Berry Berry Good...

Dashing through the rain soaked streets of St James in London and it appears nobody is looking where they're going, or indeed, where they've come from. Shame on them. I have just bought a brand new umbrella and i'm dead excited. Because it is keeping me splendidly dry, it gives me time to wander about and look at just how great this part of London actually looks in the rain.

Spend half and hour just 'looking' around here and you realise how many tiny details you either overlook or just don't have time to see. St James used to be THE place to be seen back in the early-mid 19th Century. The private members clubs of Pall Mall were frequented by the upwardly mobile from every echelon of society- landed gentry, minor royalty, politicians and the independently wealthy. Beau Brummell and his chums used to regularly rack up large gambling debts over outlandish wagers- like which raindrop would reach the bottom of the window pane first.


It was even recorded that the rakish Brummell instructed his tailor to send him a new weskit (waistcoat) EVERY HOUR so he could be seen looking the part, strutting around the smoking lounge of his club, White's. (Joel, we need to turn Caskstrength headquarters into a club like this!!)

Walking down Pall Mall today does not reveal much to the untrained eye. But stop for a second and take a closer look at the robust and well-maintained Regency edifices on either side. A decidedly more secretive and salubrious scene lies in wait, behind the many anonymous doorways and nondescript, brass signage plates. Close your eyes and you can almost imagine sharing a vintage port with the likes of Brummell and Thackeray. Chances are, that port would have been provided by one establishment, sitting at No. 3 St James 's Street. The proprietor was Mr George Berry and his extraordinary establishment is still there today, unchanged and uncompromised.

Berry Bros & Rudd have been in business for around 300 years. That alone is a staggering feat. Initially selling coffee, (sign above the door still has an illustrated coffee mill adorning it) they moved into retailing wines and other imported drinks such as port, cognac and sherry.




Customers could even get themselves weighted when visiting the shop on their vast scales. The company's sales books have notes next to some of the more eminent customers, recording their weight, proclaiming they were 'wearing a heavy coat at the time'. Must use that excuse when I next step on the scales!!

A book 'The Story Of Berry Bro's & Rudd - Wine & Spirits Merchants' by Tom Johnson is available if you fancy learning more about BBR..


We popped in recently for a catch up with Doug McIvor and Edward Bates, the chaps behind the wonderfully stocked spirits section. We were in for a real treat. Several new Berry's Own Selection bottling's were on the menu and we were keen to get stuck in...

First up.... a Big bold Macduff

Berry’s Owen Selection – Macduff – 1984 – 52.2 %

Nose: Now this is more like it! Mint toffee, butterscotch then straight into passion fruit (think that classic Bowmore tropical fruit note) and a touch of ground coffee. Really direct, expressive and superb. With water, a meaty, herbaceous note profoundly pops up and proclaims it’s dinner time!!

Palate: Oily, menthol notes, burnt Demerera sugar /crème brulee and lots of woody sherry. This is very brooding and dark. The coffee notes comeback, (strong sweetened Espresso) and even a hint of blackened bananas. This Macduff loves BIG flavours, as long as they’re all dark and intense.

Finish: Woody and drying, but the coffee still lingers on. Decent is an understatement. This is a total beast! A powerful, intense but very expressive beast.

Overall: One of Berry’s essential new bottlings. Miss this at your peril. And finally, something unusual indeed...

Berry’s Own Selection – Balmenach – 1979 – 56.3%

Nose: Chopped Hazelnuts, digestive biscuits, golden syrup, and wet tissue paper. Then something very unexpected…Heinz Tomato soup. Just a whiff but it seemed to mix in very nicely indeed. Left in the glass, this is a constantly evolving nose. Some swirls of smoke sweet smoke start to emerge. Masses to get your nose into here!! Great stuff.

Palate: More of the Hazelnuts, some drying toasted oats, fruit jelly sweets and a little influence from European oak (dried apricots). Some crystalised lemon and ginger notes dance on the tongue with some cherry sherbet- then some sweetened cocoa powder. This whisky is all over the place, but in a really great way. Highly unusual and very unique.

Finish: Toasty notes and some citrus sharpness linger on the palate.

Overall: This is my first Balmenach and it certainly shines- it has so much going on, it’s very difficult to put your finger on where it’s heading next. It also really drinks well, even at caskstrength, so be sparing with the water.

Berry’s Own Selection – Glen Mhor – 1982 – 46%

Nose: Phenolic vanillas, banana, juicy green apples (without the peel), some lime juice and the faintest hint of coal smoke on the death. Noses really, really well. Very refreshing, summer-like.

Palate: This doesn't need any water and sits on the palate in a very delicate manner, bringing in some lovely dry white wine tones before popping into life. As it warms on the palate, ginger and grapefruit become apparent as it settles nicely in the mid-palate.

Finish: Medium in length, and a little more meaty than the nose, there is a sprinkling of cracked black pepper, some more grapefruit and that's pretty much it.

Overall: The nose is just wonderfully refreshing. I could sniff this all day long... perfectly drinkable and a smooth and easy going dram. But the nose is just wonderful.

Berry’s Own Selection – Cragganmore – 1997 – 58.6%

Nose: Very fruity, with red carnations and rosewater. A touch of wood in there too.

Palate: Hot going in, but really swirl it around and it starts to open up with ginger and rhubarb showing through best of all. With water: The vanillas open up a lot more, like vanilla custard and this moves along into the finish...

Finish: Longish finish, quite bitter, like a good lime cordial should be. With water: You get a crème brulee note backed with the bitterness of the limes.

Overall: I recently had a "non-whisky drinking" friend over for dinner ("What sort of friend are they, Joel?!" - Neil) and after a few rejected whiskies this, with plenty of water, was the dram they said could turn them on to drinking Scotch. It needs a good slug of H2O, but once cut down, all the great aspects of a good Craggy come out to play: Heather, vanilla, white flowers.

Here's to another 300 years chaps!!

Dunn and Dusted

This year’s Whisky Live London provided us with some interesting treats (and tweets!), not least the fantastic conversation with some elderly Northern gents in the pub by Putney Bridge tube on the Friday night; the sort of salt-of-the-earth types that make you glad for whisky, real ale and good company.

Having arrived at The Hurlingham Club at 7pm on the Friday, I was thrown straight in the deep-end as Reserve Brand’s Colin Dunn grabbed my arm and dragged me not-quite-kicking-and-screaming along to his “Hebridean Journey” tasting. Now, if you’re going to a whisky festival, I find there are three key ways in which to prepare:

Firstly, food:

Make sure you have lots of food. I had popped in to the Whisky Exchange earlier in the day which allowed me to raid the stalls at Borough Market, getting in a good bed of Roast Pork Belly from one of the stalls, coupled with some nice soup and a crusty bread roll.

The second pointer for pre-festival action is water:

a friend has recently been doing some work for Belu, an ethical bottled water company and as a result he was overloaded with the stuff. Thus, last week I found myself the proud owner of two palates of bottled mineral water. I made it my aim to quaff as much of the stuff over the two days leading up to Whisky Live, as possible.

Thirdly and probably most importantly, is opening your mind:

Each dram should be judged on their own individual merit. Not pre-conceptions. Not marketing bull$hit. No unfair comparisons.

However, no sooner I had stepped foot inside the Hurlingham Club than I found myself at a table with the following whiskies:

Talisker 12 Year Old – Friends Of The Classic Malts Bottling

Talisker 25 Year Old

Caol Ila Cask Strength

Lagavulin 12 Year Old – 2009 Special Release

Lagavulin 30 Year Old

Port Ellen 3^rd Release

Phew!

This is like going to your Freshers Ball at University, all dressed up and ready to meet a bevy of attractive (and unattractive), young, drunk students all up for the “university experience”. But then your Uncle picks you up and takes you to Stringfellows beforehand… the benchmark is going to have been set uber high…!

Here at caskstrength.net, we’ve been very privileged over the last two years to have tried most of the above bottlings before and, not wanting to either bore you or repeat ourselves, you can simply click on the bottles above to be taken to their respective tasting notes. The main bottling here that we hadn’t come across before is the Lagavulin 30 Year Old:

Lagavulin – 30 Year Old – bottled 2006 – 52.6% Vol – 70cl

Nose: Wonderful nose of blackcurrant and heather, with the obligatory Lagavulin smoke. Lots of refence points that you get in old whiksy: polished wood, old leather shoes, second hand books.

Palate: Over comes the smoke, followed by marmalade and summer fruit compote. Also a touch of cigar smoke (alongside the peat smoke) and hints of ginger.

Finish: Just that blackcurrant again! As it lingers there is a touch of old leather and smoke. Long and lingering. Slobber!

Overall: Just yummy! I wish it was 2006 again, as I’d love to go out and get a few bottle of this. Sadly, it’s now probably silly money… Better in my view than the Lagavulin 21, which I found a touch disappointing.

To follow on from the 30 Year Old, earlier in the day (pre-Roast Pork Belly) I was also lucky enough to try an interesting Lagavulin: The 2008 Friends Of The Classic Malts Bottling, available only in Europe and matured exclusively in European Oak.

Lagavulin - 12 Year Old – Friends Of The Classic Malts Bottling – 1995 / 2008 - bottle number 00989 – 48% - 70cl

Nose: Everything you expect in the 16 Year Old, but clothed in the heaviest of velvets. Some seaweed and salt (like the saltiness of a Talisker). Very rich and fruity- too much? Quite heavy and oily.

Palate: Much more delicate than expected going in with warmth of ginger and cinnamon; slight bitter orange notes over time.

Finish: Heavy notes of burnt sugar, over-rip red fruit. Bitter, black coffee. Ripe Plums.

Overall: This is like a smoked Aberlour A'bunadh and you can see the sense in doing this one for the European market, who seem to love anything that’s ever been near Sherry (they probably still love Tony Blair…). Very powerful flavours, sensible alcohol strength to compliment the strength in palate, well put together. An exceptional expression of Lagavulin.

Hurlingham Highlights

For the second year running, Whisky Live rolled into the wonderfully secluded grounds of Hurlingham Tennis Club in South West London for a weekend of fine single malts and a catch up with old friends.

Over the 2 days, 1,200 avid whisky nuts crammed in to the grand hall, eager to try some classic drams from distilleries all over the world, as well as some brand new and sneak previews of whiskies to be released later this year.

As with last year, we were there, pens at the ready to bring you all the gossip and tasting notes!

First up- a real coup.



A few months ago, we got to try Highland Park's excellent Earl Magnus 15 yo bottling, which flew out the door quicker than free tickets to Glastonbury Festival. Yesterday, the irrepressible Mr Gerry Tosh (Brand Ambassador Of The Year at this year's WWA's!) was on hand to allow us a sample of the second release in the saga - Saint Magnus. This bottling follows on from where Earl left off (the story goes that Earl Magnus was killed by his evil and blood thirsty cousin, Haakon over a power struggle to control the Orkney Isles)

Saint Magnus will be a younger bottling (12 years old) at 52.6%, containing a high proportion of whisky matured in sherry wood and is due to hit the shops later this summer, with a slightly bigger outturn than the Earl Magnus bottling. Apparently pre-orders are shaping up extremely well already, so expect this one to repeat the success of the first release.

here's our tasting notes:

Highland Park - Saint Magnus - 12 years old - 52.6%

Nose: Really big sherry wood notes on the first nosing, with classic HP dried fruits and a wonderfully spicy hit. This is drier than Earl Magnus and further sniffs reveal a delicate aromatic peat note, which balances the sherry influence nicely.

Palate: Mouth coating from the first sip. That sherry encountered on the nose, swirls around the palate with real authority. Burnt orange notes, pepper, leading into a licorice sweetness all jostle for authority. A big hitting and direct dram.

Finish: The dryer notes from the sherry, give this a very lengthy and oaky finish, with more of that smoke on the death.

Overall: Another cracker. The Earl Magnus is a very differently styled dram to this, but Highland Park fans will be delighted with the way the saga is playing out.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL FOLKS.... THE SAGA IS TO BECOME A TRILOGY...!

Ooh er. This could be interesting. The antagonist of the story, Haakon is also to be given a whisky bearing his name- and not unlike his character, Gerry points out that the 3rd bottling will be "Big, powerful and.... Beastly!"

We got to try the very first draft of Haakon as well. Still in the planning stage, this whisky will be an 18 yo, bottled around caskstrength like the previous 2. The release date has yet to be finalised, but expect to see it emerge in around 16- 18 months.

The first draft was around 46% and again had a high proportion of sherry wood, which Gerry mentioned will be supplemented with some American oak (filled with sherry, not bourbon) in later drafts. Here's our impression of this work-in-progress giant:

Highland Park - Haakon (first draft)- 18 years old - 46%

Nose: Noticeably different to the Saint Magnus. Lots of fruit, but much more fragrant, leaning further towards an aromatic peat. Similar honeyed sweet notes to that of the regular 18 yo bottling.

Palate: Tropical fruit and coconut notes. The sherry isn't as prominent as Saint Magnus, but is certainly there, brooding away in the shadows, rather like Haakon!!

Finish: The sweet honeyed notes give way into a dryer spice. Lingering but lacking the directness of its caskstrength cousins.

Overall: Oh so drinkable now- it has all the hallmarks of the wonderful 18 yo bottling, but needs to be more 'beastly' in strength!! There is no doubt that this promises to be an EPIC whisky. And one that we can't wait to see the outcome of.

Wow! what a line up so far.. but that's just the start of it!!

In addition to the Highland park exclusives, Suntory were also proud to bring 2 very new bottling's to the table as well, both to be released later this summer. As always- we were there to dive in with the first samples....

Yamazaki - Puncheon edition- 48% - ltd to 3000 bottles - Scheduled for a July release

Nose: Red berries/ milk chocolate, slight spice (nutmeg) and strawberry sherbet. Becomes more perfumed over time. Wonderful, understated but very expressive.

Palate: So delicate on the palate- has the hallmarks of what you would expect from Yamazaki, but has superb sweet cereal, more red berries and a lovely creamy after note. Hubba Bubba chewing gum fruitiness too!

Finish: Very creamy as the palate dries, but an eloquent and enjoyable dram.

Overall: Another excellent bottling from this continuously innovating distillery. Snap this up in July, before it all goes.

Next up - something heavily peated from Hakushu. Due for a similar summer release date, this Hakushu will continue in the line of peated expressions, but will be a limited European outturn of 2-3000 bottles.

Hakushu - Heavily Peated - Ltd summer release

Nose: Deft and heady- carbolic soap, lemony washing up suds and a lot of fruit!! Toffee apple and sweet candy floss. A real bag of aroma.

Palate: A slightly salty intro, into Parma Violets with a wash of delicate peat at first, but then comes the main course of aromatic wood smoke. It's so different to Islay peat, a wall of floral flavours. Excellent

Finish: Lingering smoky notes, but still delicate and sweet on the death.

Overall: For Hakushu fans, this will absolutely delight. For peated whisky freaks, you simply must grab a bottle when the summer comes.

The final treat from this year’s Whisky Live, was the new 14 Year Old Glenfiddich, Rich Oak. This ‘fiddich is finished in both new American Oak and new European Oak (they call the casks “untouched”), with the latter being an industry first, according to the distillery. We’re fans of Glenfiddich, both the spirit and the people, here at caskstrength.net, so let’s see how this one sits with the rest of their core range:

Glenfiddich Rich Oak - 14 Years Old – 40% Vol – 70cl

Nose: white PVA glue, orange and a hint of mint. There are some apricots and other fruits in there, but I can’t get beyond that whiff of PVA glue.

Palate: I found this a little too weak. The flavours that are there, lime juice and cinnamon notes, don’t have a lot of energy, but the balance is good.

Finish: There is a warming bitterness on the finish and considering the use of “untouched” oak, they have managed to avoid too much dryness.

Overall: I found this dram to be a little lacklustre on the palate, but well balanced in the finish. The PVA nose still haunts me, however... RRP £30.99

Sweet Disposition

A few months ago, we ran a post on a rather unusual Bowmore from our friends at Master Of Malt. It was the sort of whisky that gets you in a right lather even after merely nosing it. In fact, it reminded us of that wonderful time gone by, when the school bell had just gone and you found yourselves racing towards the local corner shop, pockets full of coppers, fully intent on stocking up on as many tasty and probably tooth-rotting delights as you could carry. Ok we, may still be a little bit guilty of this, as may you.

Well hats off to MOM. They heard our inner call. We love sweets. Perhaps not as much as we love whisky, but enough to get excited at the picture at the top of this post.

For a limited time and in true Willy Wonka fashion, they're giving away a 'veritable cornucopia of old-fashioned sweeties' as well as a tasting glass with every bottle of Bowmore 26 yo. And as if that's not enough to excite you, they'll also throw in some rather grown up treats too, in the shape of samples from 3 of their other caskstrength whiskies - a 19yo Tomatin a 16 yo Tamnavulin and a 12yo Arran.

For our full tasting notes on the Bowmore, which came a handsome 2nd place in our recent BiG Awards, click here. For more information on the Bowmore offer and for further details about the other whiskies go to: MasterOfMalt.com

Don't forget your toothbrush folks!

Back To The Future - Thirteen

Way back in November 2009 (some time in the last decade...) we featured a story about the lost whisky of polar explorer Sir Earnest Shakleton, which has been discovered lain beneath the ice waiting for someone to set it free. This afforded Neil the opportunity to play one of his favourite tricks: freezing bottles of whisky to see what they taste like when frozen (a la Vodka). Often this leads to some fantastic results (have you ever tried freezing a bottle of Talisker 10 and then dribbling the gloopy liquid over smoked salmon at breakfast? What do you mean “no”...!) and our current favourite for this treatment is Johnnie Walker Gold, an exceptional blend whichever way you choose to consume it.

One of the replies from this post was by the always entertaining Mr Richard Patterson, “The Nose” himself. He suggested that to make the comparison a fair one, we should stick in a Whyte & Mackay, as the aforementioned “lost” whisky was McKinlay’s & Co, a brand which is now owned by Whyte & Mackay. Hopefully W&M will be able to get a sample of the historic whisky and do their up most to send us a sample recreate the product, so we can all have a taste of the past.

In the mean time, I have stuck a bottle of Whyte & Mackay "Thirteen" in the freezer to see what happens. Thirteen is Whyte & Mackay’s second cheapest blend in this market (the UK), coming in at around £20, about £5 cheaper than their entry level blend, Special. Thirteen is also a brave title for a whisky. Famously unlucky on these shores as a number, it is also one year older than a 12 Year Old and three whole years older than a 10 Year Old (“No $hit Sherlock”, I hear you cry...), but this is clever. A lot of consumers buying a blend in the sub-£20 market will take a look at the Thirteen and think, “Wow, this not only has an age statement, but it is so much older than a 10 Year Old blend.” Thirteen is also not unlucky everywhere in the world; one only has to look towards the bar mitzvah to see that the age 13 isn’t always considered bad. But here, the thirteen relates to the companies “double marriage”, where the blends are brought together at 12 Years Old and finished for a year in sherry casks. This is supposed to give the blend “a distinct graceful smoothness” and this “double marriage” can be seen advertised on the box. Speaking of which, the presentation of this blend is fantastic. Whyte & Mackay really reach out to their Glasgow heritage with cleverly designed packaging that echoes one of Glasgow’s most famous sons, Charles Rennie Macintosh with a beautiful silver box and fonts which could have come straight from a Macintosh text book. They’ve done a cracking job with that.

But enough about the marketing. How does the damn stuff taste? Before we dive in to the chilled goodness, we must screw off the cap (and it’s not often enough we say that) and pour a dram “warm” to see how this fairs:

Whyte & MacKay – Thirteen – 40% ABV – 70cl

Nose: This has quite a complex nose for a cheaper blend. Chocolate Orange, vanilla, butterscotch, hot toffee apple. It doesn't smell young, but you can pick up on the grain which gives the whole thing a sprity lift and delivers a hint of mint right at the death.

Palate: This whisky is so easy on the palate, take a big gulp. Ginger nuts and wood- some hints of cedar wood and polish. So, so easy to drink. No nasty kicks or surprises from anywhere. Sticking it in that sherry wood must have been like giving Ritalin to kids.

Finish: Slightly hot with woody spices (that cedar again) and some summer fruits (strawberry jam, mainly). Very yummy.

Overall: This is a cracking little blend. Very easy to drink (quaffable!) and would work as well in the summer as in the winter. A good,well made all-rounder. Museltof!

So, let’s step back in time and see what this baby has to offer after a few hours in the freezer:

This doesn’t thicken up as much as other blends I have tried cooling (JW Gold / Monkey Shoulder). The palate gives off much more of the strawberry notes. I make a great dessert by roasting strawberries soaked on vodka with a dash of pimms (serve with thickened balsamic vinegar and it is amazing) and the profile is not that dissimilar to that. The spirit-grains come though loudly and it all finishes with a malty after glow.

Overall: as a preference, drink this the normal way! Nice and warmed, in a big glass!