St George vs The Dragon

So much whisky and so little time… a very interesting statement. With the growing number of new distilleries popping up all over the world, there are lakes of whisky out there, waiting to be bottled. A growing trend to bottle just after the minimum 3 years maturation has seen our palates being introduced to a much fresher and lighter style of malt.
There are obviously huge financial considerations when starting a distillery. Very few businesses will willingly shell out a small fortune on a product, which no one can try or buy for a considerable amount of time. Indeed, to keep ones powder dry until the whisky has really had a good few years under its belt would no doubt be very difficult for the accountants to stomach.

So we have a plethora of youthful, light, vibrant and distinctive whiskies.
Nothing wrong with that, from our perspective. As long as the whisky stands up to scrutiny, then younger styles are wholeheartedly worth exploring

Kilchoman are widely regarded as being pioneers in this field with their excellent inaugural release and follow-up bottlings. The Owl distillery in Belgium have been making great strides in their very brief life- same goes with Slyrs in Germany. We now have bottlings from even further a field, including brand new distillate from Chichibu in Japan.

Which leads us onto 2 new distilleries, which couldn’t be further away from each other geographically. But do they share the same youthful characteristics?

Kavalan Solist– Taiwanese single malt - ex-Bourbon- 58.8%

Nose: Light, zesty and very fresh, with a touch of butteriness. Dig deeper and a hint of fresh ginger comes to the fore and some juicy sultanas and freshly sawed pine. Lovely floral lavender aromas come through against the backdrop of the spirit. With water, the fruit turns tropical. Really impressive.

Palate: Initially hot, with some salted liquorice, but then the buttery mouthfeel develops- some spiced apple, fizzy Refresher sweets sour cherries and something a little soapy. It is certainly very youthful but the fruit really comes to the fore. Water brings out a little more sweetness.

Finish: Soapy in the final death, but with lingering fruity notes.

Overall: A definite statement of great young whisky making, if a little youthful in places. We’re looking forward to trying more from this excellent far eastern distillery.

St George’s - English whisky - Chapter 6 - 3yo – 46%

Nose: Peanuts, turned earth, some peppery-spiced notes, orange cream chocolates, a little fruity sideline resembling grain whisky and… cheese biscuits. Really odd mix indeed. Nice but odd.

Palate: Cream soda, with a lovely light apple & some further cereal notes. The Refreshers of the Kavalan return, mixing with some light and very milky coffee.

Finish: Light and short, some green beans coming through as the palate dries out.

Overall: Again, a very drinkable whisky, but with perhaps a few more holes than the Kavalan.

When comparing these 2 new distilleries, I can’t help but think of The German distillery –Slyrs, which is further ahead with its production of young whisky. Their recent 3-yo we reviewed here tips the scales in overall quality. I am really intrigued to see where the next release of St George’s (Chapter 7, finished in rum casks) heads and of course what will happen when this brand new distillery has a chance to really turn out some fully mature whisky.

Who the f*** is Paul Terry?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month or so, you won’t have failed to notice (ex) England Football captain John Terry getting himself into a wee spot of bother with both his young lady and the England Football manager, Lou Reed Fabio Capello. A fierce disciplinarian and family man, Capello was not best pleased at JT’s indiscretions and has since stripped Terry of the England captaincy.

But what of Paul Terry?

“Who?” I hear you cry!

Yes, Paul Terry. Paul is the older brother of England and Chelsea defender John Terry and has had a pretty decent career in the lower reaches of the football pyramid. Paul started out playing for Dagenham & Redbridge, helping them to win the Isthmian Premier League (a proper non-league division!), starting a run which 8 years later would see Dagenham & Redbridge become a full-fledged Football League club. His performance that season earned Paul a call up to the English National Game XI (often known as the England “C” Team), in 2003. Paul then moved on to play for League Two side Yeovil making 135 appearances over 4 years and on from there up a division to Leyton Orient in League One. Paul currently plies his trade back in the non-league, with Rushden & Diamonds FC.

Put simply, Paul has turned in an excellent career as a professional footballer working at a level which befits his talent, earning a living doing something he enjoys and winning trophies along the way. If Paul were to shag one of his team mates missus’, it would barely make the local parish newsletter, let alone the front pages of the national redtops. But he’s still bloody good at football. For his level.

Younger brother John on the other hand, needs no introduction. A wealthy Premier League footballer, if he were to be sold could easily become one of the most expensive footballers in world football, if not the most expensive defender of all time. Same family, different person.

The second batch of Managers’ Choices has hit our doormat here at Caskstrength.net HQ. We had the privilege of trying some of these a few months ago at an event in Soho and the full list of the releases in this batch can be found here, crowed off with a wonderful Talisker. This post however will provide an opportunity to taste again some of the drams we posted notes on there, but also compare and contrast with their often older, certainly cheaper, standard releases; the Paul Terry of the family if you will.

Let’s kick off firstly with the Dalwhinnie. We have previously posted notes on the Managers’ Choice here, but let’s take another look at this one now we have time in our own home to reflect. The notes below are taken from our previous post with additional thoughts in italics.

Dalwhinnie Managers’ Choice: 17 Year Old - 270 bottles Cask: 431 - Refill American Oak Filled: 05/02/92 Bottled: 10/03/09 - 51% Vol

Nose: Vanilla, candlewax, (similar to a Clynelish) a hint of candyfloss and some light lavender notes. With time, the vanilla really grows. Some blackcurrant and mocca / hot chocolate tones appear. It’s a really odd nose. At times complex, at other times really simplistic. It seems to vary a great deal and is difficult to get consistency on, but when it hit, you get some really lovely notes.

Palate: A hint of leather, malt and cereal flavours, with a slight lemon sharpness, leading into some very nice soft and fruity bourbon notes. With water: it needs a good old “chew” once water is added and the overall effect is an enhancement of the cereal and malt tones. I wish there was as much blackcurrant on the palate as there is in the nose and the finish.

Finish: Lightweight and fairly short. Lemon meringue lingers and then the fruity blackcurrants take over

Overall: Not a million miles from the classic Dalwhinnie 15yo, but with a slightly lighter touch. Roll on summertime. Well, we are about to find out if our statement is true, as I uncork the Dalwhinnie 15! This is very much a summer whisky and the nose is lovely, when I caught it and the finish of blackcurrant is delicious. Just needs a bigger kick on the palate. Refill American Oak is usually my wood of choice, but I would love to try a more sherried, expressive single cask of this.

Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old - 43% Vol – 70cl

Nose: This nose really jumps out of the glass at you. It’s not often I would describe a nose as “dry”, but in this instance, it is! There are loads of spices in there: cumin, cinnamon, black pepper. But also a hint of fruit backing it up; those blackcurrants again! They really shine through with some time in the glass.

Palate: No watering down, so we’ll be going in straight at 43%... It starts of quite fresh on the tongue, but as you roll it around you find a big hit of white pepper in the mid-palate and liquorice on the sides of the tongue, but that bloomin’ blackcurrant again! This time right at the front of the mouth as you swirl it around.

Finish: Lovely and warming. As the white-pepper-mid-palate dies away, the liquorice stays keeping the mouth warm while a proper real-ale-esq bitterness hits the back of the throat.

Overall: A great balance of spice and fruit. Kinda like a good cooking apple! I think we were right about the Managers’ Choice being a lighter version of the 15. If the Managers’ Choice is an example of a lighter single cask from Dalwhinnie, then I would certainly like to try the other side of the coin; a single cask that is a little more woody and full bodied.

Onward now to the Cragganmore. These two will be the 2^nd and 3^rd Cragganmore’s in week on Caskstrength.net following on from the review of the BBR bottling last week (I note that Serge on whiskyfun.com has reviewed the BBR bottling and the Managers’ Choice together, so nip over there for someone else’s take on these). We’ve previously reviewed the Cragganmore 12 Year Old here, but we’ll reprint with added notes if needed

Cragganmore – 12 YO – 40% Vol – 70cl

Nose: Pasteurised apple juice, hints of fudge and mint. Crisp Chardonnay, heather burning on a wood stove. Really lovely. Subtle, simple and delicious.

Palate: More apple juice, leading into sweet buttery muffins, covered in heather honey and brown sugar. The palate bears a striking connection with the nose, as more subtle wine notes come through as the spirit unwinds in your mouth. For a sub-£30 single malt, this is a total surprise. Brilliantly well rounded and expressive for its age.

Finish: Gentle, fruity and delicious, with hints of slightly smoky fudge turning up when you are least expecting it.

Overall: Cragganmore was the 3rd whisky I ever purchased in my pursuit of malt excellence, over 12 years ago. I’m pleased to say that there is a certain amount of resonance returning to this bottling. For the price, it sits very comfortably as a fine drinking whisky and will always be considered a Caskstrength house staple!!

Cragganmore Managers’ Choice - 12 Years Old - Filled: 02/05/97 Bottled: 14/5/09 - 564 bottles - Cask: 2398 - Bodega Sherry Cask – 59.7% vol

Nose: A very delicate sherry nose, certainly not overpowering at all. This adds some summer fruits to the usual delicate, white flower notes that the Craggy 12 standard bottling does so very well. It’s a similar beast, but with less of the Chardonnay and more hints of mint and even a touch of liniment oil. Slightly less expressive than the 12 Year Old, but with much more body- more “in-you-face” and less pansy-like! With water: a little smoke, biscuit notes come to the fore, and the cherry we got in the neat palate.

Palate: The alcohol level is high on this one so neat you get a big hit of warmth and then hidden under there, out pops some cherry and a good amount of wood (I’d swear this was American Oak if not the label). A very solid palate. With water: much more manageable and rounded- much, much more of the cask effect with spices of soft fruitcake and a touch of black pepper.

Finish: Lots of ginger and polo mints. With water: much smokier finish. Still long with lots of ginger.

Overall: A totally different beast to the 12 Year Old. Where the standard release is delicate and floral, the Managers’ Dram has much more more mid-tone in the palate, much more meat to it. It shows what a good sherry cask can do in 12 Years to a usually delicate whisky. It’s bulked it up: like sending the 12 Year Old to Army Camp for the summer.

Next up is the Dufftown. Neil has a bottle of The Singleton Of Dufftown (for any ladies reading, I'm very much the Singleton of London Town... - Joel) at home, so here are his notes on the two:

The Singleton Of Dufftown - 12 yo - 40% - 70cl

Nose: An initial note of polished surfaces (Mr Sheen) and an intriguing aroma of freshly cut Honey Dew melon. Cinnamon, apple and brown sugar then all combine to give a rich spicy fruity note. Some dried fruits, but certainly not as many as you'd imagine from a whisky matured predominantly in European Oak.

Palate: Sweet, with more of the sugar (demerera) with a little nuttiness and then a touch of clear honey. It is a very drinkable dram indeed. A hint of dried apricots as the palates dries and perhaps even a modicum of ground coffee.

Finish: More dried fruits and a resonance of the sweetness from the palate.

Overall: Not bad at all. This delivers a nice smooth richness to the mouth, which for a pretty budget whisky is very well received indeed. It isn't the most exciting whisky out there, but does its job. Rather like the older Mr Terry.

Dufftown Managers' Choice - 59.5%- Rejuvenated American Oak - Filled: May 1997 - 282 bottles

Nose: Very similar polish and melon notes, with a sickly sweet aroma and a spirity undertone. The strength has obviously given this whisky a sharper edge- lets hope it doesn't upset the (spiced) apple cart on the palate.

Palate: The spirit is hugely prominent, with a prickly sharp entry, but gives way to some sweet white chocolate flavour, a hint of country fudge, zesty sherbet and then some spicy cinnamon laced apples. There is definitely less of a sherry influence and the American oak has given the palate a deft, vanilla/buttery sweet note, not found in the Singleton.

Finish: The spices linger, but also a creaminess, with a peculiar parsley sauce note and some waxiness. Medium in length.

Overall: Well. It's definitely a drinkable dram, but doesn't have a great deal in common with its far cheaper and fruity cousin. At £200, it is one of the cheaper Managers' Choice bottlings, but would ultimately be a step too far for us to buy- there are just better drams out there in this price bracket.

Finally, we must finish off with the one whisky which we don’t have a standard release to compare it to; Strathmill. Not a whisky we have had a chance to review before so it’s time to take a quick break, grab a hot cross bun and do some reading around this distillery.

FIVE MINS LATER: My research shows only one official bottling, a 12 year old, as part of Diageo’s Flora and Fauna series and not many indie bottlings either. That’ll be why we’ve not tried one before, then! So, let’s dig in to the Managers’ Choice:

Strathmill Managers’ Choice – 14 Years Old - Filled: 30/12/94 Bottled: 06/03/09 - 300 bottles - Cask: 5503 - New American Oak - 60.1% Vol

Nose: Yes! Special bottlings? This is what it should be all about. But let’s not get too excited, we’re only on the nose! Banana pancakes with syrup. Hot buttered crumpets. A hint of delicate wood smoke. With water: the butter really flies out of the glass backed by vanilla. This is again a great example of the wood-effect. American oak is always going to deliver butter and vanilla. How much more is New American Oak going to do that!

Palate: Humm... you wouldn’t have it down at +60% (only the heat gives it away) but it’s still strong in flavour. Swirl it around and you get a good deal of bitterness, pear juice and honey. With Water: the heat dies at a good rate to allow the vanilla to come and play. Everything else remains.

Finish: Very unusual. And very long! Earthy, with touches of cumin seeds and honeysuckle. With water: green apple sweets come out much more and the length is curtailed to long, from very long!

Overall: What an unusual whisky. It’s very delicious but most confusing, with a lot of very complex and unusual flavour profiles in the palate and especially the finish. Plenty of energy in this malt.

So, what of these Managers’ Choice bottlings? As usual, each one needs to be tasted on their merit. Each is an individual and can not be compared to the other. If you own a League Two football team, Paul Terry is the man for you. He knows the league, knows the game and understands the wage structure. If, however you happen to be a Russian Billionaire, then pack your team full of superstar, millionaire players. It doesn’t make you a better person. It merely makes you a different person.

Away with the Green Fairies

Well, here's a departure. After over 200 posts on whisky since our inception, we fancied a little foray into something completely different. Today is a special day for one particular spirit. A spirit so controvertial that it has almost become as legendary for its number of critics as for its fans.

Absinthe has been shrouded in mystery, half-truths and rumour for centuries.
With its notoriously high strength, supposed hallucinogenic ingredients and near ritualistic preparation, absinthe had the ability to seduce the drinker and enrapture the soul. It was at the heart of the Belle Époche movement and its mythology surrounds many of our greatest literary and artistic figures. So why did absinthe become such an ‘Enfant Terrible’?

Well, it certainly all became too much for most of continental Europe. In 1915, Absinthe was banned in Switzerland, with France following suite. The magic and romance it had helped to create was over. In the past 100 years it has drifted, fortunately finding a few highly passionate enthusiasts, who have helped to put it back on the (flavour) map.



On this day in 2007, Absinthe was legally allowed to be imported back into the USA. Flags were flown and we imagine that even George Bush probably chased La Fee Vert, hoping for some inspiration. Although it has never been banned here in the UK, there were few really quality Absinthe's out there... until now. Step forward the micro distilleries, Absinthe freaks and age-old swiss recipes and all of a sudden, the spirit is really a force to be reckoned with.



We were lucky enough to receive several bottles of the highest quality French and Swiss absinthes from our new friends at Absinthe Classics. Created by David Nathan-Maister, a veritable (absinthe) fountain of knowledge on the spirit, Absinthe Classics acts as a conduit to many hard-to-find small batch Absinthes from tiny distilleries.

Here are our thoughts on a few of the best:

Doubs Mystique - Carte d'or- (65% vol)

Doubs Mystique "Carte d'or" is an ultra-premium absinthe distilled using century old alembic stills in Pontarlier, the heart of the Doubs region of eastern France and the historical home of French absinthe.

Colour: Light lime green, very natural in appearance. Very slow to louche with the addition of water.

Nose: Light fennel/anise notes, followed by a zesty lemon, diced apple digestive biscuits and a faint toffee aroma. With water some very fresh pine/mint notes emerge

Palate: Subtle aniseed notes, with a warming sweet citrus fruit flavour.

Overall: Superbly balanced and refreshing – a very high quality absinthe indeed.

Roquette 1797 - (75% vol)

A complex, unusual and spicy French absinthe, based directly on a late 18th century manuscript recipe, when the drink straddled the line between liquor and potion.

Colour: light gold, with a faint green tinge. Very slow to louche, still retaining some clarity.

Nose: Vegetative, with an almost roast parsnip note, hints of cumin and a very clean alcohol note.

Palate: Retaining a traditional bitter note from the wormwood with a medicinal flavour. Needs the correct balance of sugar to really shine.

Overall: This is a very uniquely flavoured absinthe, which certainly harks back to the traditional flavours of the past.

Vieux Pontarlier (65% vol)

This historic spirit is distilled using locally grown wormwood, which is considered one the finest in the world. Faithful to original formulations.

Colour: Jade, with a light yellow hue. Relatively quick to louche, with some lovely oily notes emerging in the glass.

Nose: Slightly meaty and savoury, with biscuit notes in its undiluted form. Fresh lime notes and a definite aroma of anise coming through with the addition of water.

Palate: Minty and menthol notes emerge first, followed by bold anise and a mildly bitter, spicy and peppery undertone. Really superb mouth feel.

Overall: Another well-balanced absinthe, with big, bold flavours.

La Clandestine Suisse (53% vol)

A Suisse styled absinthe, made in the birthplace of the spirit, Couvet in the Val-de-Travers region of Switzerland.

Colour: Clear and translucent, with no colouring whatsoever. Quick to louche, with a chalky, white cloudiness.

Nose: Mint, Everton toffee and a slight savoury note in its undiluted form. With water, dusty notes emerge with a clean fennel aroma. Aromatic and well rounded.

Palate: Sweeter than other absinthes, Clandestine requires only a minute addition of sugar- the palate bursts with aniseed flavour, a peppery piquancy which lingers in the mouth for a long time.

Overall: Very different in style to the French absinthes, this is a great introduction to the spirit, and is not overpowering due to its lower alcohol strength.

For more information on all of these Absinthes, check out www.absintheclassics.com

Happy Absinthe Day Everyone....

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.