Islay Festival 2009 - Day Eight

‘A bunch of prize tossers’

It was another early start on Friday as we had a lot of ground to cover. First up was a 9.30am tasting at Islay’s newest distillery, Kilchoman, where we were shown around by deputy manager Gavin Douglas who was filling in at short notice for Jim Swan who had been injured in an accident at home – our best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery.

We hadn’t realised just how small Kilchoman was – it really is tiny. Small but perfectly-formed, I suppose. Gavin told us that the small stills produce only enough 45ppm spirit to fill three casks per day (a mix of fresh and refill bourbon plus some fresh sherry, although we also saw some French wine casks in the warehouse).

The warehouse was, like the rest of the distillery, small and full to bursting with barrels. The spirit we tasted was mostly 3yo from different cask types, and we all agreed that it had the potential to become seriously good whisky when it gets a bit older.

Kilchoman 2006, nearly 3yo. Matured in fresh bourbon, then re-racked into a sherry cask. 60ish %.

N: Vanilla, buttered toast, cream soda, muffins. Develops a faint TCP / bandages note with time.

P: Honey and smoke. Pretty peppery. A nice combination of sweetness and soot.

F: Becomes grassy and medicinal.

With the tasting finished, we motored over to Bruichladdich to say a quick hello to our friend Jo in the warehouse. We only popped in for a minute as we were running late for a lunchtime tasting at Bunnahabhain, but we still managed to fit in a bit of an exclusive: full-term sherried Octomore!

Octomore 2004 Sherry Cask, 67.1% (!!)

N: Honey and tweed, rather pleasant. A little closed, though what’s there is pretty promising.

P: Boom! Massively phenolic as expected and, unlike the other two Octomores we’ve tried, some balancing sweetness in the form of honeycomb – real Crunchie bar character. The coalsmoke and burnt wood win through, but this has real potential.

F: Hot and smoky like a roaring coal fire, but with a thread of honey that really adds to the fun. This is definitely the most interesting Octomore we’ve tried so far.

Having said our thank-yous to Jo, we jumped back into our trusty Focus and roared down to Bunnahabhain, arriving in the nick of time for our blending masterclass, which was run by blender Kirsty McCallum from Burn Stewart. This was great fun, with the tables festooned with measuring cylinders and plastic beakers as well as the expected tasting glasses (Glencairn must do bloody well out of this festival, by the way).

In the event, just as with the Nosing contest a few days before, we were rubbish and didn’t win, although Faceman got pretty close. However, the best was yet to come. It transpired that Ian Millar, master distiller and Global Brand Ambassador for Glenfiddich, was sitting at our table with some whisky mates from Dufftown.

At the end of the competition, Ian calmly plonked an incredibly old and rare Bunnahabhain on the table and announced that he’d been given it a while ago and that this seemed like a good time for it to be drunk! The room was taken aback by this very generous gesture, but recovered quickly and got stuck into what turned out to be one of the best malts we tried in the whole week.

Bunnahabhain 1976, 31yo 47.3% bottled in 208 for Falster (which seems to be a Danish hotel). Check out the amazing metal label.

N: Wow. Pure rhubarb and custard – with the emphasis on the custard. To pick a few more things at random from the swirl of lovely flavours: Green apple, apple pie, caramelised sugar, crushed almonds, pineapple cubes. Sensational.

P: Again, fabulous quality. Amazing apple crumble flavours, spice, cinnamon, clove, a hint of woodsmoke / bonfire. Blackberry pie.

F: Longer and more graceful than a supermodel’s legs. Absolutely beautiful.

Very special, heartfelt thanks to Ian Millar of Glenfiddich for an absolutely wonderful dram. This was up there with the 1968 Auld Aquaintance as the best Bunna I’ve ever tried.

We were pretty hungry after all this dramming and it was still only 2pm, so on exiting the tasting we joined the queue for a burger. There were probably 20 people ahead of us. Forty-five minutes later there were still five or so people ahead of us. After an hour we were at the front and pretty cross. It seemed that the people running the BBQ had been unable to grasp that the burgers weren’t cooking because of a lack of fuel. We watched as burgers that had been on the grill for ten minutes were turned over still raw and decided to sack it off.

Thankfully, the vegetarian Faceman had been in the queue for the spectacular scallops (actually he’d been through the queue twice in the time we were waiting for a burger) and was able to contribute a few delicious morsels. Disconsolate and still pretty hungry we trooped round to the lawn in front of Bunna’s cottages for the mini-Highland games, where we met up with our Austrian friends Eva and Jasmine and our Swiss chums Bernard and Risto.

After some fairly pathetic horseshoe throwing (none of us got more than one shoe anywhere near the pole), we moved on to the caber tossing. Joel’s massive pole was too big for him to get both hands round, so his attempts to toss it off were largely unsuccessful. Neil, on the other hand, was a natural, and he quickly proved to be a magnificent tosser of his admittedly smaller caber.

We were still hankering after a burger, so we decided to head for home by way of the Co-op for some instant BBQs. On our return to the lodge we managed to knock out some delicious scallops, a tuna steak, some chicken and half a dozen burgers in record time, and feeling suitably refuelled we headed back into Bowmore to our pre-arranged forum meet-up in the Lochside.

Duffie’s bar was heaving, but fortunately we ran into Gordon & Mel from Spirit of Islay as soon as we walked in. Willie JJ and Malcolm were also there and before long we were joined by Eva, Jasmine, Bernard and Risto. Islay ales and a couple of drams were consumed over a great chat before we headed our separate ways – it’d been a long day, not without its trials - and we needed our beauty sleep if we were going to be at our best for our big day at Ardbeg the following day...

...And The Peat Goes On...

Continuing our informal 'peat month', in which we've seen reviews of Ardbeg Supernova, Bruichladdich Octomore and 'Futures' - we bring you the 4th installment in our peated odyssey -  AR1 from Speciality Drink's 'Elements Of Islay' range.  

For those of you who aren't familiar with these bottling's, they have set the bench mark in innovative bottle design, with their simple but effective labels, mimicking the type you would see on a chemists shelf, far from the traditionally stocked shelves of the local whisky merchant. 

But design aside- is the whisky any good?  Supernova was a head-and-heart warming dram and put a smile on our faces.  Octomore was a brash and stupendously peaty whisky, but lacked the refinements to make it a seriously great drinker. The Octomore Futures faired much better with refreshing floral and fruit elements.

The strength of the AR1 is practically identical to the the Supernova at 58.7% so we have high hopes it will also retain a similar, yet rich mouth feel...

Ardbeg AR1 - Elements Of Islay range - 58.7% - 50cl

Nose: Butter butter and more butter, with a side order of butterscotch.  Like the Supernova, there is some initial banana notes (Nesquik milkshake mix), Werther's Original's and sweet marzipan.  With a little water, the glass gives you an almost gas fire warming note and hints of medicinal bandages. 

Palate: The mouth feel is immediately hot and hugely powerful, with dominating notes of anise, spearmint and chillies.  With the addition of water, more delicate cereal notes come through, which blend extremely well with a wonderful sweet peat. The water also gives you a superb rich quality, which is very similar to the Supernova.

Finish: There is a lingering swimming pool note which prevails alongside the peat.  Very long and bold, certainly youthful, but nonetheless enjoyable.

Overall:  This is the first bottling from the Elements Of Islay range I have tasted and it was a really enjoyable dram.  It has a youthful quality which is brash at times, but the superbly rich mouth feel gives it a definite edge of classiness.  Stay tuned for tasting notes on the other bottlings from Caol Ila and Laphroaig.

The Future's Bright... The Future's 'Laddich!

Ever felt slightly caught out when trying a new whisky? These days, it's very easy to be swept away with the advertising puff or nostalgic rhetoric which seems to accompany many new releases. Bruichladdich have been no strangers to causing a stir with their new releases. Some have met with wide-spread acclaim, whilst others have been met with mixed feelings - the recent Octomore being no exception.

We recently did a side-by-side tasting of Bruichladdich's peated monster and Ardbeg's Supernova, which was a tough battle. whilst the Ardbeg probably won our hearts, the Octomore won the taste test and was clearly a supremely good whisky, peated to high heaven and in our opinion, unfairly criticised by some drinkers.

This brings on to the Octomore Futures release. bought to life in October 2002, just 800 cases of this, the first super-peated Bruichladdich were released rather unexpectedly late in 2oo8 and of course, sold out immediately. We've read a couple of slightly disappointed reviews, saying it was possibly bottled too early, so when we got to try some recently we wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Octomore Futures - Distilled 16th October 2002 - Bottled April 2008 - 46% abv - 80.5 ppm

Nose: Very floral. A lot less islay and more lowlands, with big hints of heather, lavender, butter and cinnamon. A touch of banana in there too. Vanilla and then the peat. Beautifully subtle peat. Lovely.

Palate: There is an initial hit of fire (hot coals) which gives way to strawberry jam, warm summer fruit crumble and open wood fires.

Finish: Burnt sugar, red jams and more of the coal dust. Long.

Overall: No need for water as it is only 46% and at 80 ppm peating, it gives plenty of room for the actual flavour of the whisky to rush to the fore. This is delicious. Hands up, one of the most interesting drams we've tried in this year. Everything you want: delicate peat and tons of summer fruits.

There are undoubtedly young elements to this bottling, which will rub some drinkers up the wrong way, but to our palates it stands up admirably. It will be interesting to see what a more mature cask tastes like- and hopefully there will be further opportunities for this whisky to develop and shine. All in all, the future looks bright indeed.

Rumble in the Jungle! (well... Penge actually...)

"IN THE REEEEEEEED CORNER....!! THE SOUTH SHORE SLASHER!!... THE PEATED POUNDER FROM ARDBEG. WEIGHING IN AT 100 PPM- SUPERNOVA"

"...AND IN THE BLUUUUUUUUUE CORNER...!! THE RASCAL FROM THE RHINNS!!... THE SMOKY SMASHER FROM BRUICHLADDICH. WEIGHING IN AT 131 PPM - OCTOMORE"

Imagine the scene. Boxing legend Don King, enters the ring, at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

The mood is very tense. Everyone is out in force to see this one.
Even the Beckham's are taking a night off prancing around Hollywood to take ring-side seats for 'THE' Battle Royale.

Two, dressing gown clad bottles slowly start to warm up, remove their capsules and menacingly stare at each other eyeball to eyeball. Tonight, there will be only one winner. Take no prisoners. The title of UNDISPUTED PEATED HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD is about to start!!!

Well, that's what would happen if we have more than a budget of £2.50.

The title of 'most peated whisky' probably deserves to be slugged out in better surroundings, rather than a hastily assembled ring on a suburban dining room table, but it was all we had- and to be honest, it was all we needed.

So much has been written and argued about both Supernova and Octomore on every blog/forum and whisky bar from Portsmouth to Port Ellen. We thought it was high time to find out pound-for-pound or 'peat-for-peat' who would come out on top...

SECONDS OUT! ROUND ONE!!

Ardbeg Supernova- 58.9% abv - 70cl - 100 PPM - NAS

Nose: Here it comes- the haymaker to the schnozzle, surely a knockout blow... only it isn't! First whiff is actually something a lot more unexpected. Bananas.!? more precisely, smoked bananas, cooking softly and slowly on a whisky-fuelled log fire. It is really rather lovely, soft and unexpected. Then it hits you. Young, woody smoky peat, nothing medicinal, but it keeps on coming- and it's good. big dark chocolate notes also come through and all I could think of was that slow cooked banana in foil, covered with cocoa. Mmmmm.

Palate: Again, softness! then some sherbet turns up. Not at all aggressive, but certainly feisty and very deeeeep. The peat is sweet and smoky. Intense, but not loud and brash. Like Anthony Hopkins in 'Silence of the Lambs'. No need for shouting, when you can be as eloquently menacing as this.

Finish: As you'd expect - the length is ...well... very long. Peat, into wood smoke, into softer embers, like a dying fire. Great stuff.

Overall: On any other occasion, this would be impossible to follow, the palate is coated and your senses are blasted. The peat is undoubtedly there in droves, but it somehow manages to keep it in check, whilst providing so much more.

Step forward the other contender. Will it take a walloping, or will it 'do a Rocky' and come through, the Hollywood hero?

Octomore: - 63.5% abv - 70cl - 131 PPM - 5 year old

Nose: Wow - this is strong. There's a lot more spirit influence there, but clearly it's a more powerful whisky than the Ardbeg. Again, the peat doesn't hit you immediately with an iron bar, but creeps up on you and it's got a surprising subtlety about it. Smoked cheese notes emerge, alongside some roast nuts, butter and a definite earthiness. Whereas the Ardbeg was the desert, this is certainly the main course. I watered this a little and some slight pine notes come through and a real forest freshness.

Palate: The sharpness of the alcohol gives way into a pretty rich mouth feel, then a fairy dry, gritty and zesty follow-through. With water, the real heart of the whisky comes though. It is rather lovely, with lemon and lime sherbet and some sweet fruit fondant flavours noticeable.

Finish: The finish is more of the earthy peat, as opposed to the woody smoke our first contender showed. Very long and dry, with a coal dust and tar styled peaty finish, not dissimilar to a cask strength Caol Ila.

Overall: A different whisky to the Ardbeg yet ironically similar, in that it was much more subtle than I expected, especially on the first few sips.

The Judges decision:

A close fought battle. Earlier points would have to go to the Ardbeg, for its sweeter approach but the 'Laddich battled back in the closing rounds with it's lengthy, peaty resilience. This one is no KO and will be a points decision.

Which do I prefer?...

The Ardbeg just tips it to be honest. It had more going on in the palate and a sweetness which just works brilliantly.

But... before the belt is handed over...

The winner of the 'Most Peated Whisky' title must go to the Bruichladdich. It is just more brutal and powerful, coupled with the massive long tarry finish. In true Rocky style, the Hollywood ending has happened!

Back in the real world, both these whiskies probably represent something of a novelty. The market for peat is obviously huge and like most, I love it. But will they win over any new converts to whisky? Probably not.

But who cares! it was a bloody good battle and we're now booking ring-side seats for

Ardbeg vs Bruichladdich... the Rematch!!