Whisky On The Rocks: Mumford & Sons Gentlemen of the Road Whisky

I don’t know if it is my age but I’m very much enjoying the brilliant BBC iplayer and some of the eclectic shows which can be found on BBC’s 6 Music radio station. I have written before about what delights can be uncovered on shows such as the excellent weekly offering from Don Letts and others.

We are in a time when a lot of us will own some form of digital device on which we can store music. When I was young, the storage of songs was on cassette tape. C30, C60, C90 and if you were really luck, a C120. That was it.

Not now- even on the cheapest of devices you’ll end up with hours of storage space for your tunes.

Hours. That’s a lot of music.

Ergo, this forces music consumers (that’s you and me) into a wider spectrum of genres in the listening experience. If you’ve only got a C60 tape to fill, you can only stick to one genre. If you’ve got hours, you’ll jump between hip hop, indie, rock, folk, acoustic... you name it, you can have it.

When I first started my whisky journey, it was all about one genre: single malt Scotch. However, as my palate as developed, as I have dedicated more time to understanding whisky, greater attention to details and production processes, I have expanded my spectrum of flavours to blends, world whiskies and grains. And better my life is for it, too.

Recently, we ran a backstage bar for our friends Mumford and Sons, when they played their biggest headline show to date (save for Glastonbury), selling out the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

We were offering a selection of different Scotch whiskies to try, as well as a cocktail, The Gentlemen of the Road whisky cooler, made using apple juice, homemade apple cordial, Cutty Sark blended Scotch whisky and chocolate bitters, which went down a storm with the bands and VIPs.

The real star of the show, the headline act at our original 1950’s bar, was a blended Scotch whisky which we crafted at Caskstrength Towers and held in a giant vintage demijohn. Made up from around 100 different whiskies, some dating back to 1954, it was the centre piece to our bar.

Alongside sampling this bespoke blend, we were letting attendees fill their own small complementary bottles (each featuring the gig poster as the label) which were then hand numbered and wax dipped. Only 120 of the little 60ml critters were available.

We were thrilled with the reaction to our whisky and hope that it in some way it highlighted exactly what an art it is to compose those famous blends which have existed for generations and are often sadly maligned in the UK, often for their ubiquity. There is a reason so many blends are seen on shop shelves: because they’re pretty darn good.

We are in no way Master Blenders, but we hope this small exercise went some way to entertain as well as educate those who came to the bar to explore whisky. Blended whisky is not something to be scared of and we hope that, in trying some and understand the art of blending, that it will do what the MP3 has done for popular music: your love of whisky shouldn’t fit on a C90 cassette, but should be broad enough to fill a whole ipod and for some, hopefully this was the start of that journey.

Happy New Year!

So here we are, at the end of one year and the start of another. And what a year it has been. Just about everything that could have happened in 2011 has happened; a real mixed bag of a year that has just about justified the existence of numerous 24-hour news channels...

...and with all that extra reading and viewing vying for your attention, this seems an opportune moment to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all of you who read the blog. The are many ways to read our ramblings; a simple visit to the web site, an RSS feed, sign up through the email shot (so you get a fresh post in your inbox at 8pm GMT whenever we’ve written a post) and now on your shiny new Amazon Kindle e-Reader. This year has seen another bumper year for our readership via Caskstrength.net but it hasn’t stopped there.

2011 has seen us hit the physical world of print media with supplements about whisky in London paper City AM as well as Mint (The Wall Street Journal India) where Joel has a monthly column. We’ve written recommendation pieces for the Evening Standard and the Metro, had regular pieces in Whisky Magazine, Scotland Magazine and Imbibe and Neil has been published in a couple of books:The Malt Whisky Yearbook and Cutty Sark: The Making Of A Brand.

Totting up the total readership of the media we’ve written for this year, across print and digital, it exceeds over a million people, so hopefully we’re helping to push the popularity of the product we love, whisky in all forms, to a wider public.

It was also a year that saw our first bottling, the Cask Strength And Carry On Isle of Arran which sold out in less than 3 days (a massive thank you to all who bought it. We hope you’ve enjoyed drinking it!) and hosting of numerous tasting with groups as diverse as Mumford & Sons and Arcade Fire, with whom we organised a strictly limited edition Highland Park bottling, through to the Japanese ambassador in the Palace of Westminster.

Overall, however we hope to have stayed focused on bringing you irreverent and entertaining writing with a focus on whisky, culture and, above all, fun. 2012 will see us venture into bigger territory still- expect a host of new whisky related projects, more books and a brand new website, launching soon!

What better way to celebrate the end of such a busy year than with a dram... and what a special bottle we have here indeed. We received this bottle as a very special gift, with the aim of it to be opened at a very specific time... and we think we have just the occasion. The Family Ridley is about to grow in ranks, with a new baby on the way for 2012. And so, let’s raise a glass to Neil and his ‘working parts’ as we crack open this little beauty:

The Glenlivet – Single Cask Edition – ‘Atlantic’ - 40 Years Old – Cask No 5318 – bottled 16/12/2005 – 41.6% abv

Nose: Wonderfully rich tones of freshly cut figs, maraschino cherries, dandelion and burdoch soft drink, marmite on hot buttered wholemeal toast, very old brown leather jacket.

Palate: thinner than one would expect from a whisky of this maturation level. The initial hit is of raisins soaked in rum, dark chocolate truffles and black forest gateaux. Slight hints of powered liquorice, cinnamon balls and some lightly steamed green veg on the back palate. Very well balanced and rounded. Not too chewy, like some old whiskies can be, this is a little too easy to drink for something of this age!

Finish: This is where the old fashioned sweet shop takes over with mint humbugs, more cinnamon balls and cherry drops, developing back in the black forest gateaux.

Overall: Of course, a huge treat. The chaps over at The Glenlivet don’t need to be bottling single casks if they’re not top-notch and here is a classic example of an excellently aged Speyside. Teetering at 41.6% (43% would have really given this baby a punch), you’d wonder if this was like watching George Best play for Fulham; but no, this is Best in his Man Utd prime... as he said himself “I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.”

So, where does this amazing start to 2012 leave us? With our annual (“erm, I think this is the first time we’ve done these” – Neil) predictions for 2012...

Oops...my ball's a bit dusty...

Prediction One: More Single Grain whiskies to hit the market, from established bottlers. Seems that there is a definite thirst for these lightly flavoured gems- in a sensible price bracket too.

Prediction Two: Several companies will vie for the title of the 'Official' 2012 Olympic Whisky. Whether or not Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Whyte & Mackay or Edrington have approached Usain Bolt yet for his seal of approval is unknown. Personally, we'd like to see the slogan 'Whisky- Powering Us To Glory' written on the side of Team GB's bus, but they'll probably end up with a sodding Barclaycard advert.

Prediction Three: The rise in popularity of investment whiskies will see more limited releases, single casks and rare bottlings hit the market. Lord knows where it will end up, but with the popularity in the spirit can only be a good thing, so long as it doesn't impact the pricing of our cherished bottles for convivial consumption.

Prediction Four: A charity wrestling match will take place between feuding whisky writers, with the proceeds from this undoubtedly popular public spectacle going to the Whisky In aid of Narcoleptic Kids or W.I.N.K for short. Let's be thankful the charity weren't 'Against' sleepy kids...

Here's to a great 2012 folks - looking forward to sharing some incredible drams with you all.

Joel & Neil

The Twelve Drams Of Christmas - Part Four

With a little under two weeks to go, we hope you're well and truly in the middle of your Christmas shopping. Or at the very least, resigned to the fact that probably 80% of the general public are going to leave it until the last minute, which seems to work equally as well as being organised.

In case you haven't thought of anything yet, hopefully our handy guide to festive whiskies, namely the Twelve Drams Of Christmas is now in full flow and we have another cracker for you today, from our good friend and all-round gentleman of the double bass, Ted Dwane from the multi-platinum selling band, Mumford & Sons. Being an international jet-setter, Ted is no stranger to Duty Free and his knowledge of fine drams is as alarmingly good as his songwriting skills, which of course speak for themselves! Take it away Ted!

'People say Guinness tastes better in Dublin and perhaps it does. However, I believe it has less to do with 'how it travels' or where the water comes from and more to do with the context of where you are drinking it. To drink Highland Park on Orkney is to wash your senses with the glory of the Highlands and on a snowy night by the fire in my favourite distillery, I was washed, clean! I literally think of it as my whisky baptism.

The 18 year old will be my chosen festive dram as it's a dram to share. I believe it's elegant smoky/ honey aroma could instigate affectionate glances between the most hostile of in-laws. Those heather blossom and cinnamon flavours are a proven cure for unmanageable credit card bills and with that rich chewy peatiness you know will always be there for you!

I certainly won't be tackling Christmas without my trusty bottle of HP sauce... everything's going to be ok!'

Highland Park - 18 Year Old - 43%

Nose: An abundance of heather honey, fresh red fruits (strawberries and raspberries), something nutty, old cracked leather and a smothering of floral peat. Well rounded, balanced and delightful.

Palate: More of the lingering heather honey, brown sugar, some sweet dessert wine character, cinnamon/ nutmeg spices and a back bone of malty cereal, with an under pinning of peat. The mouth feel is luxurious and rich tasting.

Finish: Longer peppery notes start to emerge (like mild cracked black pepper), but the finish is still sweet and developed, with no real over oakiness to report. Sensational.

Our next one will be from a modern master of the mixed drink... stay tuned!

The Orcadian Fire hits Hyde Park!

As we move into the summer months, the festival season arrives with a fanfare of colour, hazy campfire smoke and, if you're going to Glastonbury, a wasteland of mud and sodden copies of the Observer Music Monthly.

As part of our previous lives, Joel and myself used to visit music festivals all over the UK and Europe and it was often the case that the smaller, more boutique events remained the most memorable; partly for their well-programmed bills of artists, but also for the people that attended. Latitude Festival over in Norfolk always had a real sense of calm about it. There were comedy acts in attendance, art installations and probably best of all, the food served was fresh, rather than the over-priced greasy crap, which is slung around at the more mainstream events.

All this brings us on to an event last Thursday, which I suppose was technically a sort of festival.

One of our favourite bands, Arcade Fire had decided to avoid the traditional UK summer festival and had plumped for doing their own huge gig at Hyde Park. Along with Mumford & Sons as the main support, hot new bands such as The Vaccines and Beirut were also on the bill, making this a really special affair. The band had really thought about making this a special event and the 65,000 fans were not only treated to some great sets, but also stunt cheerleaders, pitch n' putt golf, chess and a number of other attractions that you just wouldn't ordinarily expect at an event of this magnitude.

Now, it just so happens that pretty much all the bands on the bill were seriously into their whiskies and as a result, Caskstrength were invited by Arcade Fire to put together a boutique whisky bar for the backstage area. To put it another way, a little light libation for the artists before and after their performances, as well as an almighty party once the event had concluded.

So we set about thinking exactly what would work best and sometimes, the best ideas are just staring you in the face, begging to be used.

A little while ago, we reviewed the Highland Park 50 year-old, which we playfully dubbed the 'Orcade Fire' and at that moment, had a similar Eureka Moment. "Hang on... Arcade Fire/Orcade Fire - Hyde Park /Highland Park!" It all seemed to be slotting into place and after a quick telephone call to the jovial Mr Gerry Tosh, our plan was complete.

Why not get Arcade Fire to re-design the label of Highland Park 18yo, especially for the event?!

If your name's not down, you ain't coming in!

And that is what they duly did. Just 75 bottles of 'The Orcadian Fire' Highland Park have been made for the bands, to commemorate this huge gig. Further more, it gave us a chance to get our cocktail aprons on and come up with a tasty refreshing drink to serve throughout the day to the guests backstage.

The highly refreshing (and potent) Orcadian Fire cocktail

The Orcadian Fire cocktail, is a simple affair, mixing 50ml of Cutty Sark Original, Whisky barrel aged bitters (courtesy of Master Of Malt) some expressed orange zest, slightly 'bruised' mint (sorry joel!) and topped off with fresh ice and the tangy bite of Fever Tree's fabulous Ginger Ale.

What more could the bands ask for?

Cocktail no. 483 and the pickled eggs begin to take their toll.

Well, not a lot as it turns out. In addition to pouring generous measures of Highland Park 18yo all day, we calculated we made around 500 Orcadian Fire cocktails between 2pm and 12.30pm. Thirsty lot, these bands. Special thanks must go to Mr Darren Rook (aka The Whisky Guy) for his unflappable cool in helping us out behind our little 1950's bar.

We also thought that to be mildly responsible, we should at least offer a light snack to anyone who was a bit peckish - so a little update on the classic English pub fare was devised. Ladies and gentleman, I give you a return of the humble pickled egg! Our patented recipe features a slight update on the usual clear pickling vinegar, also employing a generous half pint of Fino Sherry, bay leaves, lovage and peppercorns. Surprisingly, most people seemed to be quite full when it came to offering the eggs out, although one young gentleman from a band who shall remain nameless decided to polish off at least half a dozen. Fortunately for the audience, this was after their set had finished...

"Good evening Hyde Park!"

We also got to learn a life lesson from one of our all time heroes, Robert Plant, who didn't fancy a whisky during the day (who'd have thought it?) and plumped for a beer - which we didn't have. How the hell do you tell one of the undisputed kings of rock that you don't have any beers??

As Robert Baden-Powell once said, 'be prepared'. Especially when a member of Led Zeppelin happens to be around...

Arcade Fire's lead singer, Win Butler

with the Orcadian Fire bottling

Many thanks to all the people, who made this little escapade happen, especially the brands involved plus Jade and Scott at Quest Management. And of course to the bands themselves for proving that whisky and music are, as we always suspected, the most perfect of bedfellows.

Kiss My Blarney

Ever felt like you've needed a weekend to recover from the weekend you just had? Well, you can pretty much guarantee that a trip to Dublin for St Patrick's Day will leave you owing somebody several weekends. As we mentioned in our last post, Caskstrength was over for the St Patrick's Day celebrations and specifically to try our hand at a little bit of presenting on Jameson FM, a radio station set up within the old Distillery building in the centre of Dublin. And what a blast we had. Thank you to everyone who tuned in, sent emails and generally made the experience a lot of fun indeed.

On the night before, we met up with one of the most knowledgable chaps we've come across when it comes to Irish whiskey - Kobus Van Zyl, head barman at the Four Seasons Hotel. Kobus was one of our guests on Jameson FM and we thought it would be fun to challenge him to a live nosing competition on the day. After meeting him and seeing the incredible selection of whiskies he has at the bar, we were very scared indeed. Kobus has assembled a dream list of Irish whiskey from rare and vintage bottlings, through to some excellent single cask releases, which are well worth seeking out. Our highlight was one of Connemara's 1992 single casks:

Connemara - Irish Whiskey - Single Cask release - Cask 4293 K92/35 - distilled 4th September 1992 - bottled 28th November 2006 - 46%

Nose: Soft notes of vintage peat (old Ardbeg style), cream soda, fudge, white chocolate and an abundance of fresh vanilla pods. It screams brilliantly matured first fill bourbon cask from every pore.

Palate: The soft peat lingers, with a creamy cereal note following closely, a dash of water revealing some citrus notes and a rich vanilla fudge sweetness.

Finish: More soft gentle peat lingering for a very long time.

Overall: A superb bottling all round. well worth seeking out.

After getting that all too familiar kid-in-a-candy-store feeling, we decided to beat a hasty retreat due to our early start, so headed for a quiet Guinness at our hotel. Anyone who's heading to Dublin looking for a few whiskey gems should visit the Four Seasons- and many thanks to Kobus for being such a good sport!!

Post the mountain of Irish breakfast from a local cafe, (white pudding...Mmmm ) we were ready for the onslaught at the Old Jameson Distillery. The Global Broadcast is now in its 8th year and it's clear that the distillery have a well oiled machine in place. When we arrived, the place looked completely different to how it did the day before; over 30 international radio stations from Chile to Finland had assembled themselves around a multitude of tables in the main distillery building and the place was buzzing with the call signs and jingles from the likes of Boston WFNX, Tampa WSUN and good old XFM from London. It was completely bewildering sight and we decided to have a dram of Irish courage before we went on air- Red Breast 12yo seemed to be the order of the day and after a few sips we were ready for action.

We managed to sneak off for a few minutes in the afternoon to try something rather interesting indeed- sample from a 1996 Jameson 1st fill bourbon cask, which had been bought over from the Midleton Distillery for St Patricks Day.

Jameson - Single cask 42680- 1996- first fill bourbon - 63%

Nose: Soft gingerbread, hints of fresh coconut, milk chocolate, marshmallows and a distinctly peppery fire, from the spirit.

Palate: A very rich mouthfeel, with a hint of spicy liquorice on the tip of the tongue, into soft chocolate covered caramels, creamy fudge and light zesty orange notes. Direct, yet very complex. A dash of water opens up the spice and the soft ginger notes develop superbly.

Finish: Light and fruity.

Overall: A real insight into the maturation process. Jameson fill their casks at hellishly high strengths (we're told around 82%) but the quality of this cask demonstrates just how the wood can temper such ferocity.

Before we knew it, it was 5pm and some very special guests had arrived to close the radio show, which sent a real buzz round the distillery. Mumford & Sons played a perfectly formed, spine-tingling acoustic session version of their album opener, Timshel, which summed up the ethos of the day and got everyone in the mood for the St Patricks day parties, happening all over the world. But there was only one place to be in our opinion- slap bang in the centre of Dublin with a pint of the black stuff in one hand and a whiskey in the other.

See you again next year Dublin!!

The Ten Minute Dram with.... Mumford And Sons

Last year, we promised many more of our 'Ten Minute Dram with...' interviews and must confess, although the intention was there, the right subject just didn't present themselves... until now that is.

Last week, we got to meet up with the creators of our favourite album of 2009 and undoubtedly the band that will be on every UK stereo this summer. Londoner's Mumford and Sons have been around on the fringes of the capital's Nu Folk scene since late 2007, playing alongside the likes of Laura Marling, Noah and The Whale and Johnny Flynn and The Sussex Wit. From starting their own club nights, (with performances often spilling out into the street outside) to gigging solidly across the UK, the band have built up a formidable following, helping to send their debut album ‘Sigh No More’ into the UK top 10 and No.1 in Australia no less!



We spoke to Ted Dwane, the band's bassist about the steady rise to success, the (supposed) restorative properties of whisky and how a certain Islay dram changed his perception on whisky…

(CS) "So Ted, it’s been a phenomenal year so far, with the band’s tour selling out and the album consistently hanging around the top 10 – has the level of success you’ve achieved come as a surprise?"

(TD) “In a way... yes and no. We’ve been touring as a band for around 2 years, so really it feels like a slow and steady rise in fortunes, luckily with no steps back. But I don’t think any of us really anticipated selling as many albums as we have, so in that sense it’s been amazing. We used to joke about playing to 40 people and what it’d be like to play a big venue like the Shepherds Bush Empire - and now we’re actually doing it!!" (the band recently sold out not one, but two consecutive nights at the venue...)



(CS) "You spent a lot of time building your fans through the new London folk circuit (actually more of a like-minded community of musicians), what’s it like playing to those bigger audiences now?"

(TD) "Different cities have really different vibes, but London always has a really diverse audience – it ranges from younger fans to older people who have seen us in the past at smaller venues, but it always feels like a sense of occasion- rather like a village Fete!!”

(CS) "You list your influences from bands like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to American rockers Kings Of Leon- what essentially bought you all together?"

(TD) "Well Marcus (lead singer) and Ben (keyboardist/backing vocals) met at school and I joined them slightly after that. We were just really into playing together and started a little Club Night at a pub called the Bosun’s Locker on the Kings Road." "It really felt like there was a great musical community starting to form around there, which just clicked."

(CS) "What was it like working on ‘Sigh No More’ with producer Markus Dravs?" (Dravs also made albums with Arcade Fire, Brian Eno, Bjork, oh… and a relatively unknown band called 'Coldplay'…)

(TD) "Markus was absolutely amazing to work with- he really helped us pull together all these ideas and sounds we had and give the songs a sense of solidity. He also really helped us with our equipment too- I had this knackered old bass with was literally falling apart from all the touring we were doing!"

(CS) "Let’s jump onto whisky. Do you have any whisky related stories or high jinks on tour?"

(TD) "Actually yes! We were doing a series of gigs of the US a while back with both Laura Marling and Johnny Flynn (the 'Fee Fi Fo Fum' tour) and our tour manager suddenly got this really nasty stomach bug. As we were all sharing the same tour bus, we really didn’t want to catch it. We thought that by drinking large ‘cups’ of Bells whisky, we’d stay healthy and the whisky would have medicinal properties. It actually turned out that the TM just had a stomach Flu and we all ended up just being really hungover from the whisky, so that idea didn’t really work out!!"
"We also played a great little tour of Scotland, which included gigs on Stornoway and Harris, as well as a wonderful drive down to the Glen Livet Estate."



(CS) "What was the dram that really switched you onto whisky?"

(TD) "It would have to be Caol Ila. From the first time I tried it, I really fell in love with the peaty flavour- it’s one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever tasted. A girlfriend once bought me a bottle and we’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since (...the whisky that is…!)"

(CS) "What’s next for the band?"

(TD) "We have lots more touring now including Europe throughout April, then out to the US until the end of June. We’ll be playing a few festivals around then too- fortunately we’ve been writing songs on the road and we’re starting to play 3-4 new ones in the set now, so hopefully we’ll be working on our next album too."

We wish Ted, Marcus, Winston and Ben the best of luck on their upcoming tour and urge you to check out the band if you haven’t already- a truly amazing live band with a wonderful debut album, which is certainly not to be missed. My preferred listening dram is Highland Park Earl Magnus. Listening to the track 'White Blank Page' after dark, with a large dram is truly magical.

You can grab tickets to see the fabulous Mumford and Sons here and listen to/buy ‘Sigh No More’ here.