Adventureland: The Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 3

"I wish this was my record collection"

Aside from football, the first real hobby I remember getting in to was record collecting. The first ever 7” I bought, an early version of Supergrass’ Mansize Rooster on Backbeat Records, mesmerised me. Green vinyl in a psychedelic disco bag, the record appeared so beautiful, like a piece of artwork, that it kick-started a hobby which has lasted through to the present day.

The temptation when collecting records is to become a ‘completist’, seeking out every single release by a certain artist, from their first single on a local indie label through to their latest major label affair, all the while trying to find that allusive Japanese 7” with the spelling mistake in the label copy.

I remember one occasion when the debut album from Supergrass, I Should Coco, was released. A certain number of the 12” editions came with a very limited edition 7”. Having fallen in love with my local heroes from the debut release mentioned above and being well on the road to owning their entire output (even the scarce singles on Nude Records, under the name The Jennifers), I wanted one, nay, MUST HAVE one of these limited editions.

Being only young and without gainful part-time employment, I took to washing cars in the local area to raise the funds needed to buy the album. When the Monday of release came around, I was to be found in the queue outside Oxford’s Virgin Megastore (RIP) beaming with pride at the record I was about to purchase.

My attitude towards rarities such as this has changed little over the years, yet now my focus is on a different product, whisky. As I search avidly for interesting and unusual bottles, I have ended up in early-morning queues outside many different distilleries and shops (from what now seems like an annual queue at a rain soaked Lagavulin during Feis Ile, to a cold December morning outside Aldi) all in search of 'that' elusive bottle to crack open and try.

Of course, writing this site as well as penning articles for various publications, we are often sent samples of whisky or invited on distillery trips and to launch events, some of which we review on this site (Serge at whiskyfun.com has written a great piece on receiving and reviewing samples, which you can read here, a view to which we wholeheartedly subscribe) and in the greater scheme of what is approaching our fifth year of writing caskstrength.net, this is a relatively new development. Despite this however, the excitement of seeking out that rare bottle of whisky, being able to taste it and share the liquid inside with friends is still a real joy (see ‘Best Man’s Lagavulin’). No different really to sitting down with your buddies and enjoying the previously unheard b-sides on your favourite bands 300- only debut 7” over a couple of beers.

However, buying whisky is not a cheap pastime and like a good holiday, each spend is carefully considered. The latest whisky adventure I have taken my wallet on, is a hunt for The Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 3. The first releases, Batch 1, was only available for those doing the distillery tour in Speyside and when I found myself in Dufftown at the start of 2011 I was eager to participate in their show-around. Firstly, I’d never had a complete tour of The Balvenie before and secondly it enabled me to purchase a bottle of Tun 1401 Batch 1 from their shop at the end, having tried a sample at the 2010 Whisky Show in London. Not a cheap exercise, made even more expensive by the purchase of a bottle of Balvenie Rose Batch 2 at the same time (my sincere apologies goes out to HSBC Bank), notes of which were quickly written up.

Batch 2 was a slightly different affair. Widely distributed in the UK, finding a bottle at a retailer which wasn’t sold out on pre-order was tricky. I was lucky enough to secure a bottle from Milroy’s Of Soho after a tip off from a friend that they had some in stock. I was keen to get a bottle as I already knew about the quality of the liquid having tasted some at the distillery on a previous visit as well as at a ‘twitter tasting’ with other whisky writers, bloggers and retailers late last year.

It was during this tasting that I heard whispers of a Batch 3 release. With my appetite whetted from Batch 1 and Batch 2, this was not a bottle I was going to let slip off my radar, and so the hunt began...

In my research, I found out that Batch 3 was to be a US-only release. “This must be a simple job”, I thought. “Loads of retailers in the US will stock this. One must be able to ship a bottle to the UK.”

Wrong.

Only 1800 bottles of this edition was spread thinly across the 50 states. I found a couple of retailers selling bottles, with prices ranging wildly from $350 (Park Av Liquor) to $209 (Merwins), but none, not one of these retailers would ship to the UK.

Booo.

It was at this stage I resorted to ‘plan b’: emailing a list of friends in the US who might be able to make the purchase for me, receive the package and then forward on to the UK. My first attempt, a friend visiting NYC over Christmas, failed when they were unable to visit any retailer open during the holiday period.

Negative.

But the second avenue yielded success! A good friend living on the Eastern side of the States was able to receive a bottle and subsequently forward it on to me. International trade, it seems, is alive and well... if you know someone who lives in the country of release, that is!

Whoop!

The Balvenie – Tun 1401 – Batch 3 – 50.3% abv

A vatting of 7 bourbon casks and 3 sherry casks ranging from 1967 to 1989

Nose: Strong character of digestive biscuits dipped in sherry, some freshly cut red apples, a hint of cherry juice and watermelon and the classic Balvenie runny honey.

Palate: Perfectly drinkable at its bottled strength, this is certainly a Balvenie given away by a mouthwatering honey tone. This edition carried blackberry leaf and lots of great wood spices which, over time in the mouth, develop from a sweet, nutty note to woodier, drying tones with a hint of liquorice.

Finish: Dry with a big spicy hit, yet this mellows over time in the glass but is certainly warming. More of a winter dram, than a summer dram.

Overall: This expression seems to carry more dry oak tones and comes across woodier and spicier than batch 2 and batch 1. Given a choice of recent releases, I’d aim for the Craftsman’s Reserve Number 1: The Cooper over this, but certainly these editions are an exercise in how one distillery can produce differing characteristics in their finished products using a variety of casks from various years.

It’s been a pretty arduous adventure securing this bottle and it has been interesting to round off the list of Tun 1401s so far. Let’s hope the series doesn't go on too long, as it could lead me on a wild goose chase. Especially when batch 7 comes out, exclusively available in Hogwarts. For time being however, we’ll try and keep the search going, the tasting notes logged and the whisky shared...

I’m off to dig out my old Supergrass 7”’s for an extended listening session, while sipping on a large dram of the Tun 1401 batch 2. For research purposes, you understand? I Should Coco!

Game, Set and Batch

As the end of the year approaches, drinks companies are finally showing their hand with releases designed to satisfy the market moving into Christmas.

One aspect of bottling which various distilleries have been embracing recently is the idea of batches.

As (hopefully) the malt-ready consumer becomes more educated about their purchases, it is great to see certain distilleries celebrate inconsistency in their bottlings by means of a batch number.

In Speyside, The Balvenie are letting us all know which issue of Signature we’re slugging back (thankfully, batch two onwards is far more drinkable than batch one; very much their Star Wars to the largely forgotten THX 1138. Let’s hope there isn’t a Howard The Duck lurking around the corner).

Howard The Duck. What the F**K was George Lucas thinking?

Over on Islay, Laphroaig have been at it for a couple of years with their Cask Strength 10 Year Old and now their relatively peaty neighbour, Bowmore are well on the road to success with Tempest, who saw their third batch launched recently.

Batch Two was a huge fav of ours, making it into our Best In Glass list of the top ten whiskies released in 2010, as well landing the gong of Best Islay Single Malt 2011 at the World Whisky Awards. So the third release has a lot to live up to.

With Batch Two maintaining its status as a really excellent bottling, we were intrigued to compare the two releases side-by-side to see which should take the crown as THE Bowmore in our cabinet. So we sat down with a dram of each to decide…

Bowmore Tempest - 10 years old - BATCH TWO - 56%

Nose: Woody, with pronounced sweet maple/vanilla notes, butterscotch and hints of sweet sherry. The smoke is sweet, like burning freshly sawn pine. Indeed, there is a distinctly resinous note to this batch. Given time in the glass, the whisky develops a fruit crumble-like note and the vanilla becomes more pronounced. With water, the fruit and a huge citrus burst jump from the glass, with some orange blossom in tow. Lovely stuff.

Palate: Sweet, with candied apple sweets, toffee apple, lemon zest and a slightly peppery/prickly spice. The smoke is delicate and bacon-like, with slight charred/coal-dust notes.

Finish: Lingering soft, sweet smoke notes and an air of creamy toffee helps to complete a complex and well- developed dram.

Overall: This batch really shines on every level; it has enough smoke to satisfy the devotees, but the fruit, vanilla and zest, balance the overall picture fantastically well. High marks indeed.

Bowmore - Tempest – 10 Years Old – BATCH THREE - 55.6% abv

Note: The first thing to say is that batch three is noticeably lighter than batch two. The smoke on the nose of batch two is dustier and comes across as older, less energetic and more relaxed.

Nose: Coal dust smoke (a la Caol Ila) Cream soda and lemon zest, with a hint of lemon meringue pie on the nose. Some cut grass, butterscotch and white flowers.

Palate: Very sweet with smoked chedder and white sugar. With water, the palate develops a lovely elderflower note which grows in volume, so the addition of a few drops is a real must. Some blackberry cordial notes begin to develop too.

Finish: The smoke lingers leaving butterscotch and elderflower wine.

Overall: Batch three is much more akin to the Caol Ila Moch or Port Askaig 17, but without their confidence and assured nature. If batch two has the lolloping attitude of an old Labrador, batch three has the exuberant energy of a golden retriever puppy but without the experience. For us, it’s Batch two all the way...

So there you have it. Batch three is a solid whisky, but it doesn’t quite punch the weight of the previous batch which is richer, more assured and possesses a greater complexity.