll be interesting to see how this one stacks up against it...

Arran - Open day 2011 bottling - Bourbon cask - Cask No: 104 - distilled 1995 - bottled 2011 - 200 bottles - 52%

Nose: Orange marmalade, hazelnuts, white flowers, hints of buttery toffee, fruity sweet bourbon, marzipan, vanilla and lemon zest. Classic first fill bourbon. Cracking.

Palate: Orange juice again, maple syrup, mandarin segments, hints of lime cordial and creamy barley. A very broad array of flavours.

Finish: Lime pickles, hints of vanilla and fresh pine.

Overall: A nose to totally die for, everything you'd look for in fresh bourbon casks. Very similar to last year's open day bottling, perhaps lacking some of the richer chocolate malt notes but still a damn fine bottling nonetheless. It is more expensive at £125. If this is beyond your price range, we'd recommend going for the equally excellent sherry cask bottling.

Stay tuned for more Arran news, as we un-pack, number and label 92 bottles and try to find somewhere to put them.

Are we having fun yet? You bet we are...

Road To Islay Day 3: Spent Wees

What a difference a day makes when you’re visiting Islay. From the meteorological nightmare of Saturday, Sunday sees a return to bright sunshine for Bruichladdich’s open day. Surely Jim McEwan must have done a deal with someone to ensure almost perfect conditions for the past 10 years now… perhaps their Black Arts bottlings hint at a slightly darker side to the distillery??

Whatever the case, 12pm arrives and a queue of eager festival goers wait patiently for the gates to swing open and the courtyard is bathed in bright sunshine and the smell of drams weighing heavily in the air.

This year’s festival bottling is different to the previous few. Although there is a regular Valinch in the shop, Bruichladdich have decided to celebrate the launch of the Feis and their new website with 2, 70cl bottlings – a 1998, distilled by Whyte & Mackay in a 2 weeks when the distillery was mothballed and 3 years before the new owners got the keys. The second bottling is a 2001 made using some of the first distillate made by the new owners, released to mark 10 years since the reopening. There are 2000 bottles of each release priced at £50 each. Let’s put the 2 whiskies head to head:

Bruichladdich Reborn – 1998 - 46%

Nose: Light cream soda notes, vanilla ice cream, lemonade and a faint waft of peat. Apparently it is mixture of lightly peated spirit and some with a higher 25ppm.

Palate: Sweet maltiness, leading into a buttery cream toffee note and spicy sugar coated licorice.

Finish: The peat lingers on the palate, but there is a distinct ‘vintage feel’ to this whisky- different to other Bruichladdichs we’ve tried.

Bruichladdich Reborn – 2001 – 46%

Nose: Boiled sweets, candyfloss, a hint of nuttiness and a slightly more pronounced ‘box fresh’ peat- i.e. a bit brighter and direct.

Palate: Sweet sugary tea, creamy cereal and slightly sooty, oaky peat, which coats the tongue

Finish: lingering peat, with a further drying oak note resonating.

Overall: Given time in the glass, both whiskies develop and really open up. If you love sweeter, buttery candy notes, you’ll be delighted by these, but in our opinion, the older vintage probably just tips the scales as our pick of the 2. It’s that bit more developed and pleasing on the palate.

After this mini tete-a-tete, it was time for a bite to eat in the cavernous cooperage, which today doubles as a marketplace- full of local crafts, cakes and...whisky tablet- a weakness of ours and something that no Islay fan can leave without. We also had a little flutter on how many grains of barley were stored in a 70cl bottle - the prize being a bottle of Laphroaig 10yo. Using science (well, actually a pretty random guesstimate) we thought about 2,150. If anyone has a more scientific idea, get in touch!!

As many of you know, Bruichladdich recently installed a new Lomond still, affectionately known as ‘Ugly Betty’, which has been used to produce their Botanist gin- bumper packed with botanicals, some of which are grown on Islay.

This year the open day team have hired the services of 2 mixologists to play around with both the gin and some of their more cocktail friendly whiskies. The lovely Carmen Operetta from NY developed a fabulous fruity punch, which slipped down a treat and offered a welcome break from the usual peat-covered palate that one usually leaves Bruichladdich with. Check out some of Carmen’s other creations here: http://libationgirl.blogspot.com/

Up at the Vatican (one of Bruichladdich’s several warehouses) Jim McEwan invited 3 singers to accompany his brilliant and -in places, irreverent masterclass, but Caskstrength were booked in for an equally fun tasting hosted by the girls from Bruichladdich’s mainland sales team…Beware Jim – you have some serious competition!

The tag team approach between Natalie and Joanne was a highly refreshing approach to the bog standard tasting format and so was their choice of whiskies- at least 3 exclusive drams, yet to be released. Joanne gave a great insight into the history of the Port Charlotte releases and how they were based on the Lochindaal distillery (including a great insight into Islay funerals, which you can see in our video.)

Here’s our thoughts on the highlights:

Bruichladdich Black Arts – 3^rd Batch – 22yo – 50.7%

Nose: Unmistakable cask influence here (Jim is still tight lipped about the exact cask type, but we reckon either port, Madeira or a mix of both) Rose wine, strawberry jam and candy strawberry sweet, with hints of dried red apple and spices. But the wood has given this a definite over-oaked note.

Palate: Flat cola, cinnamon, more strawberries and jelly fruit sweets.

Finish: The palate is dominated by oak notes, with a hint of the fruit getting a glimpse at the very end.

Overall: Not the best example of heavily wine influenced whiskies, if we’re honest. The cask has really dominated the spirit here and it was our least favourite dram from the tasting. Still if you’re into big bold oak influence, this might just be your thing…

Port Charlotte – PC9 – 9yo - 40ppm – 65.3% (although it will be reduced at bottling)- 6000 bottles, to be released later this year.

Nose: Lovely delicate vanilla, swathes of soft peat, vanilla cheesecake and copper notes. With water, a slightly earthier note comes through with wet sand, freshly turned earth and a hint of some floral lavender.

Palate: Sweet candy, more of the vanilla cheesecake, rich butter, Werther’s Original candy and a salty, earthy but gentle peat, slowly coating the tongue.

Finish: The peat and earth notes give this a very lengthy finish.

Overall: In keeping with the previous PC releases, this one will be a cracker when it is eventually bottled and released. Keep your eyes peeled for an official release date.

Octomore – Special Feis Ile masterclass sample – 159ppm – 2005 (6yo) Unreleased – 63.9%

(Alas, this is presently unscheduled for an official release, but if there is a god, it will see the inside of a bottle at some point soon…)

Nose: Lemon zest, forest floor notes (musty moss) slightly minty, with fresh apricot, carbolic soap and (obviously) masses of very pronounced peat.

Palate: Initially very creamy, with meringues, whipped cream, followed by vanilla ice cream, a blast of sweet peat and a liberal tongue coating of sea salt. It’s PC, exactly as you’d hope it would be. Superb.

Finish: You’ll be tasting this for days.

Overall: The best dram of the day, by some way. Please release it.

Tonight we're off to try a curry, Islay style and no doubt a few more drams. Tomorrow is Caol Ila day, but also 70MPH winds which, if the whisky doesn't, is sure to blow us off our feet...