Parlez-Vous Whisky?

Summertime.  Impossible to predict in this country, yet always so welcoming, especially after a tough few months of back to back projects.  After Caskstrength's busy event schedule, which included a fun and very bustling bespoke whisky bar partnership with Mumford & Sons for their recent outdoor summer UK gigs and a positively sparkling gin tasting at the Southbank Centre, it was time for a holiday and the destination for one of us was the Loire Valley in France to a remote farmhouse, perfect for idling around with family for a week.

Lois Ridley, with no wardrobe issues.

Now of course, when you're preparing for a summer holiday, there are certain demands on one's wardrobe:  are shorts really that acceptable?  How should one dress to avoid looking too much like a tourist?  Is black tie absolutely necessary for a provincial dining experience?  All these were vexing questions, cutting a deep furrow during packing.  I obtained a brand new panama hat before the trip (not the rolled, 'travelling' type) which also posed an issue regarding where it would sit in the car, without getting crushed by my daughter's extensive wooden toy collection.  Decisions! I thought a holiday was time to avoid making any but before we even set foot on French soil, I was presented with far too many.

One easy decision concerned which whiskies I was to travel with.  A lightweight, but beautifully balanced Glen Grant 10 year old would provide everything I needed for making tall, icy drinks, a Caol Ila 18 year old (in 20cl format) would provide some robust warming power in case the sweltering French weather was to turn swiftly on its beret'ed head and a Yamazaki 18 year old would provide a perfect counterpoint to the endless barbecued meat products we would no doubt be consuming during the week.  So simple there. Or so I thought.

Anyone who has travelled by car to France for a vacation will have no doubt stopped off at the many Hypermarkets dotted along the highways:  E.Leclerc, Carrefour and Inter Marche are vast warehouse-styled shopping experiences, totally out of kilter with the enjoyment of pottering around a rustic French village looking for a loaf of bread, some croissants and 200 Gauloises (I don't smoke, so I made this bit up.)

But what is truly astonishing is the selection of wines and spirits available - from all over the globe.

As I wandered down the spirits aisle, I was taken aback by the range in Leclerc, which rivalled that of a specialist UK retailer:  Single barrel bourbon, Japanese whiskies I have never seen close up and an entire section dedicated to exceptional vermouths.  The comes the prices.  Come on UK! Quite frankly, when you can pick up bottles of Four Roses Single Barrel for under 30€, Highland Park 15yo for under 30€ and the aforementioned Japanese whiskies for a fraction of the prices they appear on specialist websites, I can see why whisky is hugely popular in France. Needless to say, after spending 200€ on whisky on the first day of the holiday,
I thought I should probably settle down a bit and put my wallet away.

One interesting whisky which did catch my eye in a local Carrefour shop was from the Warenghem distillery, produced in the Breton region in northern France.

As part of my recent book project with Gavin Smith (Let Me Tell You About Whisky) I tried a number of whiskies from the region and was impressed by the emerging quality. Warenghem produce several single malts and a couple of blends: from a double matured (French oak and sherry cask) to bourbon cask matured whisky and Breizh, a blend that recently triumphed in the 2013 World Whisky Awards.

The bottling I bought from Carrefour for 15€ is labelled Reflets de France and appears to be a range of products, much in the style of Tesco's Finest - from honey to sea salt and foie gras, the range seems to represent French gastronomy at its best, so I was quite surprised to see a whisky featuring here, but equally pleased to see that French whisky is revered by its producers as highly as some of the country's more well known delicacies.

So what of the whisky itself?  Well, there is little information available on the bottle, short of the abv (40%) but a quick glance at the back label with my basic grasp of French reveals that the whisky is 'composed of malt aged for up to three years in oak casks, with an emphasis placed on the quality of the local water to add character to the flavour...'

Let's dive in, shall we. Will this be a French Fancy, or simply a case nonchalantly shrugging one's shoulders, the same brilliantly disdainful way that only the French do best... ;-)

(Breton top and Panama hat not included with purchase)

Reflets de France -  Breton Whisky -  Produced by the Warenghem Distillery - 40% - 70cl - 15€

Nose: A light, clean malty note opens up first, with a touch of dried ginger, some slight moist wood, some lightly perfumed powder, banana milkshake and a wisp of smoke perhaps? Just a touch, to give this a very entertaining mix of aromas. It is certainly young, but given a little time, a honeyed sweetness begins to emerge.  

Palate: No mistaking the light wisps of smoke here -  it is rich and oily, but still restrained - reminiscent of the lightly peated Ardbeg Blasda or Caol Ila Moch.  Alongside sits some fresh green apple, oaty porridge, an oak note, bitter hard caramel and a malted chocolate milkshake note.  Light and frothy but with a highly drinkable approach to it.  

Finish:  Given the age the finish is malty, with a hint of zestiness creeping through and a little sour cherry and light milk chocolate on the death.  

Overall: Now listen very carefully, I shall say this only once... For 15€, this is a really good example of a French whisky that one could easily get into trouble with.  Neat, over ice or as a highball, this is pleasant in all its guises and definitively hammers home that French whisky is not to be taken lightly. Whilst it won't trouble many of the serious malt hounds out there, it gets a tricolour-coloured thumbs up from us. Vive le Whisky Breton! 

Work Hard And Be Nice To People

In my eyes, one can not spend money badly on art. With the possible exception of dog’s playing pool.

Art does not have to be expensive. I recently purchased a fantastic print by chap called Anthony Burrill which plays on the Keep Calm And Carry On (notice a theme here...?) poster, but with his adaptation simply reading:

Work Hard – And – Be Nice To People

At £30, you can hang an original piece of work on your wall to enjoy pretty much forever. Why wouldn’t you?

Another such purchase was made about 8 years ago now. I’d discovered an artist called Brian Jones, a collaborator of one of my personal favourite artists, Jamie Reid (most famous for his Sex Pistols records artwork) and fell in love with a piece called So Square So True, which was basically a squared off red, white and blue Mod target.

Purchased and framed, this piece has been sitting as a centre piece in my living room for about 6 years, but it wasn’t until last week that I learnt something about it. And this gave me the shock of my life.

A friend of mine popped in for cuppa and to inform me they were leaving London to pursue a career as a crew member, sailing yachts for posh people around the globe. Sounds quite a good life, doesn’t it!

As we sat chatting, the subject turned to whisky. In a brief moment of silence, my friend pointed to the Brian Jones piece on the wall and remarked “Ah! Nice! I see what you’ve done there.”

Of course, I had no idea what he was on about but didn’t want to seem left out, so nodded and mouthed “yeah... yeah!” as he then pointed to the picture and said “Whiskey!”

“Whiskey?” I replied.

“Yeah. Whiskey.” my friend said, almost questioning my unspoken wit for something I had no idea I’d done.

“What about whiskey?” I asked.

“Well, that picture on your wall. It’s the flag ‘whiskey’” he informed me.

Totally confused, I had to ask “A flag for whiskey? What are you going on about?!”

“Well”, my friend went on “that is a naval flag and the name for it is ‘whiskey’. You hoist the flag when you need urgent medical help or to signal the letter W”

So, all these years I’ve been sat sipping whisky under a flag entitled whiskey! Serendipity indeed, readers. Serendipity indeed.

I’m no sailor myself, but if I did own a yacht, one of the first places I would visit would not be the sandy, sun drenched beaches of the Scilly Isle, the Channel Islands or the South Of France. Rather, I would head North to the choppy waters of the Scottish coast line and tour the islands and highlands from a costal perspective.

One particular area I dream of sailing through whenever I go, is the Sound of Islay, the straight between Islay and Jura, where you pass by Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila distilleries. On a calm summers day, this surely must be one of the most magnificent nautical journeys in the world.

But one could not be involved in passing by Caol Ila without a dram of their whisky in hand. We recently reviewed the fantastic new release Moch (which I’m yet to read a bad review of anywhere) and as luck would have it, we have a second, different Caol Ila to review today.

Picked up on a recent trip in World Duty Free, this 25 year old Caol Ila is bottled by uber-independent bottlers Douglas Laing for their Old & Rare Platinum Collection. Housed in an amazing faux-fur lined, wooden box this single cask whisky is one of only 260 produced at a cask strength 54.9%vol. which I picked up for a jaw dropping £70!

Let’s have a go on this beauty and see if the contents live up to the packaging...

Caol Ila – 25 Years Old (1985 / 2010) – Refill Hogshead – Douglas Laing’s Old & Rare – Exclusive to World Duty Free – 54.9% ABV

Nose: Dusty smoke as you would expect from a Caol Ila, but initially there is also some Worcester sauce and meaty notes of beef crisps, freshly sliced salami. With water the nose completely relaxes and releases some vibrant vanillas and fresh green apples / apple sours. Much improved with water.

Palate: spiky at first with the peat being over aggressive on the palate and the meaty tones from the nose muscling for some palate space. Needs a drop or two of water to open it open and then the full flavours come rushing through: candy apples, pear drops, sherbet liquorice dippers.

Finish: Neat, the peat and meat notes linger for a long time but when water is added the finish is softened, but the unctuous meaty notes still linger at the back of the palate.

Overall: An odd Caol Ila; not like any I have had before, due to the real meaty notes that it gives off. Needs water to open and soften, but this is still very drinkable even if it isn’t an every day dram. Good job it comes in a heavy wooden box, as it positions this whisky as a “special occasion” dram, which it is, but more due to its heavyweight flavour profile than rarity and excellence.

So, as I sit here under the whiskey flag I dream of one day being Captain of my own ship, navigating past the infamous Corryvrecken whirlpool and down the Sound Of Islay, avoding the temptress Sirens in the waves and pulling in to Port Askaig for a wee dram of Caol Ila by the bay with some fresh oysters.

Now, however, I must swap my oysters for an Oyster Card and my yacht for the tube as I venture out to the Sound Of London: planes, sirens of a different nature and the hustle and bustle of the rat race.

Oh, for the peace of Islay...

Gettin' Dawn and Dirty...

Last night, the the South London Whisky Bloggers United Front (SLWBUF) met at a quiet location to discuss the future of all things whisky. Well, rather than a summit meeting, it was Joel and I sat around the Caskstrength dining room table with our top mate and top blogger Tim Forbes. We decided to forego any heavy talk and do what we love best, simply pouring a few excellent drams and chatting about the time we (and our much-missed American pal Darrell) sat on a deserted beach near The Machrie Golf Course on Islay, watching the sunset and finishing a whole bottle of Port Askaig 17yo between us in a little under an hour.

I suppose this is probably deemed as a 'session' in many camps. Tonight we certainly had the tools at our disposal, but alas, no sunset. So we stuck on a DVD someone had made about Islay whiskies (quite nicely shot, but pretty, shall we say... 'in depth' )

It got me thinking back to how that Port Askaig 17yo was probably the easiest drinking whisky I've ever tried. Every sip made you want another. Not in an obsessive, nutcase P***head way, but simply because it was so enjoyable and - sociable. Of course, having your 2 mates with you in some beautiful surroundings adds to the enjoyment, but everything just clicked.

Tonight we discovered 2011's version of that session whisky. It is called Moch (meaning 'Dawn') and you are going to absolutely love it.

Make no mistake, we like Caol Ila a lot. We've reviewed plenty on here. But for me, Lagavulin has always pipped it to the post in terms of what I like to get from a peated whisky. The Caol Ila Unpeated releases have always impressed too, but I kind of felt there was room for something in the middle ground between the 2. Moch has just filled that gap.

Caol Ila Moch occupies a rather apt place between the dark, brooding and powerful coal dust Caol Ilas, such as the 12yo and 18yo and the light, bright and very much awake Special Release Unpeated bottlings. The peating levels are fairly low from what I can tell and the whiskies which have gone into this are fairly young. But before you start to rant about the never ending tide of new NAS whiskies... wait and try this. It works an absolute treat.

Caol Ila - Moch - NAS - 43% - 70cl

Nose: First whiff and i'm right back on that beach, with my mates, sunset slowly emerging. It has the exact same foam banana sweets note that the Askaig has. Give it a swirl and orange and lemon fruit jellies start to appear, the merest hint of coal dust, some floral perfume (honeysuckle) and butterscotch covered popcorn. An absolute delight.

Palate: Slightly gritty at first, then straight into toffee mint humbugs, fruit sherbet and a wave of really delicate soft peat, which acts as a blanket on the tongue, as the fruity zestiness dances all over it. The next sip does the same, then the next and the next. It's consistent and totally moreish.

Finish: The peat subsides and leaves a lingering ashy note, but the only thing you can think about is having a drop more.

Overall: Let me make this clear. This is a perfect whisky for sitting round with your pals, getting a takeaway, listening to the new Arcade Fire record or, if you're anything like us, just remembering a few enjoyable, slightly misspent times on an island which has left an indelible mark on all of us. Grab, open, pour, enjoy, re-pour, enjoy some more. Easy.

Many thanks to Tim for bringing this round for us to try- you can read his tasting notes here: