Cargo-ago-go

Howdy! Apologies for our apparent absence for the last week, but clearly B.B.F or ('Breaking Bad Fever') has taken over the Caskstrength office and we simply couldn't do anything else in the meantime in the run up to the grand finale...  

In fact, now it's all over, a light seems to have gone out in our world... Fortunately soon to be filled by the announcement of our very exciting new whisky release in the A-Z Caskstrength & Carry On series.   

Think 'D'... 

Think 3D...

Then be afraid... Be very afraid. Stay tuned to www.3DWhisky.com for more updates and announcements and remember: 

7/11/13 is 3D Day... @3DWhisky

But back to business. September has proven to be a terrific month for whisky events and new releases and fortunately, we've been hanging around a few of them (Breaking Bad permitting)

First up was the wonderful Cutty Sark Cargo event on the 12th September, held in Shoreditch, an area hipper and a Hip Hop Hippo in expensive sneakers and a chunky gold chain.   

Cutty Cargo was the first of its kind and a breakthrough moment for this highly regarded blended whisky;  Build a giant cargo crate in a cool location, fill it with very cool stuff: soulful dance artist Jessie Ware, DJ Duke Dumont, performance theatre, a secret speakeasy room guarded by a spiv, cocktails from 69 Colebrooke Row, a burlesque show and sliders, courtesy of hip London restaurant Meat Liquor.  

Oh, all this and 200 happy people, lashings of Cutty Sark over ice and mixers, shots with craft beers and suddenly, you have a blended whisky that's playing in a very different space to most others.  

Cutty has never professed to follow the pack and resort to Scottish traditions, heather and weather and a lingering walk from a lone piper. It was innovative, groundbreaking and contemporary back in 1923 and in its current guise, is still by far the best at breaking down the barriers to blended Scotch whisky that exist in the minds of younger people, which are easily pole vaulted by the white spirits category... 

Cutty Cargo was a test event and we hope to see this coming to many other cities globally in future.  The future's bright. The future's yellow and ship-shaped. 

Last week saw another pivotal moment in the rise of single potstill Irish whiskey, with the release of Redbreast 21 year old, the oldest expression in the Redbreast family and certainly the whiskey that puts aged Irish whiskey firmly in the hearts and minds of those who have criminally overlooked the spirit. 

The 21 year old is the 9th edition to the Single Pot Still range that Irish Distillers have created (which includes, Green and Yellow Spots, Powers John's Lane and Barry Crockett Legacy) and we were lucky enough to be hosted by master blender for Irish Distillers Billy Leighton, who demonstrated the considerable delights of the new whiskey next to the 12 year old and classic 15 year old. The 21 year old is again a mixture of malted and unmated barley, matured in both American oak and first fill oloroso sherry casks.  

Redbreast - 21 year Old -  46% 

Nose: Stupendously fruity on the first nosing, with notes of fresh vanilla, mango, passion fruit, kiwi, ripe bananas and coconut. Dig a little deeper and you'll find some drier spices, some subtle oak tones and a richer, darker caramel.  

Palate: The fruit and vanilla dominate here, with the tropical notes from above leading a trio of orchard fruits (plums, green apples and wine stewed conference pear)  The mouthfeel is fat and buttery, with a superb golden syrup note coating the tongue, before the woody spice of clove and cinnamon get their wicked way with you.

Finish: Lingering and dry, with lighter fruit notes on the death.

Overall: We've featured Irish whiskey a lot over the last month, with the Midleton Housewarming event, a truly terrific Teeling Silver Series 21 year old (which has more fruit than Carmen Miranda's head dress) and this just adds to the tally of greatness coming from the emerald isle.  

The Twelve Drams Of Christmas - Part Six

Seven shopping days to go now, so for those intent on hitting the shops soon, you'd better get a move on!! Of course, I say that with the aplomb of a man in receipt of all his Christmas gifts, which couldn't be further from the truth. Yikes. Better get thinking fast.

In case you're still looking for a decent dram, either for yourself or friend/relative/loved one/boss etc then we still have another seven whisky suggestions out there, including this brace of rambunctious beauties from TV wine critic and all-round blond-haired bounder, 'Jolly' Olly Smith.

Olly has been gracing our screens on programmes such as Saturday Kitchen for several years (the only man to dare introduce a dry sherry pairing with a fish dish, so we whole-heartedly salute him) and before that was, and we kid you not, a script writer for the universally brilliant Pingu!!

You can check out Olly's exploits here, but in the meantime, take it away sir!!

'Righty-ho! Christmas drams, eh. My choices would be Old Pulteney 21 year old for its uplifting bright spank or Bruichladdich 'The Organic' for its outrageously luxuriant creaminess. Hooray!'

Perfect choices for easing that after-dinner inflated feeling, we think...

Old Pulteney - 21 year old - 46%

Nose: Apple pastry, vanilla notes, some metallic/copper ,vaguely floral /aftershave aroma, into malted cereal (think Shreddies and you're near the mark) gooseberry fool and kiwi fruit.

Palate: Sweet, with more of the malted cereal, a dusting of icing Sugar, hint of salt, marzipan, stewed apples and a deft hint of spice.

Finish: A hint of drying wood, leading into creamy coconut notes, crisp green apples and a a re-emergence of the gooseberry.

Bruichladdich - The Organic - 46%

Nose: Malted cereal, cracked ears of corn (sort of sweet and malty) leading into an abundance of sweet vanilla notes, creamy custard and some freshly sliced green apple. With time, a butteriness emerges, with a refreshing light lemon tart aroma.

Palate: The Vanilla custard dominates the palate, with a little fanfare of orchard fruit arriving shortly after the hit of smooth creaminess. Coconut and sliced apples also appear as the palate dries.

Finish: Clean and short, with a tart fruit note.

Our next whisky will be chosen by a brilliantly-bearded titan of the whisky world. No prizes for guessing who.

The Twelve Drams Of Christmas - Part Five

Hitting our stride now, as the big weekend looms large, both Joel and myself feel chipper that the lion's share of our Christmas shopping has amazingly been done (in one mad rush down Oxford Street the other night, no less.)

Sheltering from the intolerable cold, we immediately feel revivified by our next suggestion of an ideal festive dram, this time courtesy of one of London's finest bartenders and all-round guru of liquid experimentation, Ryan Chetiyawardana. Ryan is one of the brains behind The Whistling Shop; a subterranean watering hole of mind-boggling proportions - part Dickensian gin palace, part science laboratory. When Ryan isn't feverishly working the controls of his Rotovap still, in search of a new dimension in flavour, he's the purveyor of some of the finest hand selected malts in the capital.

'So this is actually a perfect Boxing Day dram. Christmas Day for me is a mixed but usually entirely food-led affair. So a festive dram comes late Boxing Day, by a fire in an old country house! What i'm looking for is a whisky, which is rich, but not something that will put me to sleep before I beat my sisters at Pictionary. So with that in mind, my call for this year's festive masterpiece is Glendronach Parliament. A welcome after-dinner livener!'

Glendronach - Parliament - 21 years old - 48%

Nose: A rich and inviting mixture of woody, but fruity sherry and oak. Big hitting, thick PX tanginess, with a slightly drier, spicier Oloroso note. Almost resinous, but with a little waft of Italian lemon and orange zest to break up the Spanish party.

Palate: The spices (think predominantly cinnamon and nutmeg dusted cocoa beans) take hold first, followed by orange marmalade, some plump raisins and more of the lemon zest. A real mouthful and then some...

Finish: The oak, spice and intense dried fruit give this a lingering complexity. You'll certainly be bored with all your presents, by the time this subsides.

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.