A Distillery With A View... Ardbeg- Feis Ile Day 3

Blimey, that went quickly. Usually, after the full force of the Feis Ile we're both feeling absolutely destroyed and ready for the return journey and a familiar duvet, OR totally inspired, thirsty to dig out more peaty goodness. This time around, as we've only spent a short spell on this wonderful island, we're very much in the latter camp and Saturday brings forth probably the highlight of the week -  Ardbeg's open day. 

Much has been made of celebrating the distillery's cult following around the globe and it's intriguing to see just how many peat'o'philes (is that ok to say?) rocked up at various retailers, bars and whisky events last Saturday, eager to try the new release, Ardbog. We even heard rumours that a flock of inflatable sheep were driven across London Bridge here in London, in homage to the brand's unique sense of humour. But for us, there is really only one place to truly dig down to the core of the brand and that's the Old Kiln Cafe, where by 12pm, hundreds of festival goers were already queuing to get started on the drams and the events that the distillery team had planned.  

Seaview's very own still...
(aka a wood burning stove)

We were fortunate this year to have landed a couple of nights at the distillery's brand new Seaview Cottage, next door to manager Mickey Heads' home from home. As holiday homes go, the place has been designed as the ultimate Ardbeg fan's dream come true.  The location couldn't be more idyllic: With a balcony overlooking the bay and the front door pointing squarely towards the warehouses, one doesn't know which way to look. From the Ardbeg Green carpets to the portraits of Shortie adorning the walls, everything is in-keeping with the irreverence of brand.  You can see for yourself here...

Ardbog Day followed on from last year's elaborate events and the mighty 'hand of destiny' (designed and built by the equally mighty - and all round excellent guy Yogi at the distillery) was once again presiding over the occasion, this time bursting through a giant peat bog in the distillery courtyard.  The events were similarly wacky: bog racing in sacks, a Krypton Factor-style challenge of dexterity and speed to load a wheelbarrow full of peat whilst traversing an tricky course plus excellent tastings from Bryony MacIntyre as well as unique trips to Texa Island with Mickey, to try a few choice drams. And what of the whisky of the day? Ardbog... Bottled at 52.1%, Ardbog is a mixture of bourbon casks with a few that have also been aged in Manzanilla casks, which tend to give a charismatic salty/aromatic note. The 2013 festival bottlings have been excellent (with the Lagavulin leading the way in our opinion) so we had high hopes... Battle of the Bogs? Let battle commence...

Ardbeg  -  Ardbog -  52.1% - 70cl 

Nose: A briney note hits first, with a touch of liniment, a little coal dust and a wee blast of menthol, all bog wrestling for your attention. Underneath, a slight liquorice root develops, with a sweeter tablet/vanilla rich chocolate note, some white pepper and a waft of wood smoke.  

Palate: The coal notes develop, with salt-crusted barbecued pork, some drying oak notes and a hint of sweet tablet again, backdropped by a luscious coating of smoky hickory wood. The mouthfeel is rich and unctuous and very easy drinking, despite its strength. 

Finish: Lengthy iodine and singed BBQ pork give the palate a formidable run for its money. 

Overall: Boom. This is absolutely sterling stuff, raised from the very bowels of the peat bogs, but with so much more alongside. Whereas last year's Ardbeg Day was a little threadbare in places, this is a full on 15-tog-patchwork-quilt of a whisky, bristling with character.  

Although our time on Islay was woefully short by previous year's standards, this Feis Ile has been one of the best yet. Looking at the burgeoning numbers at each of the distilleries, it could well be the most successful yet too- and proves that although the waft of peat is undoubtedly drifting on the breeze around the globe, the allure of actually visiting the island itself burns as fiercely as ever.   

Lagavulin and the Smooth Moves. Islay's tremendous Jazz Festival

Before I start this piece, I will just point out, that I do like Jazz -  well... some bits of it, being that it is a wildly diverse canon of music.  From the classic Columbia records released by Miles Davis, to the big band-be-bop experimentalism of the late Don Ellis, Jazz has entered many facets of my life in the past.  For a short time, I worked closely on a number of film and theatre soundtracks, and being heavily influenced by the likes of Lalo Schifrin, John Barry and Ennio Morricone the dynamic, jet age styling that these composers often took was like a whole new world of music for a young guy in his early 20's.

Since then, I've built up a tasty collection of records. However, something still chills me a little when I think of seeing Jazz in a live context.  Most modern Jazz bands, whilst superbly proficient, are pretty bloody boring at the end of the day.   When the purpose of a Jazz concert is to service the egos of the band members rather than the enjoyment of the audience, something has gone very wrong indeed.

And to be fair, I was kind of expecting a bit of this when I attended the recent Islay Jazz Festival.  Endless noodling saxophone solos do nothing for me and for that matter, I would imagine, a large proportion of music fans.  So I was pleasantly surprised when looking at the bill for the festival, sponsored for a second year by Lagavulin.

After catching up with the renovations to Caol Ila distillery and a look round the Port Ellen Malting we found ourselves on a wonderfully bracing trip to the Lagavulin peat bogs for a cutting session with Mr Lagavulin himself, Iain McArthur. When Iain says 'run for the car!' you know that there's one hell of a storm about to break-  so with extremely soggy trouserings, it was time for a warming dram of 16yo at the old Malt Mill hall and the first Jazz gig of the weekend- the Neil Cowley Trio.

Described as 'Jazz music for Radiohead fans', I wasn't sure what to expect -  more endless, tuneless noodling? (i'm not really a fan of the modern uptheirownarse Radiohead) Fortunately the trio kicked off with some excellent syncopated riffs, a blast of humour and above all else, a little bit of soul-rather like the Radiohead of old, before Thom Yorke decided to get all sulky and grow a ponytail.

Perhaps the biggest revelation of the day though was the the Malt Mill itself.  Having been lucky enough to attend a few events at the hall over the past few years, I was taken back at just how good the acoustics of the room are.  The grand piano sounded absolutely sublime and it would be wonderful to see this building used for the purposes of recording a proper session at some point in the future, especially given the reverence of its namesake whisky.

As one would expect, with Lagavulin sponsoring the event, for the second year running, the distillery had prepared a special bottling for the event.  This year's single cask comes from 1997 and is a refill sherry cask (1894) selected by the aforementioned Iain McArthur. Last year's bottling performed better than an impassioned Ella Fitzgerald at Montreux so the sequel had a lot to live up to.

Lagavulin - Jazz Festival Edition- Single Cask Bottling - 54.5% - Distilled 1997

Nose: Initial perfumed notes nestle alongside classic Lagavulin peat smoke, with spicy liquorice, fresh lime, Lockets throat sweets, a touch of menthol and some sweet fruits.  With a dash of water, that familiar Laga carbolic note develops.  Unmistakable and superb.  Are there any ropey casks at all at  this distillery?

Palate: Light acacia honey, citrus notes, sweet malt, carbolic notes and green bananas.  With water, the bananas start to ripen up and the smoke begins to swirl.  This dram is probably not as heavily sherry- influenced as last year's bottling, but the classic Laga notes are just rubber stamped all over this.  More of a short burst of inspired brilliance from Miles Davis than a three hour snooze fest from Courtney Pine. 

Finish: Fresh, with citrus notes, some lengthy smoke and a stab of medicinal peat at the very end. 

Overall: Yet again, another masterstroke of a bottling.  Lagavulin falls into that category of being able to turn out inspired whiskies, alongside their solid, core releases seemingly without having to try too hard.  You'll never see a Lagavulin dressed in Sauternes, saddled with the remnants of an tired old rum cask or something equally un-Lagavulin -  there's just no need to experiment when you have a spirit as good as this. 

So back to the Jazz then.  Ah yes, our next act -Swedish sensations, the Fredrik Kronkvist Quartet.  Dressed in the uniform of the modern day jazzer -  flat cap, soul patch chin beard and a vaguely hip-hop'esque jeans and trainers combo, Kronkvist is undoubtedly ridiculously talented (he also played some sensational Jazz flute the day after.... did I really just type sensational Jazz flute?) The problem is that in my book, talent can only get you part of the way there.  The gig, whilst technically proficient, was a little like watching Dr Gunther von Hagens painstakingly dissecting a plasticised cadaver.  You wondered how deep his Jazz scalpel would slice with extended solos cutting right to the bone, full of dissonant notes, awkward phrasings and time signatures that left me trying to nod along looking cool and part of the scene - but feeling like I was sitting an A-Level in pure maths. Kronkvist's saving grace was his astonishing drummer.  Every bit a mind-numbingly talented musician, but effortlessly precise and in possession of some of the best dynamics i've ever seen.   He built up his solos with the panache of a seasoned performer, thrilling the audience seemingly without even breaking a sweat.  A joy to watch and worth the ticket price alone.  

This is what happened to the man who listened
to too many extended sax solos

After some much needed contemplation time down at the Cross of Kildalton (which, whatever the weather is hands down the most peaceful place I have ever visited) our group transferred to the final Jazz show of the day -  a double header at Ardbeg with ragtime pianist Keith Nichols followed by Swedish singer Miriam Aida (accompanied by Fredrik Kronkvist and his pianist) 

Despite having an all-too-short set, Nichols transported the audience back to the golden age of the Jazz piano - Scott Joplin, Duke Ellington et al with the showmanship and energy of a man a third of his age. Although this style of swing jazz is so often overlooked in favour of a more modern style, the brilliance of performers like Keith Nichols and his contemporary, Brian Kellock, will no doubt keep it kicking and screaming, far from being put out to pasture just yet.  

To close, the sultry sounds of Miriam Aida, undoubtedly the most glamourously dressed woman ever to visit Islay with a voice to match.  Paying homage to Nina Simone throughout the set, an understated accompaniment from Kronkvist and his pianist gave the Old Kiln Cafe a smoky, misty eyed authenticity - close your eyes for a second and you could be sat in the comfy leather-bound booths at the Green Mill Lounge in Chicago, stubbing out a Chesterfield and sucking back a bone dry Martini.   

And that's the beauty if the Islay Jazz Festival -  despite my fear of when Jazz tries to outdo itself and sounds like its falling backwards down the stairs,  this festival offers a well balanced outlook on the Jazz loved by many music fans today -  with reflections from almost a century ago to the most cutting edge chops of today.  

In the words of the famous Jazz critic, Louis Balfour -  'Grrrrreat'. 

Ardbeg Day

The 2nd June marks a special day on the island of Islay.  As part of the the annual Feis Ile (which we are visiting again for the 6th year now) Ardbeg have decided to rename the 2nd June as an official Ardbeg Day.  Quite whether they've approached the Queen to get the name changed is another matter (she's quite busy at the moment, I believe) and I'm not sure it will count as a national holiday, for those of you having to work. However if you are attending the Feis this year, the line up, which Ardbeg have thrown together looks like a lot of fun indeed -  Olympic-themed japery including phenolic gymnastics, sheep tossing, (one of Joel's favourites) bog snorkelling (another one of Joel's personal favourites) and terrier racing (canine permitting)

Alongside the events is the traditional bottling, which is produced especially for the day.  In the past several years, the Ardbeg releases have been exceptional single casks and very limited release bottlings, resulting in long queues outside the distillery from an early hour.  We've been in those queues - dependent on the weather, it's actually quite fun.  This year will be a little different.  Although the heart of Ardbeg Day will be directly at the distillery, around the world, separate splinter events are happening from everywhere between Vancouver and Vietnam (quite possibly) and for the 99.999% of Ardbeg fans out there, the good news is that the bottling will be available across the globe from a number of Ardbeg Embassies just for the day.

1,100 cases of this special Ardbeg Day bottling will be produced (which in real-person-speak means around 13,000 bottles), so the outturn is relatively on a par with that of some of the previous Ardbeg Committee bottlings and also the Laphroaig Cairdeas bottlings, which were released alongside the Feis Ile.  The bottling is selected and married using several parcels of refill sherry casks, which were previously used for Uigeadail and the ABV will stand at 56.7%

We were lucky enough to spend some time with Dr Bill Lumsden this lunchtime and get a sneaky peak at the whisky, alongside several other expressions of Ardbeg including the 10 year-old and the mighty Alligator (which Bill describes as his 'Sweeney' version of Ardbeg, for reasons too long to explain in this post.)

Ardbeg - Ardbeg Day Bottling - 56.7% - NAS - 70cl.  RRP £60

Nose: Hearty notes of dry ginger, woody spices, hints of golden syrup and fragrant vanilla. With water, the spice notes develop and the sweetness gets more syrupy.  

Palate:  A superb dryness hits first (making one think about rich, dry Oloroso sherry) with more dried ginger, cinnamon, peppered meats, a hint of apple pie and a dusting of dark sugar.  With water, there is also a creaminess, perhaps reminding the palate of some of the Ardbeg bottlings of the last few years -  Uigeadail, Airgh Nam Beist and Alligator.  In fact, the dried fruit, chocolate gingers and orange zest notes are very reminiscent of the snappily titled bottling of last year. 

Finish: Lingering notes of dried fruit, with a touch of the ginger and a little menthol creeping in.

Overall:  Another highly drinkable Ardbeg, which sits firmly in the flavour camp of many of the distilleries favourite bottlings.  It is powerful without water, but doesn't lose its dynamic when a touch is added.  If you liked Alligator, you'll definitely enjoy this.  Question is, would you be prepared to undertake a bog snorkelling session for a bottle?   

I guess we would.  Zip up Harrison. We're going in.

oooh, what could this be? An Ardbeg Playing Card perhaps. Click on it for some fun, fun, fun...

oooh, what could this be? An Ardbeg Playing Card perhaps. Click on it for some fun, fun, fun...