Islay Odyssey - Day Three: "Was There 2-4-1 On Wacky Glasses At The Shop?"

After the excess delivered to us in the form of the Ultimate Islay tour yesterday, Wednesday proved to be a much gentler affair. Helped by the fact clouds had come rolling in from the Atlantic to return Islay from a sun-drenched paradise back to a state we were much more familiar with, thankfully it was a slow and relaxed start to the day.

Having penned yesterday’s exploits, we jumped in the Caskstrength wagon to head for Bowmore, who host their open day each Wednesday during Feis Ile for our second booked-in event of the festival and one that did not involve just whisky...

Arriving in the Island’s capital to the sound of bagpipes wafting through the air, we were soon to be sitting down awaiting the start of our first tasting of the day (if you ignore the cheeky dram of Port Ellen 11th release before leaving the house), Bowmore Ale and Whisky Matching.

Hosted brilliantly by Jeremy Stephens and Mark O’Hara who both work in the blending labs of Morrison Bowmore, putting together such whiskies as Auchentoshan, Glen Garioch and Bowmore itself, Jeremy Stephens is an ex-brewery worker, having cut his teeth for several years at Fullers in London before moving in to malt production, whisky production and finally into the blending lab. All this experience gives him the ideal skill-set to be able to lecture with poise and authority on both brewing, in a purer, real ale sense and the onward stage of distillation and maturation that gives us the product we so love today: whisky.

Starting with an overview of the processes behind making beer (pretty much the same except that anything that ends up as ‘beer’ tends to have hops added, anything that goes on to be whisky doesn’t) on to distillation and finally maturation.

Once the technical stuff was out the way (peppered with questions from the Caskstrength crew about bottle conditioned ales, brewing malts and keeping / storing real ale) it was in the juice itself.

The idea was simple; matching an ale with a whisky and looking at the flavour comparisons between the two. We’ve done various different ‘matching’ tastings before, but this was something entirely new to us. The big question is, would it work?

We kicked off with a beer that has been specially produced for Bowmore by the chaps down at Islay Ales. Much as with the rolls from yesterday’s picnic made using Lagavulin grist, Islay ales have used the grist from Bowmore to brew their beer and then matured it in an ex-bourbon barrel previously used to house Bowmore whisky. A very smoky affair, as you would expect, this ale weighed in a 7.7% abv and was, aside the peaty element and high alcohol content, a light ale.

 

Bowmore & Islay Ales – Bourbon Cask Ale – Feis Ile 2012 – 7.7% abv

Nose: Hoppy and malty with vanilla tones and a hint of smoke

Palate: Huge hit of malt and smoke with stewed prunes and chocolate over tones.

Finish: Smoke and Malt

Overall: Tasty, but you couldn’t drink a whole lot of it.

This ale was cleverly paired with a bourbon matured whisky, the Bowmore Tempest Batch 2. We’ve reviewed this before (in fact, the Tempest Batch 1 made our BiG award shortlist in 2010) and it has to be said it really is a fantastic whisky (notes of which can be found here) and this tasting highlighted that fact to us once again. As a pairing with the ale, it was excellent and worked very, very well.

Onwards to the next whisky and beer couple; the Maltman’s Selection and the Nerabus offering from Islay ales. The Maltman’s Selection is a whisky that has picked up a few awards recently, not least the Best Islay Single Malt Whisky in the World Whisky Awards 2012.

 

Bowmore - Maltman’s Selection - 54.6% - NAS

Nose: big rich notes of coffee, chocolate, cherries, burnt oranges and sherbet.

Palate: Huge. Sherry mixes with more cherries, chocolate ice cream, menthol,
Black Forest gateaux and orange, with perhaps a touch of sulphur on the back, but
only a whisker.

Finish: lingering notes of steeped cherries, chocolate and chocolate malt.

Overall: A big feisty sherry monster, but with more character than you would expect, other than the robust wine notes.  Cracking.


The ale which was chosen to accompany this was the Nerabus, a beer made using pale, dark crystal, caramalt, chocolate and wheat malts giving the ale a rich, dark colour and intense taste, much like a heavily sherried whisky, hence the pairing.

 

Nerabus - Islay Ales - 4.8% abv

Nose: very little with some wafts of burnt sugar.

Plate: Dark chocolate, truffles, pine nuts, the depth and intesity of flavour found in the richness of sherry or port underpinned with a marmite maltiness.

Finish: Meaty bovril tones.

Overall: Very drinkable for a ‘winter warmer’ ale.

Throughout the presentation we were supplied with different samples of hops and malts, all of which were used very well to highlight the major areas of production in the beers and the whiskies.

 

As you can see from this picture, there was a real similarity in colour between the ales and their whisky counterparts and the tasting overall was not only educational but fun and the pairings worked a treat. 

 

Afterwards, we made an unusual purchase at the local Spa shop (all will be ‘revealed’ later), where we bumped in to two of the gang from Master Of Malt who were both on the island for the first time, and headed back to Port Ellen for a catch up with the guys and gals at Ardbeg. 

Another cheeky dram of the Ardbeg Day washed down nicely, alongside a glass of Alligator and two bottles of this now hard to find whisky were purchased (Alligator is perhaps our favourite Ardbeg expression from the past few years) it was time to head home and prepare for the evenings entertainment...

 

With barely 30 mins to spruce ourselves up for a dinner held at Lagavulin’s Malt Mill. Old friends from Maltstock, Feis Ile and, of course, London town were there to share in some fantastic food and excellent drams. 

Along with cask samples and rare bottles, one whisky which has been appearing in Lagavulin tasting across the week and is something very special indeed to be released later this year, we were lucky enough to try:

Lagavulin - 21 Years Old - Preview Sample - 52%

Nose: Elegant, with some candied red apple, vanilla, some light summer fruits, then a waft of fragrant candle wax, marzipan and the classic Lagavulin carbolic soap note.  Balanced and very aromatic.

Palate: Sweet, with over-ripe apples, some drying oak notes, a touch of sweet vanilla sugar and some lemon zest, before the smoke kicks in - nothing too dominant, but inkeeping with the classic 16 year old.  

Finish: Lingering notes of red apple skin, dark chocolate, slightly bitter burnt caramel and medicinal peat.

Overall: Certainly THE bottle to look out for when it arrives later on this year, given the near mythical status of the previous 21 year old.  Keep ‘em peeled folks!

Tomorrow we head off to Jura and Kilchoman, so keep your eyes peeled for our post tomorrow!

Lagavulin : Whisky With Friends

Recently I had to send a bottle of whisky to the Bishop of London. In with the delivery, I wrote a small note on how the Cleric might wish to interact with this particular spirit. My advice was thus:

“There are four ways to drink your whisky and only one of them is correct:

1. Neat. As nature intended.

2. With a tiny teaspoon of water. This lowers the ABV and releases some of the flavours

3. With a block of ice.

4. With friends.

You may choose to drink this whisky any one of the ways listed in 1, 2 and 3. That is entirely up to you. I’m giving you total freedom and permission to drink this how you like, within those boundaries. However, number 4 is a must.

Whisky is a convivial drink. It is a conversation. It gives and you should give back to it. The best way to have an experience with whisky is to share it with other people, especially a whisky as good as this.”

This is true for all drams. Some may taste better with water, others neat. But all, without exception, taste better when shared with friends. And so it was that last week, I took a detour home from a trip to Orkney to spend some time in Glasgow and then Islay sipping whisky with friends.

However, the bulk of my friends, my life and my community are all much further south, down in London and on Monday morning I found myself driving past Lagavulin distillery at 5am, to make an appointment to be in London to meet with some friends (and make some new ones, too) for a tasting of... yes, you’ve guessed it: Lagavulin.

The good people at The Whisky Exchange had invited Diageo’s Scotch Whisky Ambassador Colin Dunn along to walk an audience of around 60 people through some of the distilleries regular releases as well as a some recent expression now very much on the ‘endangered whiskies list’. As if this wasn’t enough, TWE proprietor and heavy-weight of the whisky world Sukhinder Singh supplied two bottles of rare Lagavulin for the evening, bottles very much classed as ‘extinct’ within the whisky world. Well worth a 5am start, me thinks...

Having spent a few days leading up to this tasting at the home of peated whisky, it was always going to be a challenge to get enthusiastic about dropping my suitcase off and hopping on the 155 bus up to London Bridge, swapping the beauty of rural Scotland for the, erm, ‘personality’ of Elephant & Castle roundabout; the fresh air for the fresh attitudes; isolation for industry. Arriving weary and tired, it wasn’t long before the company and the liquid on offer provided me with a much needed energy boost...

The line up for the evening was simply jaw-dropping. Before we got going, a small sample of new make spirit greeted us; strong, peated and warming, this was the opening chip in what was to be a long and successful stay at the table; a night where everyone left a winner.

Aside from a dash of white spirit, the opening dram of the evening was the expression that people will be most familiar with when it comes to Lagavulin, the 16 Years Old. We’ve said it here before, but this, along with the Balvenie Double Wood, is one of the greatest standard whiskies available for under £45 (it’s a shame that this is now a touch over £40) and often features highly in our recommendations for new recruits to the whisky category.

Colin had invited a mixologist along who took full advantage of Lagavulin 16’s rich and smoky flavour to create a fantastic cocktail called ‘Smoke on the Water No.2’ using Lagavulin 16, Grand Marnier, Byrrh Gran Quinquina and Mozart Dark Chocolate Bitters, all topped off with some dry ice infused with a blend of smoky teas. Very tasty indeed!

Next up in the tasting was the Lagavulin Distillers Edition from 1995. Additionally matured in Pedro Ximinez Sherry casks, this additional ‘education’ creates a sweeter yet more robust spirit from the 16 Years Old and one we could talk about for a while. Colin Dunn wanted to show the attendees what flavours good, old Sherry can offer younger whisky and he produced, from his own personal stock, a bottle of PX Sherry from 1927. Astonishing. Next week we have a feature exclusively on the Distillers Editions coming, so you’ll have to wait until then for extensive tasting notes on this expression! Don’t worry... it’ll be worth the wait!

Whisky no. 3 came in the form of 12 Year Old, hot from the current crop of Diageo’s annual Special Releases (2011), notes on which you can read here. And this is kind of where the tasting really took off, as it was the first of four different (and I mean different) 12 Year Old expressions which underpinned the essence of why this flight of whiskies was such a great experience.

The two ultra rare bottles which TWE had supplied for the tasting were both 12 Year Olds, both from the 1980’s and both the classic ‘white label’ editions, but each with a slightly different lineage; one from the UK and one from Italy. These are two bottles that Neil and I have always wanted to try, so it was a real treat to get to try one, let alone two, of these very sought-after early releases.

Lagavulin - 12yo - 1980's White Label - 43% abv (Italian bottling):

Nose: Rubbery peat smoke, something very oily and stewed tea. Dig a little deeper and you'll find notes of cream soda and vanilla ice cream.

Palate: Ginger snap biscuits, seaweed! Slightly aged peat, but there's a huge hole in the middle of this palate with a slight element of grainy weakness to it. Very iodine'y and medicinal around the edge, but nothing in the middle.

Finish: Masses of medicinal flavours, some mint and thyme.

Overall: Disappointing. Lacks any real complexity or direction.

Lagavulin - 12yo - 1980's White Label (White Horse Bottling) - 43% abv

Nose: Lemon Sif cleaning fluid, light peat notes lovely vanilla ice cream and icing sugar. The closest nose to the recent releases of Port Ellen we’ve had, aside from the Port Ellens themselves!

Palate: Unmistakably Lagavulin on the palate with soft peaty tones, farmyard elements, sooty and salty, with some slight tropical fruit notes and green apple skins.

Finish: Light and refreshing, with a deft hint of peat on the death.

Overall: A vast improvement over the Italian bottling. This is Laga like we like it - bold, but beautiful...

These two bottlings could not have been more different and highlight the inconsistency of single malt whisky in early incarnations of now more standard bottlings. Delicate yet so very Lagavulin, the second of these ‘white label’ editions was so beautiful, so light and easy to drink, that I can see why it fetches the sort of sums it does at auction.

To see us home were two more recent official releases; firstly the 12 Year Old Friends Of The Classic Malts edition, released in 2008 which we first reviewed at the start of 2010 and loved back then. Little has changed from our original assessment and this bottle really showed how amazingly well this release stands up in the range of current editions and previous releases.

The finishing touch was a dram of the now legendary Lagavulin 21 Year Old. This bottling has gained cult status (reflected in the price) after Serge Valentine’s review on his brilliant whiskyfun.com website listed it with a huge score of 95 points and the honour of being his favourite expression so far; quite an honour when you look at how many bottles this living legend has sampled.

Lagavulin - 21yo – 1985/2007 6642 bottles - 56.5%

Nose: Farm yard notes- like Brora, but with a bigger sherry influence. Hugely woody too, as the whisky develops in the glass. Some chamois leather notes start to emerge, alongside rabbit hutch hay, natural yoghurt, buttery mashed potato and dusty books.

Palate: Sweet, but then almost instantly, very woody and dry. Some honeycomb notes, a touch of mint and dark honey. But mostly dryness.

Finish: Dry and bitter, with some quite meaty overtones lingering as the palate dries.

Overall: To be honest, this is the 2nd time we've tried this and it didn't blow us away. In our opinion, it is too woody and lacking the finesse of the younger 12yo's, which sail past this for complexity and character and of course the mighty 16yo.

The night showed off an awesome selection of drams new and old from one of Scotland’s greatest distilleries. Our favourite expression was the Friends of The Classic Malts 12 Year Old which just goes to show, that no matter how you like to drink your hooch, whisky always tastes better with friends.