Post Christmas Blues?

Since arriving back at Caskstrength towers last night, I've found the hallowed halls a tad drafty after the near stifling conditions that seem to come hand in hand with one's parental homes. I recently found out that incredibly, my parents keep the heating on in bloody July! It was like a sauna in December, lord knows how anything survives during the summer...

So after apologising for this shameful display of global-warming-neglect i'm going to turn the thermostat down a notch and huddle up under a blanket with two wonderful presents I received to even things up.

Firstly, as most of you know, both Joel and I are huge Alan Partridge fans; so much so that we once endeavoured to have a back-to-back Partridge'athon with all three TV series, plus the wonderful bite-sized selection of Mid-Morning Matters episodes courtesy of the Fosters Lager comedy shorts.

Mrs Caskstrength bought me the 'autobiography' of the great man to read over Christmas and so far, I haven't been able to put it down, save for eating another plate of turkey meat or sweatily removing my new Christmas jumper because of the heating. If you're not familiar with Partridge, you must from a foreign land, or just plain idiotic. If either applies, here's a video to help realise his comedy genius:

And to wash down this finely made trifle of comedy a dram of something equally tasty: the new Elements Of Islay 'Kh1' (or Kilchoman for those who don't speak Periodic.)

Speciality Drinks have really taken the whole Periodic Table idea to heart and the last few bottlings we tried (the Port Ellen PE2 and 3 and Lagavulin LG2) have really demonstrated an unbridled coastal Islay at its very best. Here's hoping that this Kilchoman will also demonstrate how elemental these whiskies are.

Elements Of Islay - Kh1 - 59.7%

Nose: Big butterscotch/toffee and milk chocolate notes hit first, with a blast of briny peat thrown in to counteract the sweetness. Some turned earth, hazelnut shells and white pepper develop over time and with a dash of water, a more medicinal peat emerges.

Palate: Wow, hot and youthful. The peat is fearless in its attack and a charcoal-like BBQ meatiness coats the palate. More smoked meat and iodine round out the coastal assault. Water brings it down a peg or two, giving some residual sweetness and a return of the pepper, but personally speaking I prefer the bold (and elemental approach) so without water it is for me!

Finish: Very peppery, with a touch of dried oak, some more of the heavily smoked meat and a lingering TCP lozenge on the death.

Overall: Although this is no doubt a young whisky, it is undeniably as Islay as it gets; fiery, bursting with peat and full of palate-grabbing energy. It won't suit every one, (post-christmas richness) but sometimes you just need something to get things started - and in the wise words of AP, is 'back of the net'.

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 Eleven

Our penultimate festive dram comes on a very wintery day (well it is here in the Midlands)

The weather is shockingly cold, rainy and miserable. Come on! couldn't we have just a little snow to at least make us feel Christmas'y....

Until then, here's a cracking suggestion from our good friend and dram'meister, Mr Ben Ellefsen from Master Of Malt:

Well hellllooooo....

"Leaving aside our own range of course, (gentle plug!) I'd have to say that that bottle I'm going to reach for on Christmas day will be a Glenfarclas 105, or an Aberlour a'Bunadh (doesn't matter which batch). After an entire year of tasting, sampling, and picking apart various malts for tasting notes and cask selection, I'm after something at cask strength, with a big, sherry-rich, mucky flavour to savour without having to think too much about it. Both of these bottlings provide exceptional value for money, too - so I can feel completely comfortable opening a bottle with the intention of finishing it with friends and family"

Wise words sir!

Aberlour a'Bunadh - Batch no. 15 - 59.6%

Nose: Big dry sherry cask notes, alcohol steeped raisins, dates, menthol, some earthy, compost/dried leaves and then dark cigar wrappers. Just nosing this is certainly cleaning the pipes.

Palate: Surprisingly smooth initially, then the fire starts to burn. There's no escape from this whisky in the flavour department; the dry cask notes are still present, but now rich christmas cake, more dates, some sweet cereal notes are developing, alongside some decidedly lighter and more delicate fruity/barley sugar flavours.

Finish: Resinous, powerful and spicy, with a little licorice developing as the palate dries.

Tomorrow's post will be our last festive dram suggestions before the big day and both Joel and I will take the honours... Jingle Bells!!

The Twelve Drams Of Christmas - Part Ten

Today's dram comes from the prescriber of all things good. A man who quite possibly purchased his doctor-ship in whisky from a drunken gentleman in Uganda, but we'll forgive him, as his musings for the past few years have kept us highly entertained and informed. Sam is also Global Brand Ambassador for The Balvenie, but don't let that sway your opinion on his choice below...

Ladies and gentleman, we give you Sam Simmons, aka Dr Whisky.

Sexy....

'I love whisky. And I love Christmas.

And my Christmas whisky is the same as it has been since 2002:

The Balvenie Doublewood.

(Long before I worked with William Grant & Sons!)

Do with this as you will'

The Balvenie - Doublewood - 12 yo - 40%

Nose: An entertaining mix of lighter, vanilla, lemon & orange zest and sweet caramels, mixed with some richer Oloroso sherry notes, dark honey and woody spices.

Palate: The vanilla, honey and orange zest all hit the palate first, backdropped by moist raisins, some fig and a big spoonful of the Oloroso. Very open and balanced.

Finish: Drying cask notes, with a long fruity/nutty note. Warming and most definitely festive!

The Twelve Drams Of Christmas - Part Nine

Our ninth day of suggestions is upon us and so far, we hope you'll agree, a tremendous list of whiskies to savour over the holiday period. But what if your relatives aren't as fanatical about whisky as your good selves?? Well the simple answer is you make 'em a bevy of bloody great cocktails!

We've extolled the virtues of Ballantine's Christmas Reserve since it was first released last Christmas- a brilliantly blended whisky from the Sandy Hyslop stable, with all the hallmarks of Christmas thrown in for good measure: Notes of clove, cinnamon, orange peel and rich sherry. It's warming, rich and definitely as festive as hell.

We love to throw flavours and ideas around in the lab (or the 'kitchen' as it is known in most houses) and this Christmas has been no exception. Inspired by possibly the best Mint Julep we've ever had during the Caskstrength Christmas lunch at the JW Steakhouse on Park Lane, we set about concocting a Christmas Cake-inspired julep of our own...

After playing around with different ingredients, we came up with the following recipe, involving a specially made Christmas sugar syrup made thus:



Christmas Sugar Syrup: 2 parts boiling water to 1 part demerara sugar. I made around one litre of this. Stir and once the sugar is dissolved, throw in a few hand fulls of mixed dried fruit (my bag cost around 60p from Morrisons), a cinnamon stick, a shake of nutmeg and a dash of almond flavouring. Leave to cool overnight and strain in to a jug or bottle. This gloopy, dark syrup should taste (and smell) of liquid Christmas cake.

The Caskstrength Mint Julep:

Take a julep cup from the freezer and fill with crushed ice. Add two parts Christmas sugar syrup, one part Ballantines Christmas Reserve, a cap of Monin Pain d'Epices Gingerbread Syrup and stir five times. Top with a dash of angostura bitters, a dusting of cinnamon and some orange zest, or if you're feeling particularly fruity, some orange slices. The perfect Christmas cooler.

And if that's not enough festive flavour, we invited London bar owner Fredrik Olsson of Kosmopol around to the Caskstrength bar to show us a few of his festive cocktail creations, using Ballantine's Christmas Reserve. take a gander at the video below for some rocking' (around the Christmas tree) creations.

Now you may have noticed that such was the power of the Christmas goodness contained in the cocktails, that Joel and I were practically reduced to speaking in Christmas songs.

So as additional bonus - if you can correctly identify three of the classic Christmas songs we mentioned in the piece, we'll send you a bottle of Ballantine's Christmas Reserve! We have three bottles up for grabs.

Send in your answers to: jinglebells@caskstrength.net

Usual rules apply: include your name, age and most importantly, your address and location in the email. Comp is only open to those over the legal drinking age in your country... Sorry, but them's the rules!

The competition closes at midday on the 28th December, so get counting and we'll select the lucky winners.