Well that all happened pretty quickly... It gives us great pleasure to report that our Caskstrength and Carry On bottling of Arran officially sold out just 4 days after going on sale. Thanks to everyone who decided to buy a bottle and we really hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Fortunately, if you did want to try it, all is not lost. Master Of Malt are offering it in their Drinks By The Dram series, for the very reasonable £3.99.
As we started at the letter 'A', it seems rude not to try to bottle the alphabet of whisky now...expect an update on 'B' sometime soon...
Competition Time!!
We can happily report that one bottle was held back and we've decided to give it away as a competition prize! It is signed by James MacTaggert, Master Distiller at Arran and if you fancy trying your hand at winning it, all you need to do is follow this simple procedure:
At 12pm onFriday 15th July, we'll be selecting one winner at random and the Arran will be winging its way over to you!!
Obviously you'll need to be over 18 years old to enter if you're a UK resident or over the legal drinking age in your country of residence. We'll be checking... ;-)
And that's not all... In one of the boxes which hold the bottles, Joel and I placed a special golden ticket. If you've bought this bottle (take the bottle out and have a look) follow the instructions and you'll bag yourself an additional single cask bottle of Arran!!
Man, we're too good to you lot. ;-)
Changing the subject slightly, there's a excellent event happening next Monday 11th July,for ladies only!
At Boisdale Canary Wharf, cigar connoisseur Ms Lalla Kaur is teaming up with Chivas/The Glenlivet ambassador Phil Huckle for the launch of the First Ever 'Ladies Only Event' , featuring an evening of Cigars, Cocktails and Canapes.
Here's a list of the goods you ladies will be able to enjoy:
The Cigar:
Hoyo De Monterry
Epicure No. 1
46rg 5 3/8” smoking time: up to 45 minutes
The Cocktails:
Summer Wind
Blood & Sand
The Whiskies:
Chivas Regal 18yo
The Glenlivet 18yo
£30 per person. To book, please contact rob@boisdale-cw.co.uk or call 020 7715 5818
In two weeks time, Neil and I shall be making our fifth (fourth for the blog) visit to the Feis Ile, Islay’s Festival of music And whisky. As usual we shall be driving up, kipping somewhere en route and making our way across on the CalMac ferry, provided that Neil has booked us on the correct crossing this year! It is always a festival we look forward to, despite the increasingly competitive nature of the distillery shops when the bottlings are released and we shall be doing our utmost to blog every day from each distillery, hopefully bringing an irreverently packaged slice of Islay to those who can't make it over.
One event that seems to have been left behind in the wake of the Islay revival, is the Spirit Of Speyside Festival. Last week, Caskstrength and a few otherwhiskyblogs were invited up to the event by Chivas Brothers. No long car rides, no motorway service stations and certainly no Ginsters pasties were required to bring you news from this gathering; just a quick train to Gatwick and before you could say 'Spirit of Speyside', we were in Aberdeen awaiting the start of a busy schedule.
For those of you who have never been, Speyside covers a large area of the Scottish Highlands and has around 40 single malt distilleries open or mothballed and many others, which live on through rare and unusual bottlings. This makes the idea of bringing them all together for one week of festival fun a rather daunting task, but kudos to the people running the organising committee, as well as to the array of distillery owners and managers who have come together to make this work. Speyside is undeniably the home of whisky and as such, the festival should be lauded as much as any event in the whisky calendar.
The itinerary for our three-and-a-bit day visit was rather daunting: One mountain, two 12km walks, five distilleries and numerous drams all to be fitted in around the Royal Wedding celebrations...
Day One:
The main event on the day of arrival was the Spirit Of Speyside opening dinner. Apparently the opening ceremony rotates annually between distilleries on Speyside and this year this honour fell to Knockando. A beautiful old distillery with plenty of character, it played host to not only an opening dinner but also the Spirit Of Speyside 2011 Whisky Awards Final Round judging, which we were asked to help out with. Six different drams, split into three categories;
12 - 15 years old
18 -20 years old
21 years & older
with two whiskies in each category, it made the task of judging the 2011 World Whisky Awards earlier in the years seem mammoth in comparison. The judging forms were the sort of thing we might expect if the referendum on the Alternative Vote swings in favour of the “yes” camp and if we can pair each General Election candidate with a different whisky, it might encourage the sort of turn out that this event drew; a new way of casting your vote, via the AV system...the Aqua Vita way, that is!
Just to highlight how jam-packed the festival schedule was this year, here are some other events that you could have chosen to do on the opening day:
Speyside Cooperage tour, Gourmet Heaven whisky & Chocolate pairing with Gordon & MacPhail, or bottling your own 2011 festival spirit at the Glenglassaugh distillery. So much to do and so little time!!
Day Two:
The morning kicked off with a tour of Longmorn Distillery. A real treat as we were being shown around by Distillery Manager Neal Corbett who is, shock-horror- an Englishman in charge of a Scotch Distillery! Hailing from the Midlands, Neal has an amazing knowledge concerning the art of distillation and as a result had to put up with a barrage of questions from us about cut points, temperatures and fermentation levels.
The real masterclass came when we were asked to nose a sample of New Make against a test sample, something that a team of highly train managers and blenders have to do once a week to make sure that each and every distillery from the Chivas portfolio is up to scratch. These guys have highly trained, bloodhound like noses which could sniff out a Rosebank in a field of flowers at twenty paces. Amazing stuff and utterly educational.
At the end of the tour, we got to try a 15 year old cask sample and the 16 year old, which replaced the 15 Year Old in 2007 (we have notes for the 15 here)
Longmorn 16 Year Old - 48%
Nose: Hints of dried fruits, leather notes, and toasted almonds all surprise at first, then with water, some of the classic Longmorn fruitiness develops, pears, ripe plums and a bourbon sweet vanilla.
Palate: Hints of woodiness, hugely mouth coating with fruit sherbets and well reduced caramel sauce notes.
Finish: Very lengthy, with lingering notes of cherry brandy.
Overall: As fans of the 15yo, we were pleased that this expression hasn't deviated too far from the brilliance of the original.
Longmorn - cask sample - 1989- cask 8583 - 57%
Nose: Big hit of vanilla, followed by royal jelly, classic Longmorn sweet soft fruits, sherbet and powerful floral notes.
Palate: Light, fresh and initially grassy, the fruit influence begins to take hold, with plums, bourbon cask sweetness, vanilla, lemon zest and a hint of dustiness.
Finish: Lingering notes of fresh fruit and bourbon influence dominate the lengthy finish.
Overall: Very similar to the commercially available Cask Strength edition Longmorn, more of which comes later...
After enjoying these two drams with Neal, it was time to take a break and head to the Highlander Inn, one of the most famous whisky bars in Scotland, to ironically catch up on the events happening in London. Ridley had managed to forget about the small sample of The Macallan Royal Marriage bottling he had put in his bag and finding it whilst watching the proceedings on TV made this especially historic occasion, even more memorable.
A wonderful occasion, a magical whisky bar and a fantastic setting to boot. We even spotted the perfect bottling for Tim TWE’s 40th: a natural born Playboy!
The day was finished off with festival dinner at the Aberlour Distillery. Not just any old dinner, but one especially put together by Martine Nouet, one of the world's leading experts in food and whisky matching. Each course had been carefully constructed to match a whisky from the Aberlour range - including our favourite- the 18 year old (rich chocolate notes, blood orange and deft hints of marzipan sweetness) A packed room experienced how whisky can be the perfect accompaniment to a variety of foods and Martine did a fantastic job in linking each dram to it’s respected course. A fantastic addition to the festival, this dinner is certainly one to be early to sell out for next years festival.
Day Three:
This was a day to test us, as it kicked off with a 12km walk from The Glenlivet Distillery with Master Distiller Alan Winchester. Alan is an absolute encyclopaedia of knowledge about the local area and walking and talking with him is like spending time with the great man Barnard himself. Facts, figures and folklore about the Speyside region are Winchester’s speciality, delivered with a rye smile as standard. The walk was challenging, but once at the summit of Carn Daimh Alan popped a bottle of Glenlivet 18 year old and all seemed well with the world. Ridley even made it up in a pair of plimsolls, a fact that had us putting Mountain Rescue into the speed dial of our ‘phones, just in case...
As we made our descent from the hills, where illegal distilling took place in the 16th & 17th Centuries, we arrived back at The Glenlivet to find that as part of their open day celebrations they had fired up their (legal) smugglers still. An amazing piece of kit, which replicates how whisky would have originally been made when many of the local distillers where hidden away in the Glens, trying to evade capture. The spirit straight from the still is sweet and strong, needing water to make it fully palatable. Once cut, it is easy to drink with lovely sugary notes and vanilla essence. You can really see why this Uisge Beatha was so sought after. A real treat for everyone who made the 12km trek, as well as all those visiting the distillery that day. The video here shows the still in action and the effects of the white spirit...
The afternoon was filled with a trip to Strathisla Distillery which, with the sun beating down, must be one of the most beautiful distilleries in Speyside. After a brief tour, we were introduced to the Chivas Brothers range of Cask Strength Editions, bottlings that are only available at each distillery, or online via their respective webshops. Released in very small batches, these are worth a real look with some very well priced (£35-ish) gems in the line up:
Glenburgie – 15 Years Old – 1994 / 2011 - Cask Strength Editions – 54.6% - 50cl
Nose: Huge pear notes, boiled sweets (white), white flowers. Very fresh and juicy indeed.
Palate: Weak lemon drink (freshly made, not cordial) pear juice again.
Finish: Lemons and pears again. Almost like barley water at times too. Very juicy and drinkable.
Overall: A real cracker of a bottling, we loved the previous batch and this is just as good with loads of pear juice and fresh lemonade cutting through. A great summer dram.
Scapa – 16 years Old – 1993 / 2010 – Cask Strength Editions – 60.9% - 50cl
Palate: Orange zest, sweet mandarins, butternut squash and a hint of coriander.
Finish: Good body, sweet sugars and orange squash.
Overall: A really solid offering from a distillery that produces a unique whisky. Robust and complex.
Miltonduff – 18 Years Old – 1991 / 2009 – Cask Strength Editions – 51.3% - 50cl
Nose: Dried fruits, pear juices but not as much as the Glenburgie, pickles.
Palate: Vanilla and soft ice cream, but that’s about it.
Finish: Spicy vanilla.
Overall: Not a great deal of character or personality in this dram sadly. More Milton Keynes than John Milton...
The Glenlivet – 16 Years Old – 1992 / 2009 - Cask Strength Editions – 57.8% - 50cl
Nose: Baked banana, vanilla fondant, boiled sweets dusted with sugar.
Palate: Big hit of sugary tea, a fantastic texture and notes of sauternes wine.
Finish: Crème Brule topping, dark honey and Lilt soft drink (pineapple and orange fizz).
Overall: Good use of the key distillery characters to produce something that is clearly The Glenlivet, but differs from their usual range and has more in common with the Nadurra than any other bottling.
Strathisla – 16 Years Old – 1994 / 2011 – Cask Strength Editions - 55.3% - 50cl
Nose: Creamy banana ice cream, vanilla pods, ‘taste the difference’ custard, blackcurrant tart.
Palate: Toasted sesame seeds mixed with fruit sorbet, creamy raspberry yoghurt and pink wafer biscuits.
Finish: Biscuits with toasted almonds.
Overall: A close run thing between this and the Glenburgie, but this won out as our dram of the series. Well worth picking up a bottle online.
The evening saw a whisky quiz with various teams of locals and visitors competing for a prize of a bottle of Inverleven 1973 / 36 Year Old / Deoch an Doras. Thankfully, it was someone from our group whose team won the prize and we returned to our lodgings with the promise of a dram. We were not let down and as the cork was popped, we settled in to our arm chairs to digest the days entertainment and rest our weary feet from the long walk earlier in the day. It was a much needed rest as the following day some folk were departing before the dawn chorus, whilst others of us were in for more fitness with yet another 12km walk only this time up a mountain...
Day Four:
Gulp... what were we thinking. Clearly the spirit of Speyside must have been inside us when we agreed to our next challenge. Caskstrength and TWEB had agreed to traverse the highest point in the region, the whisky mountain, Ben Rinnes. Much like Ronnie Cox’s red socks, you can see the mountain from everywhere in Speyside. The view from the top, we were promised, was going to be spectacular. And they were right. From the near-1,700ft you can see 8 different counties, backdropped by an incredible deep blue sky and a whole host of distilleries, nestled in amongst the landscape.
Our guides were to be the ever-knowledgeable Alan Winchester and the indefatigable Mr Dave Broom, who along with Ann Millar from Chivas Brothers, had installed a geoscope at the summit to all the distilleries you can see. The walk was packed with whisky enthusiasts from across the globe, including some members of London’s Whisky Squad,as well as other writers such as Hans Offringa, Oliver Klimek and anyone else who fancied signing up for the event. We’ve complied a small video to show you some of the journey, as well as Dave Broom’s assessment of the view from the top, which can be viewed here.
Once the summit was conquered the only real rearward was a dram and what better whisky to have than Benrinnes:
Benrinnes – 15 Years Old – Flora & Fauna – 43%- 70cl
Nose: Nuttella, cherry jam and digestive biscuits. A big nose with lots of bold character.
Palate: A big mouthfeel with warming elements of copper, coffee and some dark furniture polish, although not in a heavy sherry influenced way. Plus huge Walnuts. ;-)
Finish: Some wood spices, with the cherry jam returning. Well stewed tea without milk.
Overall: Very enjoyable, even with the wind lashing us and the massive plastic cup. Would like to try this at home in the warmth, but it was a hugely enjoyable dram to enjoy on its namesake peak!
What you want? a F***ing medal or something??
After making a hasty decent from the top, it was time to make our way back to Aberdeen airport for the (rather bumpy) flight home. With ultra-clear skies for take off, we could gaze out of the window at the mountain we had just conquered and as the plane lifted in to the sky, it was easy to pick out some of the distilleries we had seen just a few hours earlier from the top of the mount.
An amazing trip, with plenty of activities on offer for everyone. For more information on the Spirit Of Speyside Festival, visit www.spiritofspeyside.com/
Luckily, here at Caskstrength.net towers we have some good friends. One such person is our mate Andy. A Northern Irish fella who now lives in London, Andy is a massive golf and whisky fan and sends this report down from the Barclay's Scottish Open at Loch Lomond this weekend. Lucky git... Finally you get a break from our inane ramblings to hear those of another misguided fool:
Hello! Here I am, in Scotland again for what feels like the third time in as many weeks (mainly because it IS the third time in as many weeks).It’s a perfect July day, grey, cold, and windy, with the type of rain that Vietnam would be proud of in the monsoon season.I also have 3 text messages from friends in London informing me it’s 31 degrees and sunny.(Note to self, don’t rub people’s noses in it when heading to Scotland.)Added to that, a 3 hour delay at Gatwick the night before had led to a missed dinner and an intimate knowledge of just how uncomfortable the seats are at gate 45.
However, you’d be VERY much mistaken if you think my damp exterior would lead to low spirits…I had the prospect of seeing some of the best golfers in the world play The Scottish Open along with a tasting of the Ballantine’s prestige range around lunchtime!
Off I set on the 30 minute cab ride to the course.Jim the very friendly driver, pointed out the Ballantine’s bottling plant at Kilmalid on the way and, in what felt like no time at all I had arrived at the course, grabbed a coffee and a bacon roll and nestled under an umbrella by the 8th green in front of the club house to watch a few groups of players come through.
Golf and whisky are regular bedfellows and go hand-in-hand like Russell Brand and Katy Perry, though perhaps with a little more class.I never set foot on a course without making sure my hipflask is topped off and in the side pocket of my bag.If you don’t play golf, and I know many of you won’t (oh what infuriating joy you’re missing out on!) it may not quite translate, but the tasting of a wonderful dram while walking through beautiful countryside with good friends is an experience that simply cannot be bettered.The fact you have to stop occasionally to hit a ball (and then usually look for it in the trees) very often does come second (insert joke here about Tiger Woods coming second…).
I digress, back to the present.After standing still for an hour or so, I was thankful to see a group with Graeme McDowell coming through as not only did he win the US Open 3 weeks ago, he’s a fellow Ulsterman and as I discovered, a fellow lover of whisky.He’s is also a Ballantine’s brand ambassador and gets personally involved in special golf commemorative blends.What a man. After following them for a few holes my heart began to sink as I slowly came to the realisation that “no, I would never be good enough to be a professional golfer” and “yes, these guys really are that good”.
Checking my watch I realised it was time for lunch followed by a much anticipated tasting.I walked up the impressive steps of Rossdhu House and was shown through to a fantastic old dining room which couldn’t have been purpose built any better for a whisky tasting.With the setting so perfect, the whiskies laid out and the golf on a telly in the corner, I wondered if life gets any better?(Just to reiterate, it was 31 Deg down here in London! – Ed)
Ken Lindsay, Ballantine’s Global Brand Ambassador took us through some of the background of the blend and had some bottles of the two key Single Malts that go in to the range (Glenburgie and Miltonduff), along with a sample of the blended grain that forms the base of the range too.A wonderful opportunity to taste the ingredients in their virgin states!While it’s fair to assume that the bulk of the grain spirit does come from the Pernod Ricard group distilleries Dumbarton and Strathclyde, not even he knows the exact blend with grain from all 7 major distilleries being used.In fact, anywhere between 35 and 40 different whiskies actually go in to each different blend from all corners of Scotland.
At this stage I must hold my hands up and say that I’m not a huge drinker of blends.That’s certainly not to say I’m a Malt snob, or that I don’t enjoy them; it’s simply the case that in the course of my drinking life I haven’t had the opportunity to sample as many blends as I have Single Malts.Added to that the general “down the nose” look that most whisky drinkers give to grain whisky, I must admit that I was very pleasantly surprised by the depth and complexity in the drams I sampled.
Ballantine’s - 17yr – 43%
Nose: A soft buttery vanilla nose with hints of summer spice and heather.
Palate:Over-riding sweet vanilla and fruit with undertones of creamy fudge.Balanced with a touch of citrus.Overall very smooth and balanced.
Finish:A fairly short sweet fruit finish which is worryingly moreish.
Ballantine’s - 21yr – 43%
Nose: A very floral nose, hints of cadbury’s crunchie, and sweet spice.
Palate:Sweet rich mouth with hints of smoke, honey, and citrus.
Finish: Very balanced sweet spicy finish that lingers.
Ballantine’s Limited – Release No A00553 – 43%
A special limited release with no age statement.A “representative” blend from the master blender Sandy Hyslop.
Nose: Rich fruit, brown toast, Devon fudge.
Palate:Honey, hints of coal, rich sultana type fruits.Very soft creamy mouth feel.
Finish:Sweet, sherry hints, spicy, and enough body to be very pleasing.
Ballantine’s - 30yr – 43%
Nose:Rich vanilla, honey, oak.
Palate:Hints of smoke, toffee apple, winter cake, heather.
Finish:A finish that stays for a LONG time.Full and rich, hints of liquorice, with sweetness from caramel tones.
I’m sure you’ll have noticed from the above notes, similar hints are common throughout the range and to be honest that’s what I was actually most impressed with.To be able to have a consistent thread through all of the blends to maintain a “Ballantines-ie” identity, despite huge age differences really surprised me.Obviously each has it’s own nuances and the age difference gives the older blends considerably more oak and richness, but the key flavours were still common to all.For me, the 17 YO, (for its simple drinkable enjoyment) and the 30yr for its remarkable finish were the two standouts on the day.Now I’m not one to parrot corporate identities around, but Ballantine’s use the banner for their brand of “soft, sweet, complex, elegant” and I’ve got to hold my hands up and say that it’s probably a fair commentary on their blends!
In the hour and a half I’d spent in the clubhouse, the weather had decided to brighten up considerably (people were sunbathing!) so with a warm glow from the tasting and a spring in my step, having checked to find out that Darren Clarke (another fellow Ulsterman!) was still leading, I headed back to the course and managed to catch his group heading down the 12th.
For the rest of the afternoon I wandered happily around the course immersed in my new found love of, well, pretty much all things around me really. The course looked magnificent in the sun, the players were bombing their drives 320 yards+, and hitting it stiff to the pins (You what? – Ed).I also had a lovely warm glow in my chest which lasted me right up until I got back to my hotel and tucked in to their considerable back bar.I began with a Yamazaki 12….. and well, the evening just carried on from there.
Extra Notes……
Glenburgie 17yr – A floral fruity nose which leads to smooth honey and fruit palate with slight citrus hints.Not a long finish, but very pleasing and sweet.
Miltonduff 17yr – A vanilla floral nose, with hints of candle wax leading to a rich fruity palate and quite long sticky toffee finish with hints of floral spice.
Grain Vat (used for the Ballantine’s 17yr) – Light honey nose with hints of candy floss and toffee popcorn.A vanilla/ floral palate with narrower fruit tones, leading to a sharper finish, which is sweetened by the caramel hints that stay through it. One of the nicer Grains I’ve tried to be honest.
A big "thank you" to Andy for his guest blog post. It must have been tough...
Yesterday, Chivas Brothers launched a “global campaign to advocate the importance and value of age statements to consumers”.
Chivas have done some research which basically comes to the conclusion that people buying whisky, be it single malt or blended, think that the greater the age on the label, the better the whisky inside*. As you will know if you read this blog, that’s a load of old bollocks. Last year, the winner of our Best In Glass Award was a 3 Year Old, in the Kilchoman. The previous year however, it was a whisky from the early 1970’s. The issue with whisky is not HOW LONG something is aged for, but HOW WELL it is aged. And neither should an increased age statement be used as an excuse to demand a higher price.
The most obvious example of these two factors combining that springs to mind is Lagavulin where you have a 12 Year Old whisky at a higher price than a 16 Year Old. And which is better? Well, in our opinion the 12 Year Old is better. A younger whisky which is better than its older counterpart, but also MORE EXPENSIVE. This is one example of a younger whisky being both “better” and more highly priced than its older counterpart.
If we were to expand this argument to a no-age statement bottling, then we should look to Aberlour: the No Age Statement A’bunadh comes out more expensive than their age statement 10 Year Old. And of course it’s more expensive because it is “better” (note: the word “better” is in adverted commas. This is because it is both our expressed opinion and that of the wider drinking community. You may feel the Aberlour 10 Year Old is blessed with flavours which could come only from God himself and if so, you’re totally entitled to these opinions).
So having said all that, let’s try and dig into the Chivas argument for the promotion of age statements on whisky. Let’s start with a little video on the matter:
Now, if you didn’t watch that (or you’re reading this via our mailout), then let me pick up on a major point made less than 20 seconds in to the video, where it states:
“Look for the number... A guarantee of Age... A guarantee of quality.”
Hummmm... no. There is no direct link between the age of a whisky and the quality of a whisky, as Chivas testify themselves with the Aberlour A’bunadh. Old whisky can be very good. But it can also be very poor. And the same is true with young whisky; it can be very good, or very poor.
From here on in, however the video gets much better. There is a genuine attempt to educate the consumer as to what an age statement means. It means that there is a guarantee of a minimum maturation length of the whisky in the bottle. And it is clear from the aforementioned research that a lot of consumers are not aware of this and thus it is important to educate and inform about the true meaning of an age statement.
It does sit awkwardly with me though that the initial frame of reference in this video is saying “Look for the age of the whisky as that makes it good.” This is a question I was able to put to Neil Macdonald, Brand Director for Chivas Brothers.
“It’s all about educating the consumer”, Neil told me. “We’re in a global business and there are certain markets where drinking whisky is a new trend and not everyone understands the impact and importance of an age statement on a bottle. It’s time we went out and proclaimed the benefits of age”.
And I agree. The more the consumer is educated about the contents of the bottle, the more it will help them to see through the marketing and make an informed decision about the quality of the whisky behind the label. And at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. The quality of the whisky.
*In their research, 94% of consumers believe the age statement serves as an indicator of quality and 93% believe that older whiskies are better quality.
