Independently Minded: Glenfarclas 1981 31 Year Old Port Cask

I always admire an independent spirit. Coming from a music business background, there are examples upon examples of people having a passion, starting a business and watching it grow and flourish, mainly through taking risks which major companies simply could not take.

Examples abound in the world of recorded music, from Berry Gordy’s post-Tamla project of Motown (whose logo I had the distinct pleasure of having on the back of my business cards for a while, opposite) through to Richard Branson’s signing of a young group called the Sex Pistols, who had been thrown on the scrapheap not once, but twice by both EMI and A&M. Onwards into the 1990’s, would Britpop have ever happened if Creation hadn’t taken a punt on a band from Manchester that no one else wanted to sign...?

Today, indie labels still do a fantastic job of bringing us albums from the likes of the Arctic Monkeys (Domino) and Adele (XL Records), to name but a few.

This isn’t to say that being a ‘major’ is a bad thing. Heck, I worked for a major record company for a long time and, contrary to popular belief, we signed a lot of acts which wouldn’t have seen the light of day otherwise, with varying degrees of success, it has to be said!

Taking a risk was what it was all about for me and sometimes you have to wear the scars of failure with pride. In fact, scars just show experience and experience shows learning. And we should never stop learning. So get used to having scars.

But as for Scotch, one of the greatest ‘indies’ of all time is Glenfarclas. Forget Dufftown, this is Motown with Glenfarclas’ production values more a ‘wall of flavour’ than a ‘wall of sound’.

Throwing out releases as they please, from ancient Family Casks, to small quarter-cask release (tbc), these guys have been at it for years, gaining respect from every quarter for their ‘because we can’ approach. 

And the latest release from these little giants is a port cask offering, just for the UK and France. Only 480 bottles were taken from a cask laid down in 1981 and bottled in July 2012 and it is about to hit the shops now, with an RRP of £280.

Glenfarclas – Port Cask - 31 Years Old – 480 bottles – 42.8% ABV

Nose: Treacle toffee and hazelnuts are mixed in with the aroma of toasted pine nuts and olive oil. Over time in the glass (and this needs time) it opens up to reveal ginger ale, ginger snaps and sultanas.

Palate: Rich at first, with crème brulee topping of caramelised sugars, which finds its feet quickly, settling down to a creamy yet robust palate of ginger and lemon grass, with hints of red apples, summer fruits and, latterly, figs.

Finish: Spices abound with cinnamon and nutmeg the most prominent. White pepper springs forward to give a long and lingering finish to this warming dram.

Overall: Spices crash all around you in this dram, with ginger on the mid-tones and a creamy top end. A whisky which is at the same time both rich in flavour but not big and oily; more relaxed than that. A real drinker, not a sipper. Think Glenfarclas, but with added spice.

It’s great to see a distillery in the heart of Speyside (despite correctly having ‘Highland’ on their label) producing whisky of excellent quality yet at a price point which, quite frankly, puts others to shame. With a 30 year old at £123 here (yes, really) and a 40 year old at £274, here (honestly!) why would you not consider Glenfarclas to be the quintessential independent spirit.

18 Under 30 Part 6 & 7: Bitter Truth Travellers Set /Glenfarclas 10 Year Old

Christmas shopping in Central London is probably one of the most unfulfilling experiences one can ever live through.  Granted, only an idiot would decide to leave it until the eleventh hour, but we've all been there- (if not in London, then A.N.Other major city) sharing the desperation of similarly frantic shoppers, as they flail about looking for gifts that look thoughtful, but don't smack of 'last minute'.

This year, I decided to buck my rather lackadaisical approach to present buying and popped down to Oxford Street at 10.30am today-  and imagine my surprise!  The high street was practically empty, with the likes of Debenhams, Selfridges and John Lewis (all gleaming meccas for the terrified Christmas shopper) perfectly accessible and dare I say it - enjoyable...  Once inside, I managed to get pretty much everything that was troubling me before 11.15, just in time to celebrate with a 'Six Item' breakfast and a pot of tea -  extraordinary.

Of course, there are many other things on my Christmas list that require a little more effort than simply heading to a department store and seeing what takes one's fancy.  On the liquid front, I've already placed my order for a few exciting christmas wines, some wonderful tawny port (which will be one of our forthcoming 18 Under 30 editions)  and this year's edition of Ballantine's Christmas Reserve (the last two editions have come to symbolise the flavours of Christmas in the Caskstrength office, alongside the classic Snowball cocktail and box of 'Eat Me' dates.) It seems that Christmas Reserve is a little tricky to track down in the UK this year (and also a smudge over £30) but for all you festive fans who live across Continental Europe, China, Taiwan Thailand and Mexico, your luck's in and from the sample we recently tasted, this year's batch is rather superb.

For this post however, we're focusing on things that are much easier to obtain, yet equally exciting.

The Bitter Truth are two very talented chaps based in Germany, who back in 2006 decided to revolutionise the fairly stagnant cocktail bitters market by drawing on a wealth of research into the history of these essential high strength elixirs.  After creating a big buzz amongst bartenders across the globe with their our personal favourite,  Professor Gerry Thomas' Own Decanter Bitters (based on a recipe used in the 1860s by the seminal US bartender of the same name), the guys went on to produce probably the ultimate collection of bitters for the aspiring home bartender -  the Traveller's Set. 

Here, five 10cl bottles of their most exciting flavours are tastefully packaged up, giving you the opportunity to experience just how different varieties of bitters can have a profound effect on the type of drink you're making.  From celery and chocolate to creole-influenced flavours, this set works with just about any spirit you can think of (the chocolate bitters will transform anything using tequila and add a wonderful aromatic note to rum cocktails) and the beauty is that it will probably last you till next Christmas - we're still using one from 18 months ago and we drink A LOT of cocktails in our office!

Our recommendation is to try spicing up your Whisky Sour or Manhattan with a dew dashes of the creole and the orange bitters -  also using a sherried Scotch whisky in place of a bourbon or rye- (yes, purists out there will say that this is called a 'Rob Roy', but purists seldom pay for a round of drinks... and when we're buying, it's called a Manhattan.)  The results are simply superb.
This is where Glenfarclas 10 year old fits in nicely.  For an extra sherried hit, the 15 year old nails the festive flavours perfectly, but you'll be paying around £37 for the privilege.

Caskstrength Festive Manhattan (ok, Rob Roy!) using Glenfarclas 10 year old and Bitter Truth Bitters

In a mixing glass, add:  50ml Glenfarclas 15 yo, 25ml sweet vermouth (Martini Rosso is an excellent choice, but for a spicier, more aromatic note seek out Punt e Mes) 3 dashes of creole bitters and 2 dashes of orange bitters)  

Add fresh ice and stir for around 20-25 seconds, until the drink is chilled and nicely diluted (but not too watery) and strain into a chilled Martini or Coupe glass.  Express a little orange zest over the glass and garnish with a sumptuous Luxardo Marischino cherry.  

The Bitter Truth Cocktail Bitters Traveller's Set is available for £16.29 at The DrinkShop. Click here for more details.

Glenfarclas 10 year old is available for under £30 here and here.

The Glorious 105

As normality returns to the streets of London after what has been a sensational display of national pride, one's mind turns to the British traditions, which have seemingly stood the test of time and the letter of the law.

Yesterday was what is known in the UK as 'The Glorious Twelfth', a day celebrated on  country estates the length and breadth of the land ( and surprisingly, many notable estates across South London...).  It remains glorious to those who enjoy nothing simpler than donning one's stalking gear, polishing one's barrels and bagging a couple of Red Grouse for the supper pot.  Hunting legislation has marked out the 12th of August as the start of the shooting season and the day itself is often marked with huge hunting parties.  If, like this year, the 12th falls on a Sunday, the date is often postponed to the 13th, so we thought it rather timely to bring you news of a whisky release timed to perfection.

Glenfarclas are no strangers to high-powered drams of a certain calibre. Their fiendishly strong 105 release has bedazzled and bamboozled palates around the world with its heady mix of hard hitting spice, dried fruit and brown sugar.  Originally released as an 8 year old in the late 1960's, the bottling subsequently became a 10 year old and in 2008, to commemorate its 40th anniversary,  a 40 year old.

To celebrate the game season, a special limited edition 20 year old edition of 105 has been put together, released as a batch of 4,000 bottles.   Now according to royal records, King Edward VII and his shooting party once managed to take out 1,300 partridge in a single day's shooting on the Sandringham estate. Quite a remarkable number of birds really -  some would probably call this avian genocide, others probably a skill that would have won the King several golds at the Olympics.

Whatever your feeling is on shooting, or for that matter eating game,  in our opinion Glenfarclas hits the mark for a classic, big flavoured outdoor-beast-of-a-whisky, perfect for celebrating a successful tally of felled fowl, or equally suitable to commiserate one's party when the League Against Cruel Sports scares them all away before a single shot is fired.

Glenfarclas 105 - The Glorious Twelfth Edition -  20 Years Old - 60% 

Nose: Initially, notes of gunpowder (we kid you not) mixed with smoked orange peel, warming clove spice notes, fruit pie (apple and rhubarb) dark chocolate, fresh mint and a touch of white pepper.  Being that this is 60%  I am duly obliged to take a big swig without water, of which you will see the results below. Given a few drops of water, woody sherry notes begin to take hold, alongside a touch of burnt bonfire cinders, cherry jam and dark toffee.  

Palate:  Wow, hitting squarely with both barrels, the palate is blasted by an elephant gun of flavour, including more of the cloves, bitter coffee, mint chocolate, caramelised oranges and malt.   With a sensible dash of water, the soft fruits begin to get a look in with plums, ripe red apples and marmalade hitting the spot, alongside a backdrop of malty digestive biscuits. 

Finish:  The drying spices linger, giving this warmth and a distinct note of the morning after bonfire. 

Overall:  105 has always been a super dram, packed tightly with spice and punch, rather like a shotgun cartridge. The Glorious 12th Edition ups the size of the weapon, but gives it a distinct air of complexity and class-  rather like being handed an £80,000 Purdey side-by-side for a day's shooting.  

Pull!!

Glenfarclas 105 Glorious Twelfth Edition is available from www.glenfarclas.co.uk, priced at £200

The Old Man Of Ballindalloch

Well, here's a turn up for the books.  As we mentioned in a previous post it seems that a few distilleries are raising the stakes by releasing some truly striking bottlings in preparation for the Queen's Jubilee of varying ages.    

Well not Glenfarclas.   George and his team haven't jumped on the 'Jubilimpics' bandwagon, yet are releasing their oldest expression in the distillery's history.  A single cask, filled in 1953 has been purchased by Polish finance company, Wealth Solutions, released exclusively by Master Of Malt and by the looks of things, the 400 or so bottles are well on their way to becoming the stuff of legend.  George Grant jokingly mentions that he wasn't even born when cask 1674 was filled and that it was his grandfather, who was in charge of the distillery.

The bottling was chosen from one of four casks of the oldest whiskies in Glenfarclas' warehouse and was bottled 47.2%.

On closer inspection, the rather grand miniature we have been sent of this ancient liquid is not the robust dark, tannic colour one would expect for a whisky nearing 60 years old, but as always, appearances can be deceiving, so the only way to truly judge this elder gent's talents are to pour a healthy dram.

Glenfarclas - 58 years old - Cask 1674 - filled 20th November 1953 - 47.2%

Nose: Surprisingly light, given all that time in the oak.  Notes of lighter dried fruit emerge first, with apricot jam, chopped almonds, some sweet vanilla notes, balanced by a very light spicy note (hints of cinnamon buns, glazed with brown sugar) Further in, a sweeter caramel note develops, giving this a much more spritely feel than expected.  Old for sure, but still working its magic.

Palate: The tannins make themselves known with an upfront dryness and more of the spiced buns.  A return of the apricot, mixed with fragrant vanilla, more chopped nuts and cereal notes. A dash of water reduces some of the tannic influence, leading to a resurgence of the vanilla notes and this time sweeter fruit notes.

Finish:  Lingering oak notes, with a particular spiciness left of the palate.

Overall:  An elderly gentlemen, with all the stamina and sense of fun that an ageing playboy has, but with a wisdom and experience to back it up.  This is a surprisingly youthful whisky in places, with some drier cask influence, but make no mistake, it certainly has more life in it yet.  The Robert Redford of the Glenfarclas range. Superb.

Remember, Remember, the Whisks of Movember

November hits like a chilling bolt of ice with winter jackets well and truly donned and the pumpkin you carved for halloween now consigned to the stockpot.

It's also a time to perhaps start contemplating how lucky we all are to be healthy.

Without getting too maudlin, which is never the reserve of this journal; gentlemen, we're notorious for thinking with our bollocks & talking bollocks, we're just not very good at thinking about our bollocks.

Approximately 2,090 men are diagnosed with testicular cancer in the UK alone per year and a staggering 899,000 are diagnosed with prostate cancer across the globe.

But thanks to the frankly incredible work of various cancer charities, the fatality rates for these 2 forms of the disease are being tackled as best they can - but there is always much more to be done.

Movember is a name which most guys are no doubt familiar with. But did you realise just how much they do to help bring funding to cancer charities across the world?

Since 2003 the team behind Movember have helped to raise £106 million. Last year alone the charity raised £48 million internationally, which goes on to help fund projects by The Institute of Cancer Research and The Prostate Cancer Charity.

As well as signing yourself up to 'grow a mo' for Movember, (which you can do here) the like-minded folks at Master Of Malt have for the last few years released a limited bottling, the profits of which have gone to Movember.

This year's bottling is a cracker; Master Of Malt have partnered up with Glenfarclas to release a 9 year old bottling, selected by George Grant and the MOM team, from 2 Oloroso hogshead casks.

The bottling will retail at £39.95 and for each bottle sold, £10 will go straight to Movember.

here's our notes on the whisky:

Master Of Malt/Glenfarclas - Movember bottling - 9 years old - distilled in September 2002 - 53%

Nose: Big wafts of spiced dried fruit hit first, with a robust nuttiness (almonds and Brazil nuts) following quickly after. The sherry is bold and brassy, wonderful well rounded fruity notes but some slightly dry sherry aromas to boot.

Palate: Warming, powerful and very chocolatey on the first sip. Some herbal/mint notes begin to develop, but the heavyweight dried fruit soon eats them up for breakfast. This is a big whisky, full of spicy flavour, but with some subtle depth too; the chocolate notes keep developing, as do notes of salted caramel and christmas cake. Mega.

Finish: Spice, liquorice and dried fruit linger, but develop into some sliced green apples and a little butter dusted in brown sugar.

Overall: It goes without saying that both MOM and George Grant have selected 2 absolute gems of casks here and this bottling is an absolute winner.

Visit Master Of Malt to grab a bottle and not only enjoy a cracking whisky, but help to contribute to such a phenomenal charity.

www.masterofmalt.com

Pun-tastic

Finally, The Ashes is coming to an end. And what a great conclusion it is. If you’re English!

I’m sitting at home, in sight of one of England’s most famous cricket venues, The Oval, which was also the stage for the first ever FA Cup final in 1872, between The Wanderers from Battersea who beat The Royal Engineers 1-0 in front of 2000 people. Two years later, the losers from the first final were again beaten, this time 2-1 by Oxford University. Not quite Oxford United, but we might claim this for our trophy cabinet...

As I sit here with my dram, BBC’s Test Match Special on the wireless and a stream of the TV broadcast from some dodgy site in God-Knows-Where, myself and my housemate have been playing a new game: whisky related cricketers. So far we’ve come up with:

Talisker Cook

Glenfiddich McGrath

and

Ian Bells.

I thank you!

Any one for any more? I think it is time to tweet @TMSproducer with this as an idea for a rain-delay topic...

The choice for this evenings (celebratory) whisky is the sister bottling of a much lauded dram from 2010 and a BIG Award finalist, Glenfarclas 40 Year Old, but this time we’re saving ourselves 15 years, with the Glenfarclas 25 Year Old, my “splash-out” bottling for Christmas. Thankfully, I have just enough left for it to see my through the last 3 wickets. Hopefully....

Glenfarclas- 25 Year Old – 43% - 70cl

I’m often confused by the ‘farcals bottling. Not the stuff inside, but the tube which proclaims “Single Highland Malt” despite certainly being a Speyside whisky... odd.

Nose: Wonderful butterscotch with vibrant notes of apple & cider sauce. With time, the sherry notes of rich fruitcake and dark, polished woods emerge but always backed with juicy, green apple notes and sweet sugared tea. Really tempting and complex. Vanilla appears with a long time in the glass.

Palate: Vanilla and strawberry notes tingle the tongue and as the spirit gives off the fruit notes, it is underpinned with dark wood dryness, a hint of dark chocolate and some coffee notes.

Finish: Even and rounded. The age gives just enough dusty, sandy notes with some of the apple from the nose spiking through, but also the rich vanilla, strawberry, some apricots and finally the subtle wood notes.

Overall: Currently sitting somewhere around £85 a bottle (eighty five quid a bottle!), this is a super dram at a super price. Wonderfully smooth and rounded, if you can level an accusation against this whisky, it’s probably that it is too easy to drink for a 25 year old sherried whisky. With a whisky this age, you almost want something that provides greater complexity. But at this price point, who cares?!

As the rain comes tumbling down, not only here in Central London, but also in Sydney, I’m off to think up some more whisky / cricketer puns. Now, who is this chatting away on the radio? Oh, its Auchentoshan Warne.

I’ll get my coat.

BIG AWARDS - THE WINNER IS ANNOUNCED!!

Well, here it is folks, the moment you've been waiting for... from our list of 10 incredible, inspirational drams, we have the great honour of announcing the overall winner of the 2010 Best In Glass awards.

Yesterday, at a secret location in central London, 5 men sat down to discuss the fate of our short list.

Ben Ellefsen- director supremo of Master Of Malt

Ryan Chetiyawardana - Cocktail supremo and top barman at the now legendary 69 Colebrooke Row

Sam Simmons - Global Ambassador for The Balvenie and known to millions simply as Dr Whisky. We certainly had a prescription for him.

plus 2 shabby drunken reprobates.

The format was the same- 10 whiskies, initially nosed and tasted blind, were whittled down to a shortlist of 3, with one overall winner.

And, to use the vernacular of a slightly pubescent teenager "OMG- how hard was that!!"

This year, the standards were exceptional. We argued, mulled, ummed and arrrred, at one point finding that we had spent nearly the best part of an hour exploring the fine differences between a 4yo and a 40yo.

Something had to give- and in the end, we managed to nail our top 3.

So our 2 runners up, or as they are, 'highly commended' bottlings were:

Yamazaki 1984- The panel feeling this whisky was a masterpiece of whisky making, displaying a broad symphony of oriental flavours.

Glenfarclas 40 yo - Big, bold intense flavours, with lots of distillery character.

but this year's overall winner, by a whisker is.....

Berrys' Own Selection - Ledaig 2005 - single cask bottling

Yet again, a young whisky triumphs over age. The panel felt that the whisky exhibited some huge flavours and extraordinary cask choice. Well done to Doug and all over at Berry Brothers & Rudd for continued excellence with their bottlings. If you can lay your hands on a bottle of this- GRAB ONE NOW!!

That's it for another year folks. See you, same time, same place next year!

ps.... as you'll see by the dusty old spitoon...

not a drop was wasted.

Scotch 75

Many of you may remember that Joel, the other half of Caskstrength last year celebrated his 30th birthday in style at London's SMWS, with a whole host of whiskies from his birth year of 1979.

Being that bit older (my birthday is in 1975) I am less inclined to feel celebratory about the impending prospect of my next milestone birthday being the big 40. However, I am feeling a little better considering just how many great whiskies were made in 1975. So rather than wait until 39 years and 10 months to start collecting for the inevitable party, (hey, hope Mrs Caskstrength is reading this) i've begun my stockpiling now, whilst they're still relatively reasonably priced.

A couple of months ago we reviewed a particularly great Berry Bros Glenlossie from 1975, which is absolutely on the list. I've also rooted out a superb Linlithgow from the Murray McDavid Mission range, notes of which will feature on our Warehouse shortly.

Last week, I was lucky enough to try a really cracking array of handsome devils from '75, courtesy of Master Of Malt's 'Drinks By The Dram' collection. Anyone considering a similar project to myself, would be wise to see what they have on offer from certain years- it's a great way to effectively try before you buy and avoid any disappointment when all your assembled party guests are anxiously waiting for you to pop the cork on your prized selection!!

Imagine the scene, as you take your first sip from a bottle you've been waiting 5 years to try...

'Oh. It's a little bit bitter and woody'. To which your irritating uncle (who somehow gained an invite to the party) will no doubt quip 'Get used to it, now you're 40!...it's all down hill from here, son...'

3 drams which caught my attention are listed below... Did they have the WOW factor? Or are they reaching for the Viagra and a pair of slippers....

Glenfarclas - The Family Cask Series - 1975 - 51.4%

Nose: Big healthy dose of sherrywood for this oldie, folks, but not overly drying. There’s perhaps a slightly fruity aged cognac note, combined with a touch of menthol and some chocolate covered raisins.

Palate: Dark sugar, treacle and then prunes, figs and those chocolate covered raisins all come to the fore. There is a slight dustiness, but no real hint of over-oaking here.

Finish: The figs lead into a slightly spicy Christmas pudding note, giving the finish a wonderful warming length indeed.

Overall: A great example of Glenfarclas at its best. The cask selection for this age is superb and I’ll certainly be considering this for the party!

Ardbeg -1975 - 43% bottled in 1999

Nose: Dessicated coconut, dry wine notes, herb/fern notes, very medicinal peated notes classic swimming pool notes, sweet red berries and fresh cream. Superb nose, similar to the '77 but perhaps a bit sweeter and fruity.

Palate: Slight notes of wet cardboard/chewed paper, hints of pepper and a little licorice, quality chocolates, dry chardonnay notes and some iodine peatiness. It is a little thinner than the nose would suggest, and quite dusty.

Finish: The dusty notes linger with some of the lightweight peat, milk chocolate and a dusting of cocoa coating the palate. It shows sign of age now and is certainly a different beast to anything produced by the distillery in the last 20 years.

Overall: The nose displays some solid character, giving you a wonderful insight into the distillery character 4 decades ago. Sadly, on the palate it isn't as brilliant as perhaps the 1977 or the superb 1974 single cask bottlings, losing something through its weakness in strength.

Glenrothes – 32 yo – Distilled in December 1975 - refill Hogshead - Old Malt Cask (Douglas Laing) 50%

Nose: A definite note of initial waxiness, demerera sugar, ripe pears and clean, malty cereal notes.

Palate: The fruit really develops across the palate, with more of the pear developing into some tropical fruit flavours. Further in, lingering wax notes emerge, with a slightly rum like sweetness.

Finish: Pleasant spice note develops as the palate dries, more of the rum like fruity-sweetness, with a cedary woodiness developing on the death.

Overall: Very good and drinkable indeed. This bottling has managed to grow old gracefully, retaining some of its more youthful character, whilst maturing and softening nicely.

All the above whiskies are available from www.masterofmalt.com