A Dram for Seth.

Today, I remembered very vividly a conversation I had about 6 years ago with a South London Estate Agent, when moving house from the chaotic streets of Camden in the north of the city, to the leafy suburbs of Dulwich.

'Oh, it's basically baby central round these parts,' she jovially pointed out, as we passed by scores of young couples out for a walk with their prams and push chairs, all aglow with contentment and pride.

If i'm honest, at the time, I really didn't get the 'baby thing'. All I wanted was some peace and quiet; somewhere away from music venues, tourists and occasional knife-wielding drugged up nutters, complete with 12" scars, running down the length of their chests. Camden was a playground for those in pursuit of a more hedonistic lifestyle and I was most definitely done with that.

Since then, South London and the surrounding suburbs have claimed quite a few more of our great friends, eager to settle down and plan their lives together. And I am definitely getting a little broody.

The 2nd of November was a very special day for two particular friends of Caskstrength - Jonny and Melda Simon. Baby Seth Simon was born and today, I popped round to see the little fella, now just 10 days old. Like his dad, he has lots of hair and in the years to come he'll no doubt develop his father's razor sharp wit, as well as a discerning palate for single malts, fine dining and music.

To celebrate, I grabbed something from the Caskstrength cabinet, which I'd been itching to open. A couple of years back, I picked up a Coopers Choice Highland Park, distilled in 1981 and bottled in 2008. Having tried a small sample at the Whisky Shop in Dufftown, I remember it being a real cracker, so to uncork it and raise a glass to another little cracker feels like the order of the day.

Highland Park - Coopers Choice - Distilled 1981 - Bottled 2008 - 26 yo - 46%

Nose: Incredibly light and zesty on the nose. I suspect that the cask must be a 2nd or 3rd fill, but it is all the better for it, as aromas of coconut, sliced vanilla pods, a faint waft of aromatic, floral smoke and plums fill the nostrils. Given time, blackcurrant notes a hint of oak and freshly baked bread come to the fore.

Palate: Very oily on the palate, with that classic HP blackcurrant 'n smoke coating the tongue. Golden syrup notes, tinned peaches and tinned sweetened cream also arrive after a few seconds, alongside a malty note and a hint of herbal tea and Manuka honey.

Finish: Drying oak notes, with a lingering but light aromatic smoke, some iodine notes and lemon zest.

Overall: Oily, fruity, floral and deliciously smoky. A fine example of an independently bottled HP. The oak is definitely there, but fortunately, all the other great hallmarks of this Orkney powerhouse outweigh any criticism.

As Jonny and I pop outside to smoke a brace of celebratory cigars and sink another dram, I raise a glass to little Seth. The HP has excelled, working brilliantly with the Backwoods Originals we're smoking (and their wonderful sweet vanilla smoke) and it is a privilege to spend time with a great mate, who is going to make an excellent dad. Well done guys and hopefully we'll be back here with another freshly cracked bottle in 18 years time for Seth to try.

Game, Set and Batch

As the end of the year approaches, drinks companies are finally showing their hand with releases designed to satisfy the market moving into Christmas.

One aspect of bottling which various distilleries have been embracing recently is the idea of batches.

As (hopefully) the malt-ready consumer becomes more educated about their purchases, it is great to see certain distilleries celebrate inconsistency in their bottlings by means of a batch number.

In Speyside, The Balvenie are letting us all know which issue of Signature we’re slugging back (thankfully, batch two onwards is far more drinkable than batch one; very much their Star Wars to the largely forgotten THX 1138. Let’s hope there isn’t a Howard The Duck lurking around the corner).

Howard The Duck. What the F**K was George Lucas thinking?

Over on Islay, Laphroaig have been at it for a couple of years with their Cask Strength 10 Year Old and now their relatively peaty neighbour, Bowmore are well on the road to success with Tempest, who saw their third batch launched recently.

Batch Two was a huge fav of ours, making it into our Best In Glass list of the top ten whiskies released in 2010, as well landing the gong of Best Islay Single Malt 2011 at the World Whisky Awards. So the third release has a lot to live up to.

With Batch Two maintaining its status as a really excellent bottling, we were intrigued to compare the two releases side-by-side to see which should take the crown as THE Bowmore in our cabinet. So we sat down with a dram of each to decide…

Bowmore Tempest - 10 years old - BATCH TWO - 56%

Nose: Woody, with pronounced sweet maple/vanilla notes, butterscotch and hints of sweet sherry. The smoke is sweet, like burning freshly sawn pine. Indeed, there is a distinctly resinous note to this batch. Given time in the glass, the whisky develops a fruit crumble-like note and the vanilla becomes more pronounced. With water, the fruit and a huge citrus burst jump from the glass, with some orange blossom in tow. Lovely stuff.

Palate: Sweet, with candied apple sweets, toffee apple, lemon zest and a slightly peppery/prickly spice. The smoke is delicate and bacon-like, with slight charred/coal-dust notes.

Finish: Lingering soft, sweet smoke notes and an air of creamy toffee helps to complete a complex and well- developed dram.

Overall: This batch really shines on every level; it has enough smoke to satisfy the devotees, but the fruit, vanilla and zest, balance the overall picture fantastically well. High marks indeed.

Bowmore - Tempest – 10 Years Old – BATCH THREE - 55.6% abv

Note: The first thing to say is that batch three is noticeably lighter than batch two. The smoke on the nose of batch two is dustier and comes across as older, less energetic and more relaxed.

Nose: Coal dust smoke (a la Caol Ila) Cream soda and lemon zest, with a hint of lemon meringue pie on the nose. Some cut grass, butterscotch and white flowers.

Palate: Very sweet with smoked chedder and white sugar. With water, the palate develops a lovely elderflower note which grows in volume, so the addition of a few drops is a real must. Some blackberry cordial notes begin to develop too.

Finish: The smoke lingers leaving butterscotch and elderflower wine.

Overall: Batch three is much more akin to the Caol Ila Moch or Port Askaig 17, but without their confidence and assured nature. If batch two has the lolloping attitude of an old Labrador, batch three has the exuberant energy of a golden retriever puppy but without the experience. For us, it’s Batch two all the way...

So there you have it. Batch three is a solid whisky, but it doesn’t quite punch the weight of the previous batch which is richer, more assured and possesses a greater complexity.

More Christmas Madness

After our last post it seems that quite a few folks are getting in on the act in the run up to Christmas with liquids and potions galore. And yes, that kind of shamefully means us too.

Firstly we heard the quite bizarre story that super-budget supermarket chain, Aldi were releasing a 40 year old single malt. Once we'd stopped blinking in quiet amazement, assuming it must be a huge wind up, we started to wonder exactly who this might be aimed at, (surely not the man who buys 20 bags of Monster Munch for 99p) which distillery is behind it and more importantly, how much the thing would cost and whether it is any good. Hopefully these things will be revealed over the next few days, but it is certainly a very intriguing release. Imagine the shock on the wife's face when you return with a 50 pack of fish fingers, two dozen toilet rolls, a cheap cordless drill and a bottle of 40yo single malt!!

Secondly, we've been up to mischief with our chums at Master Of Malt again.

This time, it involves an idea that steadily grew one afternoon after a few pints and quickly descended into something chaotic and quite frankly absurd, but with bags of good clean Christmas fun thrown in for good measure. Today, we can proudly say that the very first batch of newly formulated Christmas Bitters go on sale and they certainly do what they say on the label.

As we finished our final round of ales and rather unwisely asked the pub landlord to whip up some Manhattans a thought crossed our slightly befuddled minds. What if you could capture all the great flavours and aromas of Christmas in one bottle, which you could then make some superlative festive cocktails with....

And lo, after much experimentation, we settled on a recipe that features roasted chestnuts, cocoa, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, orange peel, mixed nuts, some all important dates, pine extract, nutmeg, cranberries and smoky Lapsang Souchong tea. We drew the line at roast turkey, wrapping paper and the almighty Christmas family row, but think we got all the major players in there.

And then.... a sign!!

A bearded man in the pub knocked his pint over and uttered the immortal words 'Sweet Jesus Christ!'

Suddenly, in a flash we knew we had yet to add the most important ingredients of all: 23 Carat Gold dust, Frankincense and Myrrh. We even managed to find something called Star Of Bethlehem extract, so threw that in too.

Then the fun really started. Once the mixture was secured in the MOM marrying cask, we thought, why not gently agitate the sleeping liquid by continuously piping the sounds of Phil Spector's Christmas Album through the ends of the cask, with mini speakers?

So apologies to all at the Master Of Malt offices, for having to endure what can only be described as festive sonic torture. At one point, apparently a member of the MOM staff, driven stark raving mad by 'Frosty The Snowman' tried to attack the cask with an axe in a frenzied assault, akin to a crazed Mandrill.

But the good news is that the bitters remained in fine form and you can now see if we've we've gone totally bananas, or whether the idea has actually worked!

Master Of Malt & Caskstrength Present: Christmas Bitters - 58.83% - 100ml

Nose: As Christmas'y as the smell of one of Noel Edmonds' festive jumpers or Cliff Richard's Mistletoe and Wine. Rich spice, a hint of smoke, some aromatic notes and lots of dried fruit.

This man LOVES Christmas

Palate: The spices come to the fore, alongside some sour citrus notes, more dried fruit and some lingering bitter liquorice notes.

We'd recommend pimping up a traditional whisk(e)y based cocktail or trying one of the following:

Festive Whisky Sour:

2 measures The Glenrothes 1985 or Glenfarclas 15yo, alternatively you could try Ballantine's Christmas Reserve blended whisky.

1 measure freshly squeezed lemon Juice

1/2 measure of dark orange marmalade syrup (home made)

1/2 fresh egg white

4 dashes of Christmas Bitters (this can be 'dripped through' the froth on the top of the drink, once it's served, so you can see the addition of the gold, in all its glory!!)

Baked Winter Apple:

50ml Clynelish 14 yo, infused with butter. (basically, heat the whisky gently in a pan, adding a small nob of butter) Chill and then filter off the extra fatty bits with a mini sieve when making the cocktail.

30ml pressed apple juice (cloudy style)

25ml quality English cider

15ml maple syrup (for an extra-sweet treat, try making a rich Muscovado sugar
syrup to use instead!)

15ml fresh lemon Juice

4 dashes of Christmas Bitters.

2 Bar spoons of egg white (to give you a lovely froth)

Shake with ice, until extra frothy.

The specially formulated Christmas Bitters cost £12.95 - for more information - visit:

Master Of Malt

A Venerable 'Venie

This Wednesday, the burst of pre-Christmas whisky releases got a whole lot more interesting, with the launch of The Balvenie Forty, held at London's V+A Museum in Kensington.

The venue had been chosen rather poignantly, in that its current star attraction, 'The Power Of Making' is an eclectic collection of exhibits from incredibly talented craftsmen and women around the world. The Balvenie have of late highlighted the link between classic crafts and the craftsmanship of their own whisky, by developing the Masters Of Craft Awards; celebrating craftspeople as diverse as violin makers, glassblowers and shoemakers. And with the addition of the British Craft Council's 40th Anniversary, the night was one big mashup of serious hand-crafted talent.

The Balvenie's Dr Andrew Forrester led the assembled guests through a nosing and tasting of the brand new whisky, which is put together using the process of what he described as 'micro-vatting'. The Balvenie Forty brings together a proportion of 6 different casks; 3 sherry butts and 3 refill hogsheads, which is, (like the Tun 1401) married for a short time in one of the distillery's vats. The whisky is presented in a hand-crafted wooden box, built by Scottish craftsman Sam Chinnery. Each bottle is also engraved by Sam's father.

As we like to bang on about, it is of course the liquid inside that counts, but the whole package does look pretty exquisite.

So with a dram in hand, we venture into the craftsmanship of Malt Master David Stewart...

The Balvenie - Forty - Batch 2 - 48.5% - 150 bottles

Nose: Immediate notes of victoria sponge cake, followed by dried cherries, coconut and floral wax. It is quite light and open for a 40yo whisky, with toffee apple notes developing as the dram develops.

Palate: Big hit of vanilla fudge, malted milk biscuits, some more perfumed notes (nectarine and peach) soft fruit crumble and prominent bourbon notes. Given time, a distinctly dark rich honey flavour develops, alongside tart fresh lemon juice and cherry sherbet.

Finish: Surprisingly dry, with some lingering spiced fruit notes and more cherry.

Overall: Unmistakably The Balvenie, this dram adds to the vast range of cracking whiskies expertly bought to life by David Stewart and his team. Whilst at a push, we would say the recent Tun 1401 release tips the scales in terms of excellence, this isn't far behind. At £2,500, it isn't a cheap whisky, but then again, when did you last see a cheap Stradivarius, Purdey shotgun or pair of John Lobb shoes?

Remember, Remember, the Whisks of Movember

November hits like a chilling bolt of ice with winter jackets well and truly donned and the pumpkin you carved for halloween now consigned to the stockpot.

It's also a time to perhaps start contemplating how lucky we all are to be healthy.

Without getting too maudlin, which is never the reserve of this journal; gentlemen, we're notorious for thinking with our bollocks & talking bollocks, we're just not very good at thinking about our bollocks.

Approximately 2,090 men are diagnosed with testicular cancer in the UK alone per year and a staggering 899,000 are diagnosed with prostate cancer across the globe.

But thanks to the frankly incredible work of various cancer charities, the fatality rates for these 2 forms of the disease are being tackled as best they can - but there is always much more to be done.

Movember is a name which most guys are no doubt familiar with. But did you realise just how much they do to help bring funding to cancer charities across the world?

Since 2003 the team behind Movember have helped to raise £106 million. Last year alone the charity raised £48 million internationally, which goes on to help fund projects by The Institute of Cancer Research and The Prostate Cancer Charity.

As well as signing yourself up to 'grow a mo' for Movember, (which you can do here) the like-minded folks at Master Of Malt have for the last few years released a limited bottling, the profits of which have gone to Movember.

This year's bottling is a cracker; Master Of Malt have partnered up with Glenfarclas to release a 9 year old bottling, selected by George Grant and the MOM team, from 2 Oloroso hogshead casks.

The bottling will retail at £39.95 and for each bottle sold, £10 will go straight to Movember.

here's our notes on the whisky:

Master Of Malt/Glenfarclas - Movember bottling - 9 years old - distilled in September 2002 - 53%

Nose: Big wafts of spiced dried fruit hit first, with a robust nuttiness (almonds and Brazil nuts) following quickly after. The sherry is bold and brassy, wonderful well rounded fruity notes but some slightly dry sherry aromas to boot.

Palate: Warming, powerful and very chocolatey on the first sip. Some herbal/mint notes begin to develop, but the heavyweight dried fruit soon eats them up for breakfast. This is a big whisky, full of spicy flavour, but with some subtle depth too; the chocolate notes keep developing, as do notes of salted caramel and christmas cake. Mega.

Finish: Spice, liquorice and dried fruit linger, but develop into some sliced green apples and a little butter dusted in brown sugar.

Overall: It goes without saying that both MOM and George Grant have selected 2 absolute gems of casks here and this bottling is an absolute winner.

Visit Master Of Malt to grab a bottle and not only enjoy a cracking whisky, but help to contribute to such a phenomenal charity.

www.masterofmalt.com