Caskstrength Competition Time!!

It's Competition time folks and this month. We've been lucky enough to have been sent a copy of Richard Paterson's wonderfully informative biography; Goodness Nose - 'The Passionate Revelations Of A Scotch Whisky Blender'.

As most of you will know, Richard is one of the most legendary names in the world of blending and this book, spanning the length of his illustrious career, details many secrets learned along the way, as he and co-writer Gavin D Smith throw open the sample room doors and reveal their enigmatic contents.

We have one copy of this superb read to give away, simply email us your name and at:

Goodness Nose Competition

and we'll be choosing the lucky winner randomly at the end of April. Closing date for entries is 12pm on Monday 27th April. Good luck!

Richard also has his very own whisky blog - rare and prestige, where you can read all about his worldly encounters! also, In case you missed it, we interviewed Richard back in October about some of his greatest blending triumph's - you can read the full article here.

You can buy Goodness Nose here.

A Treasure Trove of Rare HP's!!

Seeing as we had whetted your appetites for all things Highland Park this last week, here's some more news to get your woolen knickers in a twist... Apparently after years of being consigned to the collectors wish list, the surprising discovery of a cash of rare 1977 Bicentenary Vintage bottlings from the Orkney distillery has taken place- in of all places Japan!!

The limited edition Bicentenary 1977 Vintage was originally launched in 1998 to celebrate the 200^thanniversary of the Orkney distillery. As you could expect the bottles quickly sold out, leaving many collectors disappointed. Until now that is....

Jason Craig, Global Controller, Highland Park comments: “We were astounded to discover this rare stock in our previous distributor’s warehouses in Japan. This is a very special expression of Highland Park and one which we thought had sold out and been consumed long ago. The Japanese have long been recognised as discerning consumers and collectors of single malt whisky and, as a result, a significant proportion made the journey to Tokyo and beyond. We decided to repatriate the remaining Bicentenary 1977 Vintage bottles to celebrate its extended Japanese sabbatical and offer whisky lovers a rare opportunity to enjoy this incredible single malt again.”

Just 694 bottles of the Bicentenary 1977 Vintage will be available, the 21 year old single malt (40% abv) coming housed in a bespoke wooden presentation box embossed with intricate Japanese inspired design. It is available from the Highland Park distillery shop and online at www.highlandpark.co.uk, priced £250.

Although this is likely to sell out again in a heart beat, it's a pity that it couldn't be kept at the original retail price of £69.99...

...And The Peat Goes On...

Continuing our informal 'peat month', in which we've seen reviews of Ardbeg Supernova, Bruichladdich Octomore and 'Futures' - we bring you the 4th installment in our peated odyssey -  AR1 from Speciality Drink's 'Elements Of Islay' range.  

For those of you who aren't familiar with these bottling's, they have set the bench mark in innovative bottle design, with their simple but effective labels, mimicking the type you would see on a chemists shelf, far from the traditionally stocked shelves of the local whisky merchant. 

But design aside- is the whisky any good?  Supernova was a head-and-heart warming dram and put a smile on our faces.  Octomore was a brash and stupendously peaty whisky, but lacked the refinements to make it a seriously great drinker. The Octomore Futures faired much better with refreshing floral and fruit elements.

The strength of the AR1 is practically identical to the the Supernova at 58.7% so we have high hopes it will also retain a similar, yet rich mouth feel...

Ardbeg AR1 - Elements Of Islay range - 58.7% - 50cl

Nose: Butter butter and more butter, with a side order of butterscotch.  Like the Supernova, there is some initial banana notes (Nesquik milkshake mix), Werther's Original's and sweet marzipan.  With a little water, the glass gives you an almost gas fire warming note and hints of medicinal bandages. 

Palate: The mouth feel is immediately hot and hugely powerful, with dominating notes of anise, spearmint and chillies.  With the addition of water, more delicate cereal notes come through, which blend extremely well with a wonderful sweet peat. The water also gives you a superb rich quality, which is very similar to the Supernova.

Finish: There is a lingering swimming pool note which prevails alongside the peat.  Very long and bold, certainly youthful, but nonetheless enjoyable.

Overall:  This is the first bottling from the Elements Of Islay range I have tasted and it was a really enjoyable dram.  It has a youthful quality which is brash at times, but the superbly rich mouth feel gives it a definite edge of classiness.  Stay tuned for tasting notes on the other bottlings from Caol Ila and Laphroaig.

It's Back!! The '10 Minute Dram with..... Glenmorangie's Annabel Meikle'

Continuing where we left off with Richard Paterson last year, next up we have a brilliant interview for your delectation with none other than Annabel Meikle, Sensory Whisky Creator at Glenmorangie.

Annabel has many years experience in the whisky industry, working with the SMWS for over 6 of them and, in addition to helping create some of the newest expressions from Glenmorangie's impressive portfolio, she also manages the Glenmorangie international Education Programme, helping communicate the nuances of single malt Scotch whisky to international delegates.

Over to you Annabel!!

CS: Describe your (no doubt hectic!) day for us…

"I suppose I have three types of day – one when I’m in the office, one when I’m travelling and then time spent up at Tain.
Office days are usually spent catching up with various colleagues – and getting updated on projects. There is always sensory work to be done in the lab, if the public knew how many checkpoints the dram in their glass went through – they would be amazed! Wine, sherry or port casks may need nosing so it’s quite varied.

When I’m travelling it usually means an early start, a flight, interviews with press, training sessions, tastings, dinner and a late night! And the same again the next day…and the next!

Obviously I spend plenty time up in Tain. I run an Education programme for our ambassadors. It is an intense week that equips them to sell our whisky with confidence. I’ll also look after press trips and sales teams from our global markets. There is always lots of whisky, delicious food and more late nights up at Glenmorangie House! "


How has your career developed since you finished studying- and when did you realise you wanted to work with whisky?

"It was complete chance! I studied at art college and went onto run my own ceramics business for eight good years. It was successful, but I realised I wanted a change so after a being a cheese buyer for 2 years I took a bar job at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Edinburgh. I was very lucky because I’ve turned something else that I loved into a career. I had lots of opportunities to grow my knowledge at the Society and I quickly became very passionate about whisky".

Your job title is 'Sensory Whisky Creator', which is the title to end all titles! Clearly, whisky involves the key senses. Have you had to hone yours over time to detect the many components in a whisky?

"Yes – I suppose I have ‘honed’ my nose through practice. It’s just like a muscle that needs to be exercised to be fit. I have learned to build my vocabulary of language so I can describe whisky in a creative way. As an artist my senses are sensitive – I tend to always notice the light, the texture of materials, the flavours of food etc and naturally and my sense of smell is a hugely important sense".

As a male dominated industry, whisky has tended to find much greater favour with male taste profiles. How active are you in developing flavour profiles, which perhaps draw more females to the spirit?

"In my experience it is difficult to generalise with taste profiles and gender. The world over I’ve been surprised by young women drinking very smoky whiskies or sherried whiskies which are supposedly the preserve of male drinkers. I’ve also met plenty of men who enjoy honeyed and floral whiskies, so I think all the rules are there to be broken! Our whiskies are created to be enjoyed by everyone".

How important is science in the process of marrying together different whiskies to create a great single malt - and how much do you believe is down to instinct?

"Science is useful in providing some of the background ‘understanding’ as to what may, or may not work. However, at the end of the day our whisky is going to be judged by drinkers’ noses and palates, so the instinctive, artistic side is more crucial here".

Working with Dr Bill Lumsden must have taught you a huge amount! How much leeway does your team get in creating new products, which will become the future classics in ‘tomorrows' Glenmorangie range?

"Working with Bill was on the top of my list when I applied for this post – and I’ve not been disappointed! He is an inspirational person to work with – full of energy and brimming with knowledge. As a team we have sessions where we collaborate our ideas. Both Bill and Rachel (Barrie) are chemists, whereas I’m an artist so the combination of our knowledge is interesting!
Be reassured – there are plenty of interesting experiments gently maturing in our warehouses….!! (this last part had us getting very excited indeed... ed)

Glenmorangie have undisputedly, one of the best wood policies across the industry. How much has this affected the current whiskies you are creating and will this become trickier as great wood stocks become depleted?

"We are exceptionally proud of our record and Bill can take much of the credit for this. Glenmorangie has always led the way with understanding the importance of good wood and the influence it has on the spirit. We need to educate whisky drinkers that much of the character of their whisky is due to the quality of the cask in which it has matured and not necessarily the age of the spirit. Because of the nurtured relationship between Bill and his cooperages we are assured to always receive the best that they can offer. We’re confident that our wood policy is one of the strongest in the industry".

You must have found some truly ‘desert island casks’ when searching through the company’s inventory – anything you’ve wanted to run off with?

"I’ve been exceptionally lucky to drink some beautiful drams in my whisky life time. The best have been shared with my father or friends. I’ve never regretted cracking open a bottle and sharing it – that’s what great whisky is for".

You travel a lot and meet many whisky fans- do the palates of drinkers differ over in say, the far east, compared to their European counterparts?

"There are always surprises – for instance the young ladies in Asia love our Lasanta that has a richness of sherry influence. They drink it neat or sometimes with a little ice. There are some strange drinking practices in Thailand and Korea – they sink a bomb of spirit into a glad of beer and swig it down in one. We have a lot of education to do here! The Nordics love their phenolic whisky.

Finally, for you, what’s the most perfect way to enjoy a fine dram -describe the settings!

"I love camping on the west coast or one of the Scottish Islands. The tent would be pitched overlooking the sea on a fine summers evening with no midges. Langoustines in the pan and a fine dram of Airigh Nam Beist to wash it down - heaven! "

Thanks very much to Annabel for her time and we look forward to hearing about/tasting some of those 'interesting experiements' at some point soon!!

Another Walk in the 'Park

Continuing on from our last post of 4 Highland Park expressions, we bring you tasting notes for their 3 older brothers and sisters. As you will have read, Caskstrength were enjoying the sunshine and good cheer of Crystal Palace Park and in particular, the company of several stone Dinosaurs, present in the park since 1852.

The 18 year old was our clear favourite so far and it will be interesting to see how it fares next to the older and supposedly richer 21, 25 and 30 year olds. For our detailed notes on the amazing 40 year old which we reviewed last year - and made our Best in Glass shortlist, click here!

Right... to business - and first up, let's pour a dram of the 21 year old...

Highland Park - 21 Year Old - 47.5% vol - 70cl - created exclusively for travel retail

Nose: Musty mushrooms and lots of damp, dark dunnage warehouses are the first thing that strikes the nostrils. The influence of the sherry casks is perhaps more evident here than any of the other expressions tried so far. Some interesting peppery and spiced tomato soup notes also become evident, as well as fresh mint and the faintest whiff of peat. This really reminds me of some of the recent Karuizawa single casks from around the same age!

Palate: The higher strength of this bottling really adds a sharpness as a very citrus and sherbet'y bite hits the palate, followed by something a little medicinal. Then comes some salted licorice, or perhaps even a spicy Pernod-like aromatic note. A drying earthiness appears further in, followed by some sweeter cereals.

Finish: Dry and lengthy, with more anise notes coming through as the finish develops.

Overall: This shows a much more sherried influence than expected and whilst it certainly has a quality about it, it is hard to fall totally in love with it. The finish is excellent and refined, but I still think the 18 year old shows it who's boss in the all-round pound-for-pound enjoyment stakes. It's not often that we can't get a complete handle on a dram, but this one I feel, needs a lot more investigation to totally understand the full picture.

Next up.... the 25 year old. A good friend of mine swears by this as his 'desert island dram'... will it make us fancy getting washed up on a beach somewhere, with only 1 whisky for company?

Highland Park - 25 Year Old - 48.1% vol - 70cl

Nose: Very fragrant marzipan and chopped nuts meet you on the first sniff. There is a sherry influence present, but only in the background. The main note which really works is a wonderful rich, zesty chocolate orange sweetness. Very refined and noticeably more developed than the 21 year old.

Palate: A lovely sweet fruitiness coats the palate on the first taste with a spicy undertone developing quickly, with notes of nutmeg and cinnamon leading into a grapefruit like sharpness then back to the richer more oily sweetness. The flavour of elegance in a glass.

Finish: More big bold oiliness leading into a warm, sweet richness which lasts for a very long time indeed.

Overall: The 25 year old takes a real step up and does not disappoint. Very impressive stuff, though whether it would be out 'desert island dram' is another question entirely!!


Our final dram of the evening, as the sun sets over a hugely pleasant day in SE London. The dinosaurs are shrouded in imposing shadows and I feel it's time to jump on the 'old Shopper' (Caskstrength's preferred mode of transport on sunny days) and head home. With any luck, the 30 year old will be a perfect parting cheer to the great stone beasts which have entertained and delighted the young and old for the best part of 150 years!

Highland Park - 30 Year Old - 48.1 % vol - 70cl

Nose: A familiar mustiness of old sherry casks kicks in immediately, which is shared with the 21 year old. It is drier, slightly sour and there are some hidden floral notes trying to escape. intriguing, but a little frustrating to be honest, especially given the openness of the 25 year old.

Palate: Nutty, (chopped hazelnuts) and more of that licorice and warm spiced notes that the older expressions have exhibited. This really does develop - and the end notes of rich cream, and dried vine fruits are wonderfully balanced.

Finish: The richness continues and the licorice and spice mellows over a hint of pipe tobacco.

Overall: If I had only been able to nose this whisky, I don't think it would have faired well at all, but thankfully, the depth of flavour it gives you on the palate and finish makes up for any early disappointment.

It's been a hugely enjoyable day and on my arrival home, i'm still thinking about the journey across all the expressions. In all honesty, I would have to plump for the 18 year old as my top pick from the 7. Not only does it offer sensational value for money, but has a dizzying array of flavour to excite and delight.