If You Like A Lot Of Chocolate On Your Biscuit, Join Our Club: Talisker and Royal Lochnagar Friends of the Classic Malts 2014 Single Malt Whisky Editions

Before you start asking us even more questions, the answer is: yes. The question: did we get to try the 2013 batch of Diageo’s Special Release whiskies. And very good they were to. As usual, there was the regular releases from Lagavulin (the always grand 12 Years Old), Caol Ila, Port Ellen (now on to number 13) and Brora.

Unusually, however there were some extra old offerings from Talisker (1985 vintage), along with a 37 Years Old Lagavulin, a 21 Years Old Oban and, the pick of the bunch for us, a 36 Years Old Convalmore. Not something you see a lot of these days.  

Now, there is no denying that this lot are excellent whiskies... but anyone who has tried to buy a bottle of the most sought-after of the collection will know quite how quickly they disappear. Trying to bag one is about as easy as finding rocking horse poop.

Couple this with the new pricing structure where a bottle of Port Ellen, previously sold for ‘just’ three figures, will now set you back £1500, and you'll see how many of these top end offerings are out of reach for a lot of consumers. 

(As an aside, unlike a lot of other people, I don’t see an issue with these prices. Diageo are just following the residual market in what it feels these bottles are worth; I wouldn’t sell you my house for 50% of its market value, so why should Diageo sell you their whisky for half the price the residual market deems it is worth?)    

However, these limited edition high value bottles do create an air of exclusivity, which is where Diageo have balanced out, to some degree, their portfolio of interesting single malts with a series of new expressions for their Friends of the Classic Malts club.

  

On offer, initially, are two highly interesting, triple matured single malts: one from Talisker and one from Royal Lochnagar which will be available in the UK, Germany and Switzerland. In total, across five expressions, there will be 24,000 bottles released.  

Talisker – Friends of the Class Malts 2014 Release – NAS - Triple Matured – 9,000 bottles only – 48% abv

Triple matured in: “refill casks, charred American oak hogsheads, European oak refill casks”

Nose: Big and strong, with some smoke, salt and a hint of toffee. It takes a while to open up, but once fully in bloom, the Talisker sea-salt notes are clearly there, with the triple wood maturation giving more body, with some light honey and heather notes coming through at the death.

Palate: Lemon and lime mix with peat smoke and salted caramel toffee. White pepper and some coal dust appear to give a full flavoured dram which just seems a little out of sorts. It’s like smoked lime pickle in a glass.  

Finish: Sour cherries, unripe kiwi fruit and a hint of peat smoke.

Overall: Well, we love Talisker 10, Talisker 18, Talisker Storm and Darkest Storm. This, however, goes into the same file as Talisker Port Ruighe... lots of flavour but, like a child whose family has moved around a lot, this seems to be a bit unsettled, a bit misdirected. NB: it did settle with time (and we mean a few hours here) in the glass, but was still running around the palate with a little too much enthusiasm...)

Royal Lochnagar - Talisker – Friends of the Class Malts 2014 Release – NAS - Triple Matured - 3,000 bottles – 48% abv

Triple matured in: “refill casks, charred American oak hogsheads, European oak refill casks”

Nose: A vibrant nose of granola drizzled with honey, milk chocolate and honeycomb. Some linseed oil, blackcurrant bush leaves and malted milk biscuits.

Plate: Rich and rounded, this whisky has taken well to its three different homes, picking up something interesting in each environment. There is honey, spices (cinnamon and cardamom), toffee again and a hint of red apples.

Finish: A really lovely dram whose spirit has been enhanced by the triple maturation and given a rounded balance of sweet and spicy.

Overall: A great example of how triple maturation can really enhance a tipple.

Friends of the Classic Malts can purchase these offerings for £80 per bottle at a friendly local retailer in the aforementioned countries, or you can pick up a bottle at Alexander and James, here.

Continuing in their theme of unusual bottlings for the FotCM club, which has seen an excellent Talisker 12 Years Old and an utterly brilliant Lagavulin 12 Years Old too, this Royal Lochnagar is one to add to your collection. Let’s hope the other three releases live up to this one and, at £80, it is a very fair price for an unusual limited edition. A very fair price indeed.

Talisker, Royal Lochnagar... you guess the rest, but I’m just hoping that Lagavulin features, especially at this price point! Sadly, we’ll have to wait to find out...

Time for Afternoon T? The Skye's the limit.

'Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight gonna grab some afternoon delight, 

My motto's always been; when it's right, it's right, why wait until the middle of a cold dark night...'

4pm on a rainy Saturday.  One of the greatest comedies ever committed to celluloid, Anchorman has just finished on BBC One and i'm still howling with laughter. The 'Sex Panther' scene really needs no introduction. If you haven't had a chance to see this film yet, your life is almost certainly incomplete and some of this review probably won't make a whole lot of sense, but all the more reason to rent it out!

Anyway, 'time to musk up' and select my own little 'afternoon delight'. Whilst Will Ferrell has, in my opinion, never managed to reprise the genius of Ron Burgundy, the particular distillery i'm about to enjoy, never ceases to amaze and excite. Talisker's recent bottling's have seen a tremendous consistency and in a lateral Talisker tasting we conducted last year, we were pretty much blown away by the FOCM 12 yo, classic 18 yo and the 57 Degrees North, the limited duty free bottling. 

Our good friend Tim Forbes (check his rockin' blog too) recently stunned us with an older bottling of 20 year old, which for me, set the bench mark of the distillery bottlings I have tried. Perhaps now is the time to see if that lofty crown can be stolen away ...

Talisker 25 year old - 2008 distillery bottling - 54.2% abv - 70cl

Nose: Brittle candied ginger, rich sweet treacle sponge, a faint whiff of something lightly peated, seaweedy rock pools and soft wine like notes.  wonderful, elegant and certainly not as heavy as the other distillery expressions. 

Palate: Really rich and oily with notes of black coffee, fudge, slightly dry cedar, spiced notes and a light medicinal note right at the end.  Again, not craggy and windswept like the '57 Degrees North' and considerably more mellow than the 18.  With a small addition of water, more wonderful sweetness comes through.

Finish: That's more like it...some classic peppery Talisker, as the palate dries out.  Lovely, lengthy and elegant.  

Overall:  Perhaps this expression is a sign of things to come.  Not Talisker gone all shy and retiring, but slightly more refined and delicate.  Some Tali fans will perhaps find this more polite than they're used to, but i'm all for some 'diversity'... something Ron Burgundy would certainly NOT agree with.  

As the last drops flow from the glass to my lips, I can't help but recite probably THE defining line from the film and- perhaps a maxim for life itself; 

' I love scotch.  Scotchy scotch scotch. Mmmm, mmm, mmm, There it goes, down into my belly'.    

For more 'Burgundyisms', click here...

A 'Classic' case of recollection...

"Wrap that scarf around tightly young fellow, you'll catch your death going down there", said a kindly old lady, as I was about to board my transport for the day... in this instance, a fully inflated, luxury fur-trimmed-double-air-mattress.

Hello?!... Crazyfool!! I hear you say.

My destination? the bottom of a very steep hill in Crystal Palace Park.

For once, not the ramblings of a drunken fool because, unless you've been on a beach in the Caribbean, drinking fine rum, you'll now realise that London, and the whole of our fair isle has been gripped with the heaviest snow fall for the last 18 years.

The city totally ground to a halt this week, as hundreds of like minded adults grabbed anything resembling a sledge and took to the parks with childlike zeal, all smiles, wide eyes and glowing cheeks. I was one of them - and for a brief two hours, I bombed down the slopes giggling like a twelve year old possessed (albeit with facial hair and a tweed hat).

This got me thinking. Do you ever reminisce about the first time you tasted THAT single malt? You know, the one that set your pulse racing and pointed you in the direction of malted delirium?
Well after such a day of recalling how much fun life used to be, Caskstrength thought it was high time to revisit several of our first ever 'malt encounters', in this case, from the Diageo 'Classic Malts' series. Will it be a similar feeling to that hair raising, 'whoosh' down a snowy mount? Or conversely, like watching a re-run of the A-Team: dis-jointed and best left in the past...let's find out...

Cragganmore – 12 YO – 40% Vol – 70cl

Nose: Pasteurised apple juice, hints of fudge and mint. Crisp Chardonnay, heather burning on a wood stove. Really lovely. Subtle, simple and delicious.

Palate: More apple juice, leading into sweet buttery muffins, covered in heather honey and brown sugar. The palate bears a striking connection with the nose, as more subtle wine notes come through as the spirit unwinds in your mouth. For a sub-£30 single malt, this is a total surprise. Brilliantly well rounded and expressive for its age.

Finish: Gentle, fruity and delicious, with hints of slightly smoky fudge turning up when you are least expecting it.

Overall: Cragganmore was the 3rd whisky I ever purchased in my pursuit of malt excellence, over 12 years ago. I’m pleased to say that there is a certain amount of resonance returning to this bottling. For the price, it sits very comfortably as a fine drinking whisky and will always be considered a Caskstrength house staple!!

Oban - 14 YO - 43% Vol - 70cl

Nose: Wow, I think i’ve just wandered into my favourite 2nd hand bookshop. Dusty, musty and intriguing. Hints of soft summer fruit crumble and hazelnut reveal themselves, leading into a very faint minted lamb note. Sounds all over the place, but some how retains its poise, without becoming a dog's dinner.

Palate: Peppery, followed by a really sweet nuttiness. Lots of sherry and dried fruit start to emerge, but somehow, this doesn’t feel as well put together as the Cragganmore.

Finish: Quite dry, with more sherry and a hint of...dare I say it.... disappointment.

Overall: The nose really gives you a slightly inflated impression of this dram- there’s nothing inherently bad about it, but other than the varied fragrances present, it is hard to lock down anything particularly memorable from the palate or the finish. Not a patch on the Cragganmore and unfortunately, not as good as I remember thinking it was years ago. More 'Faceman' than Snowman...

Lagavulin 16 year old 43% 70cl

We make no secret that we’re huge Laga’ fans at Caskstrength. Reviewing the recent 12 yo and Feis Ile bottlings was a totally pleasurable experience. As with the Cragganmore, our first forays into malt heaven were well-paved by the Oban, Talisker 10 yo (previously reviewed here) and 16 yo Laga' and it feels like the right time to stick a review up at last!

Nose: Gritty and intensely heady, this runs the whole gamut of aromas; freshly turned earth, carbolic soap, cereals, rich dark brown sugar and a surprising hint of Play-Doh. But make no mistake, there is no ‘Doh!’ about where this whisky takes you- it’s like returning to a welcoming warm bed and your pet cat on a bitterly cold day outside. Timelessly classic.

Palate: Fresh wholemeal bread, burnt brown sugar, green herbs and dark chocolate covered Turkish delight. Whilst this whisky can differ from batch to batch, it still retains some effortless pointers, no matter what.

Finish: Slightly salty but still lingering notes of fudge, peat, roast meat and herbs. Medium in length.

Overall: Another triumph for the nose and tastebuds. At around 37 quid, it really is worth grabbing a bottle for that long night, escaping from the cold. Believe me, it was the first whisky I thought of when returning from Crystal Palace with a burst airbed, feet like iceblocks and a smile as wide as my chilly lips would allow!!!

Great Scot! 2 Lags!!

New idea over at Caskstrength... whenever any slightly odd, unusual or rare bottlings come across our paths, we will stick up a few pictures here. Anyone with more information is free to contribute so we can fill in the gaps, so to speak!

Anyway, to kick off, great things often come in pairs- think about John Prescott's legendary '2 Jags'. Here's a pair of fairly unusual Lagavulins for you. 

I recently purchased these out of curiosity and am very keen to get more info about both releases. 

 

OB Lagavulin 12 YO- distilled in 1995 - matured in European Oak-Ltd bottling for Friends of Classic Malts. Bottle no: 09865 -  48%  - 70cl

There was a small debate about this bottling over on Whisky Mag's forum recently, but it still seems unclear how many were made available and what the markets were. This was bought from a German dealer and we're led to believe that it has only been released across mainland Europe. Judging by the bottle number, we'd imagine there's around 10,000 in circulation but we have yet to see any in the UK.  can anyone shed more light on the bottling?? Tasting notes to come.

Taste Still- Vanilla Peat OB- single cask- Distilled 1994- Bottled 2007- No. 1 of a ltd edition of 223 bottles- 56.8% -70cl

This was also recently picked up from a German dealer.  Although technically not labelled as a Laga, there's enough info from the dealer to confirm the contents, although very little on the internet as to the identity of the bottler.  We'd be really interested to receive any info you may have on this bottling, or on Taste Still.  There is a review on Whiskyfun which has helped massively, so thanks to Serge- but does anyone else out there own one, or have tasting notes or more information?