A Very Alternative Burns Night

It's no secret that we're not Scottish.  In fact, the nearest we get is that Joel's dad is from Oxford and his mum from Bergen in Norway, with Glasgow lying right in the middle of the two.  Oh, and Neil owns a very fetching Bowmore tweed jacket.  But as a couple of writers who spend nearly every waking hour living and breathing Scotch whisky and loving every minute of it, sometimes it's nice to take a step back and do something a little bit different. 

So with this in mind, this year, we decided to theme a Burns Night tasting we were hosting with a distinctly international feel.  A sell out audience of 60 rabid Scotophiles, one massive haggis, poems and stories from Scotland of old, all accompanied by some exceptional Japanese food, courtesy of the fantastic restaurant Tsuru, a piper (well, a saxophonist) and a magnificent haul of world whiskies.  

Our plan was to introduce the whiskies to attendees without actually explaining the origin of the whisky or using the distillery name- giving the whole evening a vague air of mystery and anticipation, which proved to be much harder than we expected. So, with our back against the wall, we did what we do best... and resorted to poorly constructed puns, analogies and crude descriptors.  Joel: 'Neil... can you describe Wales to me in a sentence?' Neil: 'Err... Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and daffodils?' 

Words and lack of credible descriptions aside, we were fortunately blessed with a line up of whiskies that did all the talking -  each with its very own accent and personality.  So with the food menu paired to perfection, we launched into a short trip across the whisky making globe, starting off our journey in the fine company of the Japanese: 

Hibiki 12 Year Old Blended Whisky 43%

Nose: Hugely fruity and plummy with slight wafts of fragrant licorice, rice wine, honeysuckle and when you dig deeper, some wonderful buttery/creamy notes.

Palate: A delicate yet rich texture in the mouth with layers of smooth malt and grain, licorice, some fresh fruits, lemon zest and vanilla.

Finish: Lengthy, with spiced notes and vanilla traces. Well balanced and thoroughly enjoyable.

Penderyn Welsh Single Malt  46%

Nose: Something deliciously fruity and perfumed, coupled with some white chocolate notes and some unmistakable chopped hazelnuts.

Palate: The freshness of the Penderyn is immediately there, but it is enhanced hugely by some lovely oily fruitiness, some country fudge, dried apricots and then a hint of drying wood.

Finish: Some lingering dryness, but it's fruit all the way into a well rounded and lengthy finish.

Teeling’s Hybrid Scotch/Irish Whiskey 44.7%

Nose: Initial soft fruit notes, some dusty books, white pepper, buttered brown toast and a slight waft of old lobster pots/sea air/iodine. Direct and very appealing. 

Palate: Very thick and rich on the palate, tongue coating and silky.  The peat smoke combines with a sweetness to great effect -  think a smoky version of golden syrup and you're somewhere nearby.  

Finish: Fresh, with smoky overtones and a hint of drying oak.

Paul John Single Cask Indian Whisky 57%

Nose: Milk chocolate, hazelnuts, fresh oak and hints of woody spice.

Palate: Hot and spicy, with dried ginger and soy notes, a hint of menthol, malty notes and a touch of citrus orange.

Finish: juicy, with hints of fresh oak, lingering woody spices and dark caramel.

Balconies Texas Single Malt 53%

Nose: Similar light orchard fruit notes to a highland whisky, with apricot, stewed pears, plums and vanilla.  Also a touch of dessert wine.

Palate:  Sweet and light, with vanilla, more apricot, chopped green apples a hint of light oak and milk chocolate.

Finish:  Short, with lighter fruit notes and a tiny touch of liquorice.

With Scotch whisky at an all time high from both a sales and quality point of view, it's no surprise that the rest of the world should be following suite and these bottles provide a suitably splendid alternative, should you fancy a foray off the tartan map for a change. 

Brighton Rock (s)

As winter wraps its chilling cloak around us, a trip to the seaside probably isn't up there on everyone's to do lists. However last week, we were invited to Brighton's Hotel Du Vin, home to the south east's Scotch Malt Whisky Society rooms to sample several of their new bottlings.

The trip from London to Brighton was a fairly tortuous affair, with trees on the line, the wrong leaves, farting businessmen and the overpoweringly twee sound of Justin Bieber, piped loudly from a teenage iPod next to me. It's at times like this that my inner Basil Fawlty rises up. Like David Banner trying to resist the transition into the Hulk, I furiously fought back the urges to snip the offending iPod cable discreetly with nail scissors. Fortunately, We had a hot meal and several fabulous drams to look forward to, so Basil was banished and we soon pulled into a crisp and bracing Brighton night.

The hotel has been superbly renovated and features an immaculate bar, behind which, you'll find a plethora of great whiskies. But for SMWS members, the hotel features a private room for tastings and it was here that our fun began.

London SMWS Manager Joe McGirr was on hand with 5 new bottlings from their extensive range, including an absolutely divine Clynelish and a downright bizarre Penderyn...

Here's our pick from the current outturn:

26.68 - SMWS single cask bottling- 'Morph and Minty' - 18 years old- 52.9% - 150 bottles

Nose: Butterscotch, wax jackets, Refreshers sweets, a hit of blue cheese and musty church books. Yes- a heady but superb mix of extremely diverse aromas.

Palate: Perfumed and floral notes mix with cereals, some waxy honey, mint humbugs, lavender and creamy homemade fudge. Wonderfully fruity and rich.

Finish: A hint of saltiness creeps in at the end, but the floral notes and a classic waxiness develops and you're left with a very satisfied set of senses.

Overall: Another choice cask from a consistently brilliant highland distillery.

Next up... Is it a Cognac? An Armagnac? Calvados? No... it's Welsh...

OK, so we can't really keep the identity of this one a secret, but the sheer strangeness of this, the society's first bottling from Penderyn needs to be noted. 6 years in a very fresh port cask has 'influenced' the spirit beyond all recognition...

128.1 - SMWS single cask bottling- 'A String Quartet of Flavours' - 6 years old - 55.6% - 233 bottles

Nose: Huge notes of fruity but floral Cognac, reminiscent of a very feminine VSOP. Dig past these notes and you walk headlong into buttery apple sweetness, with a distinct Calvados slant. the colour is absolutely staggering- russet red/brown.

Palate: The fruit develops, with port dominating at first, some talc notes and butterscotch.

Finish: Highly different- some lemon zest notes but again a drying finish really similar to a decent well-aged Armagnac.

Overall: It's hard to say that this is a decent whisky, as in all honestly, it isn't like any whisky we've tried for a long time. The cask has dominated the spirit to such an extent, that it is very one dimensional. But it's a dimension that displays how the use of interesting European oak can influence a whisky and because of that- this is well worth seeking out.

A heavily sherried Laphroaig reared its head (29.91) - with lots of big BBQ pork notes on the nose, coupled with a woody, slightly biting and dry palate. Also, the peaty 'chalk' to the Laphroaig's 'cheese' - a very handsome and light Ardbeg (33.96), with citrus, light peat and vanilla, mixed with cream soda and pairing very well with the Hotel du Vin's Creme Brulee.

But our attention was focused on our final pic of the night - one from Cambeltown's duo of distilleries.

27.85 - SMWS single cask bottling- 'Manly and Penetrating' - 12 years old - 58.8% - 209 bottles

Nose: Slightly musty, notes of wet wood and a slight damp warehouses. Then toffee, peanut brittle, marshmallows, and toffee apples.

Palate: Sherbet fruits, port sweetness, fruit gums, a hint of coffee and sawdust.

Finish: The fruity notes lead into slightly musty wine notes, with a little waft of west coast peat.

Overall: A highly entertaining and enjoyable dram, highlighting further that the society can root out some real gems from around the world.

As the evening drew to a close, it was clear that the SMWS continue to knock out excellent bottlings quicker than South East Rail can get you from Brighton to London. And nearly always at a reasonable price to their members. The pick of the bunch from this lot was the 26.68 and we happily took a hip flask full as preparation for the train ride home.

The Only Dram in The Village....

Joel, after a little too much Christmas pudding,
poses in his new catsuit.

Snow has descended on London and of course, everything stops working. So rather than head into town for the sales like every other crazy person, I've decided to stay by the fire with my faithful companion Bobby and watch a particularly festive scene unfold in Penge, where Caskstrength towers are located. Some of the neighbours have forgotten to take down their Christmas lights and i'm presented with a winter scene best served up a few weeks ago, with mulled wine and a few mince pies.

I have just finished the remainder of our Christmas pudding, but feel a glass of mulled is taking it a step too far (remember this nutter, who lives every day like Christmas day??) I fancy a little whisky.

So step in something different from the usual suspects- in late December, we received 2 samples from Welsh pioneers Penderyn which i'd been meaning to devour. Now seems a perfect time...

Penderyn have set themselves the benchmark of being the first welsh distillery for over 100 years after the Ffrongoch Distillery in Bala, North Wales charged its stills for the last time in the late 1800's.
Wales has had an undeniably lengthy association with whisky, dating back to the 4th century. Archaeology shows the presence of small stills dotted around Wales and Evan Williams, one of the names synonymous with American bourbon had family in Pembrokeshire. But as we entered a new millenium, the welsh distillation process was well and truly bought back to life, with Penderyn releasing its first whisky on St David's day in 2004.

The stills are apparently fairly unique in their design, created by Dr David Faraday, a direct descendant of none other than Sir Michael Faraday, with the spirit being produced at an astonishing 92% ABV. The distillery has always matured in bourbon casks and elected to finish it using Madeira wood. So we were very interested indeed to try 2 relatively different styles of whisky- a limited edition peated version and the distillery's Sherrywood bottling.

So, without further ado, let's get stuck in and 'Iechyd da'!

Penderyn - Peated - 2009 bottling - 46% - ltd to 5000 bottles per year.

Nose: A really interesting mix of slightly burnt, brittle caramel, some light floral notes and a mere whiff of something peaty. It's unlike other more obvious peated styles, in that this is not a dry, fireside style smoke, but very sweet and perfumed, almost aromatic. Dig a little deeper and you'll encounter hints of fruit salad and some cereal notes too.

Palate: It's clear from the outset that this is a young whisky and it feels like there's definitely a lot of room to develop, but there is certainly flavour tucked away in there; Hot and spirity at first, then a little licorice, vanilla, some dried banana and more of that bitter-sweet caramel.

Finish: Touches of spice linger on the palate and the last remnants of the vanilla leave you with a pleasant fresh taste in the mouth.

Overall: What this lacks in age, it certainly goes some way to make up for in flavour. Neither the peatiest, nor characterful dram, but something entertaining nonetheless.



Sir Tom Jones and Dame Shirley Bassey
- perhaps on an 'off' day.

Next up: Can the Sherrywood bottling delight us like the mighty Tom and Shirley, or will it be more Gavin and Stacey? (regular readers will know that I have a strong aversion to anything which features Messrs. Horne and Cordon- and their Welsh/Essex based 'comedy' does little to rectify this)

Penderyn - Sherrywood bottling - 46%

Nose: Hello. Something deliciously fruity and perfumed in here, rich and heady, rather like the aroma one could imagine when kissing the hand of Dame Shirley herself. Coupled with that some white chocolate notes and some unmistakable chopped hazelnuts. Very good indeed.

Palate: The freshness of the Penderyn is immediately there, but it is enhanced hugely by some lovely oily fruitiness, some country fudge, dried apricots and then a hint of drying wood.

Finish: Some lingering dryness, but it's fruit all the way into a well rounded and lengthy finish.

Overall: A real treat, with the nose being the most striking aspect of this dram. The palate again demonstrates a youthful whisky, but certainly well worth investigating.

Prince of Wales

Phew. So that was that, another Feis Ile under our belts where we had a brilliant time of whisky and community. Another big thanks to the folk of Islay for letting the world decend upon their isle once again.

So, where do we go from here. 110 whiskies in 10 days means our liver took a much deserved break of soft drinks and water for a week or so. However, during the surrender to Highland Spring (not Highland Park), one good friend had a 30th Birthday and I couldn't resist trying one of his gifts:

Penderyn - Aur Cymru (Welsh Gold) - NAS - 46% Vol - Nov 2008 Edition - Finished In Madeira Casks

N - A nice waft of soft butter, violets and just a hint of sweet desert wine, obviously.

P- Very soft on the mouth feel, this cuts in with a real sweetness that makes you think the whisky has spent just the right amount of time in the Madeira casks. Everything is there; butterscotch, heather and a little toffee apple. None of the spices I was expecting but a drinkable if not remarkable dram.

F - A pretty quick and easy follow on from the palate, this is gone in an instant and not in a bad way.

O - Mmmm. Difficult one, as it is the first whisky back from hundreds (literally) of Islay drams, which kinda skews our whisky senses a little. The overall feeling I get with this whisky is that there is not quite enough power and wood to the spirit itself, before the finishing took place, leaving me thinking that the whisky needed more time in Bourbon casks to take on some decent wood flavours first. It is a good whisky this, but coming off the back of "smokey, peaty whisky week" it just feels a little, er, tame!