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.   

Hatches, Matches & Despatches. Jura Distillery Open Day Fun - Feis Ile Day One

Yes, folks. We’re here again. As yet another year rolls around, with the FA Cup Final out of the way and Glastonbury, Wimbledon and The Ashes on the horizon, what could be a better way to while away your time, than with the Feis Ile: Isle’s Festival of Music and Malt.

Usually, we’d be here right from the off, hitting the eight distilleries in row and then, if we had the time / weather / energy, hit Jura for an hour or so. But not this year. Oh, no. This year, we’ve come to Jura first.

Sitting off the coast of Islay, Jura is an island of ones (save for the TWO doctors): one road, one shop, one church, one hotel, one pub and one distillery. ~188 people live in an area the size of London, seriously outnumbered by 6,000 red deer. It is probably most famous for being the final home of George Orwell and providing him with the perfect isolation where he could write 1984, the piece which, according to some, eventually finished him off.

However, for some of us of a certain age, it also provided the backdrop for one of the most audacious pieces of ‘art’ (or PR stunts, depending on how you look at it) of the 1990’s, when hugely successful British dance outfit, KLF (known at that time as The K Foundation), burnt £1 million pounds. In cash. In 1995.

Even now, nearly 20 years on, it seems utter madness that someone, even in the name of art, could burn a million quid. But that’s exactly what the two members of the KLF, Bill Dummond and Jimmy Cauty did. Many myths and rumours surround this event, with the band claiming that only £900,000 eventually went up in smoke, with £100,000 worth of £50 notes simply flying into the air due to the intensity of the fire. The local police even found up to £1500 in charred notes, which were left for the two members to reclaim if they so wished.

So Jura is a place where interesting things happen and in 1810, a distillery was opened; the perfect place to hide from the excise man. By 1901 the distillery was closed to lay dormant for nearly 60 years, until it was rebuilt in the early 1960’s springing back to life in 1963. Housing the second tallest stills in Scotland, and the largest stills of any island distillery, it is now a single malt which you’ll find all over the world. Yet another piece of art from this small island making a global impression.

The venue for our Turas Mara tastings

This year, Jura held an ‘open house’, over two days running free buses and ferries across from Islay, hoping to attract many more of the folk who have travelled to the Feis Ile for their annual hit of smoky whisky.

With events ranging from warehouse tastings with the ever-energetic Richard Paterson, through to speedboat tastings in the Sound of Jura, (…hosted by yours truly) there were plenty of reasons to drive onto the small car ferry and make the short crossing between islands.  On top of all this, there is an annual festival bottling release from Jura, only available from the distillery during their open days. 

This year, the bottling was extra special, to mark the 50^th anniversary of the distillery reopening, a ‘boutique barrel’, containing whisky from a 1963 French oak cask, as well as containing some heavily peated stock, resulting in a whisky which is both fruity and smoky. 

Jura – Festival 2013 – 1963 French Oak + Heavily Peated 1999 stock – 663 bottles – 52.4% abv - £70.00

Nose: A real treat straight off the bat.  The aroma of a delightfully smooth, almost 70’s peat smoke swirls around the glass initially, followed by some rich notes of spicy sherry/wine tones, some oakiness and a fruity, almost jammy note. 

Palate: Initially dry and hot, with some oakiness delivering a wet wood note, which then fades into a spiciness – a hint of cinnamon and liquorice.  Given time in the mouth, the wine influence takes hold with some bold fruit and a distinct smokiness. 

Finish: The peat lingers alongside an oakiness and a rich fruit note.

Overall: The nose really defines this whisky:  elegant and refined, with a smooth smokiness.  A dash of water develops the fruitiness and direct nature of the spice.  At £70, it’s also very well priced against many of the other Islay festival bottlings.  Well done chaps.

Jura also have a new release, called Turas Mara, which means ‘long journey by the sea’ and is their new offering in Global Travel Retail. Made up from whisky matured in four types of casks (bourbon, sherry, French oak barriques and port pipes) it is priced at £45 for a litre. 

Jura – Turas Mara – GTR only - 42% abv £45.00

Nose: A departure from the festival bottling. Masses of fresh fruit, vanilla, a real sweetness and some subtle spices. Light toffee/peanut brittle, sliced pears and orange zest. Candied and very fruity.

Palate: Sweet and malty, with some herbaceous notes, crème caramel, some sour cherry notes and a hint of creamy oak. With water, zesty lime notes begin to emerge. 

Finish: Clean, with orange zest and a slight drying vanilla oak. 

Overall: Having used this as the main feature for our speedboat tastings, it has established itself as our favourite expression of Jura on the market today.  

Tea, you say?  Turas Mara and cake more like.

It has been a real pleasure spending some extended time on Jura, an island we have only fleetingly visited before. We had no idea as to the hidden beauty of the island and we would highly recommend a visit, and a drive all the way up the islands only road...

Tomorrow we head to Bunnahabhain and try the festival release from Lagavulin...

Now That's What I Call Maturation... Volume One!

Here at Caskstrength, we love new whisky related-stuff.  The moment we saw a fully operational three litre copper pot still for sale by the side of the road in rural Portugal, we knew we had to have it.  As you may recall, we had a crack at using it (well someone resembling us anyway) and the results were really rather impressive...well, to us anyway.  The point we're trying to make here is that whether or not the spirit which ran from our little gem is deemed to be any good, we had a fantastic time understanding the principles of distillation (albeit on a micro scale) and it only served to highlight how hard the art of the commercial distiller is.

Recently we took the opportunity to explore another key aspect of the whisky making process, from a micro scale - this time in the shape of a brilliantly novel kit, retailed by a US craft distiller.  The Copper Fox distillery, neatly situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia (hang on, this is the opening line of a wonderful song, is it not?) have, under the tenacious eye of owner Rick Wasmund, been bottling some really interesting expressions - from a spanking single malt, the barley smoked using apple and cherry wood, through to a rye whiskey, with a wonderfully malty spicy character.    One of their latest endeavours is to bring the art of maturation straight out of their Virginia warehouses and into the homes of every would-be distiller/whisky enthusiast interested in the effects of wood on a new make spirit.  The bottom line here isn't to achieve perfection, but to have a bit of fun, play around and experiment.

Wasmund's Mature Your Own Whisky Kit (WMYOW) is now available in Europe for the first time (retailing at £120 from The Whisky Exchange and at its heart comes a miniature two litre charred American oak cask and two 75cl bottles of either the single malt new make spirit or, if you're so inclined, the same quantity of the rye new make.  Both new makes roll in at 62% and the cask is, according to Wasmund, 'of a medium char style'.

Well, we couldn't resist, so now the Caskstrength office has now become a little test haven for maturation.  Speyside dunnage-style it certainly isn't, that's for sure - and i'm pretty sure the view from our windows in Exmouth Market is of the local Post Office sorting office, not the Blue Ridge Mountains.

We plumped for the rye option and set to work ensuring the cask was going to be watertight, by first filling it with room temperature water, then spraying the outer surfaces regularly.  After a day, our little wooden beast was ready to go and we marked 'M Day' as Saturday 20st October.   We'll be monitoring the spirit regularly over the next few months, but by way of a first update one week after filling, the news is interesting.  

Wasmund's rye new make is very fruity, with some spiced notes, a hint of smoke (freshly cut green apples) and some fine citrus notes. As a control, we kept a small sample back to reference throughout the maturation experiment.  After a week in the warehouse with an occasional gentle rolling of the cask when we could remember, the spirit has already begun to evolve.  Gone is the initial fruity apple note, replaced with a lightly peppered meat, lots of charcoal and freshly sawn oak.  It is still youthful, immature and vibrant, but as expected, creeping in are the beginnings of what we were hoping to see.  The cask is clearly going to give this a lot of character in a short space of time, including colour, as you can see, taking on an initial light gold note.

One week, eh... If this was Scotland, that wouldn't even register on the maturation map yet.  In actual fact, it bodes well for our plans to re-use this cask for future experiments.  Because of its obvious dominance, putting something in as easily overpowered as a Scotch single malt would perhaps be foolish, without seasoning it prior to filling and this has thrown up all manner of possibilities - sherry, port, wine, peated whisky, rum, vermouth, cola?? who knows, but in any rate, the next few months will be a hugely fun-filled experience.

We'll be putting up regular updates on the rye on our Facebook page, including interim pics to show you the colour and tasting notes.  It's also been suggested that we could have some fun 'manipulating' the spirit to get more from the cask. Hmmm. Next week, Caskstrength are taking a jaunt across the Pyrenees in a very tasty Maserati GranTurismo, so perhaps I should sling the cask in the boot, for a little 'alpine agitation'? Or should we take a leaf from the Tuthilltown distillery and blast bass-heavy music through the cask? The sky's the limit here.

Hello... here comes the ultimate Maturation Playlist -  or if you like... Now That's What I call Maturation -  Volume One!! Watch this space...

Hot on the heels of this superb kit comes another equally interesting version from our chums at Master Of Malt.  The MOM MYOW kit (£99) includes a one litre kit and new make spirit made from malted barley. We'd love to see whether the results are similar to the rye kit we have.  If you decide to get either of these, please feel free to share the results with us -  we're pretty sure that no two whiskies will turn out the same.