Islay Odyssey - Day 1: A Man With An Ice Lolly Is A Man With Responsibility

Joel:  4am is very early. Or very late, depending on which side of it you stand. This morning, we stood on very much the wrong side; the post-sleep side. The side where eagles dare...

As my blackberry alarm (which sounds very much like a pirate ghost ship from the future) sprang to life, it seemed to leave me cowering under the blankets, wishing for the invention of some sort of transporter, startrek-like, to whisk me away to my final destination... firstly Campbeltown, down the Mull of Kintyre, and latterly onwards to Islay for the second half of this year’s Feis Ile, Festival of Music & Malt.

Rising from my slumber like a caveman from winter hibernation, I was greeted in the corridor of our accommodation, somewhere west of Oxford, by Neil. He’s been up a good 30 mins longer than I; for what reason I cannot ascertain. Our aim: to be away by 5am and reach Campbeltown before 4pm.

Showered, shaved and fed, we jumped in our car of choice for this year’s tip (previous models have included a dreadful KIA and a bone-shattering Merc A-Class), a full Alan Partridge-style Lexus Hybrid 4x4 for the 440 mile drive. We’d done a similar trip before (many times before) to the ferry terminal for Islay, but this time we were to go that little bit further and visit the chaps who make Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn whiskies.

The drive was as smooth as one could hope for, hitting the fantastically run, independently-owned Tbay services on the edge of the Lake District by 8.30am. It was all looking good. After a full English breakfast and the purchase of a selection of homemade pies for later in our journey, we carried on towards Scotland.

Up and over Glasgow, the sunshine was streaming down as we made our way along the side of Loch Fyne and in to Inveraray. Stopping to quaff the aforementioned pies on the waters edge, we took in a pit stop to see Richard Joynson at Loch Fyne Whiskies. Our first ‘mistake’ of the day...

Always greeted by a smile, a witty quip and usually a dram (I once popped in on the 5 min long ‘natural break’ the coach from Glasgow to Kennacraig gives you in the town, only to have a dram slammed straight in to my hand), Richard’s excellent selection in such a small space is coupled with prices which meant we simply couldn’t resist picking a bottle or two, so Neil and I took full advantage; I bought a Tomatin Decades (which came second in our Best In Glass Award 2011) and Neil a 1995 Laphroaig Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, one of only 233 bottles, sampled while chatting with the good man himself, a Master of the Quiach.

Grinning ear-to-ear with our new found friends, Mr. Tomatin and Mr. Laphroaig, we caught up on a few much needed rays and headed onwards down to Campbeltown, where we’d learn that our adventure for the day (if not least our purchases for the day) had only just begun...

Neil: So after nearly ten hours on the road (and what a superb day to be driving up to this glorious part of the world) we finally pull into Campbeltown. The distillery, Campbeltown Malts (or Springbank if you prefer) is neatly located down a nondescript side alley off the high street. We’d arranged to collect a cask sample from a friend of ours, which was sitting on reception as we arrive,  but kindly, they had also arranged for us to get a ‘warts and all’ tour - a real treat considering the rather classic nature of the distillery. 

When it comes to an image of how a distillery used to look, Springbank have perfectly preserved the aesthetic and the passion behind whisky making.  In fact, it is without a doubt, the most traditional distillery we’ve ever visited.  From the malting floors and the belt-driven machinery to the cask iron mash tun, Springbank looks every bit the distillery it probably was back in 1912 and is a far cry from the modernist approach most of us are used to seeing.  As far as we can see, this is the only computer used during the distillation process:

In fact, our guide John mentioned that the closest they have come to using technology is a calculator. 

John explained the difference in peating levels/kilning between the different whiskies made on site with around 24-30 hours of kilning over peat (some sourced locally, but most bought in from Tomintoul) for Springbank, six hours for Longrow and of course no peating at all for Hazelburn.

The stillroom is again a mixture of Heath Robinson ingenuity and good old-fashioned simplicity, with an unrivalled ‘if it ain’t broke…’ mentality.  Having three stills means that they can play different tunes using the range of peating levels (Hazelburn being triple distilled and Springbank being two-and-a-half times distilled, using a process a little too complicated to explain by my sleep deprived brain)

One 'high tech' feature that made us laugh heartily was the simple set up of a bucket crudely held at an angle by wire within the wash backs, so that if the fermentation gets too violent, the rising foam head will tilt the bucket, releasing some ‘anti foaming agent’ into the wash.  Sometimes the best ideas are the most simple- and clearly effective.

For those of you who have, like us, made the annual pilgrimage to Islay many times but never ventured down as far as Campbeltown either on the way over or way back, make sure you put this wonderfully quirky but traditional distillery on your list now – it is unquestionably worth the extra miles. 

Joel: After the fantastic visit to what has to be described as “the distillery which health & safety forgot”, we headed over to the town’s local whisky shop, run by Cadenheads. Our second, big ‘mistake’ of the day...

As we wandered in to their newly appointed premises, one thing became very clear: there were some fantastic and unusual bottles on the shelves and guess what? We’d be leaving with some of them. 

First up were the two single cask offerings which the distillery bottled for their open day, held last Thursday; a Longrow, 9 Years old and from  a fresh fill bourbon cask yielding just 230 bottles and the other a Springbank aged for 12 years in a fresh sherry hogshead and giving an outturn of 313 bottles. Such were we wooed by the samples we were given, that we decided to pick up a couple of these little gems each.

Longrow – Open Day Bottling – 9 Years Old – Fresh Bourbon Barrel – Distilled October 2002 – Bottled 24 May 2012 – 230 bottles – 59.1% abv

Nose: Succulent wafts of tropical fruit, fruit gums, a hint of peat, some lemon zest, sweet vanilla and fresh tangerine segments. Fruity, summery and absolutely superb. Young, but with a huge depth of character.

Palate: Initially very sweet, with a carry over of the vanilla aromas, some mint/menthol notes, fragrant smoke and a rich oily, tongue coating mouthfeel.  With water, the fruitiness becomes more pronounced, as does the swirls of aromatic smoke.

Finish: A touch of green apple skin and a lingering light smoke on the drying palate.

Overall: £50 doesn't buy you a great deal in terms of a 'festival' bottling these days (take note, Islay) but Springbank have smashed it out the park with this Longrow single cask.  A real gem of a find and well worth the lengthy drive it took to purchase.  

The Cadenheads shop has, apparently, recently undergone somewhat of a renovation and out the back of the purchasing area is a new sampling room, designed as an extension to the Springbank distillery visitors tours and lovely it looks too.

As we were lead back to the main shopping area, a rare sight caught our eyes: a large selection of full bottles marked ‘Duty Paid Samples’, locked away behind grill-covered doors, each with their own price tag, each for sale.

A new venture from the chaps at Cadenheads, these bottles are all cask samples drawn from various butts, barrels and bloodtubs in the warehouses owned by Campeltown malts. When they pull a sample for testing, they fill a bottle, cap it, pay the duty and sell it off in the shop. A true one-off, one of one, these utterly unique bottling mean the purchaser must take a real leap of faith, with just the whisky type (Springbank, Longrow, Hazelburn) and the cask style / abv available. No samples, no tasting notes, no way to try-before-you-buy.

Looking through the list of what was available, we settled on buying a 2003 Springbank, matured in a Burgundy wine cask at bottled at 59%. Ripping the top off, this is what we found:

Springbank – Duty Paid Sample – Warehouse No. 5 – 2003 – One of One bottle - 7 Years Old – 59.0% abv – 70cl

Nose: Strong elements of burnt sugar, dark and over-ripe black cherries, fresh coffee and well stewed plums and prunes. Very rich.

Palate: A strong and robust flavour with a slight bitterness, the red fruit comes across as warm and, again, over-ripe with elements of dark plums and black forest gateaux. Rum and rasin dark chocolate hit the sweeter end notes. With water, the whole thing sits back a little, opening up the malty-end of the flavour but maintaining the huge personality which it gives off.

Finish: The finish gives sweet tea without water and those black cherries again.

Overall: Did I mention over-ripe black cherries and black forest gateaux? Yeah, I thought so...! Oh, and it cost £45. Yeah, that’s right... £45!

Impressed? Enough to head back to the shelves to pick up another Springbank, this time 16 years old and matured for full term in fresh port and two Longrows, both 8 years old, one matured in fresh sherry and the other in fresh bourbon. A brilliant way to sell totally unique bottles which really are one of one, this encourages the purchaser to put aside marketing bull and go with gut instinct. Will the other bottles we bought match up to the one we opened? Who knows, but it sure is going to be fun to find out!

On top of an additional bottle of Springbank Rundlets & Kilderkins, we left with bags weighed down as heavily as our eyelids, off for a rewarding meal and a good, long sleep.

Onward to tomorrow, with ten new bottles in our stash and we haven’t yet hit Islay....

Ardbeg Day

The 2nd June marks a special day on the island of Islay.  As part of the the annual Feis Ile (which we are visiting again for the 6th year now) Ardbeg have decided to rename the 2nd June as an official Ardbeg Day.  Quite whether they've approached the Queen to get the name changed is another matter (she's quite busy at the moment, I believe) and I'm not sure it will count as a national holiday, for those of you having to work. However if you are attending the Feis this year, the line up, which Ardbeg have thrown together looks like a lot of fun indeed -  Olympic-themed japery including phenolic gymnastics, sheep tossing, (one of Joel's favourites) bog snorkelling (another one of Joel's personal favourites) and terrier racing (canine permitting)

Alongside the events is the traditional bottling, which is produced especially for the day.  In the past several years, the Ardbeg releases have been exceptional single casks and very limited release bottlings, resulting in long queues outside the distillery from an early hour.  We've been in those queues - dependent on the weather, it's actually quite fun.  This year will be a little different.  Although the heart of Ardbeg Day will be directly at the distillery, around the world, separate splinter events are happening from everywhere between Vancouver and Vietnam (quite possibly) and for the 99.999% of Ardbeg fans out there, the good news is that the bottling will be available across the globe from a number of Ardbeg Embassies just for the day.

1,100 cases of this special Ardbeg Day bottling will be produced (which in real-person-speak means around 13,000 bottles), so the outturn is relatively on a par with that of some of the previous Ardbeg Committee bottlings and also the Laphroaig Cairdeas bottlings, which were released alongside the Feis Ile.  The bottling is selected and married using several parcels of refill sherry casks, which were previously used for Uigeadail and the ABV will stand at 56.7%

We were lucky enough to spend some time with Dr Bill Lumsden this lunchtime and get a sneaky peak at the whisky, alongside several other expressions of Ardbeg including the 10 year-old and the mighty Alligator (which Bill describes as his 'Sweeney' version of Ardbeg, for reasons too long to explain in this post.)

Ardbeg - Ardbeg Day Bottling - 56.7% - NAS - 70cl.  RRP £60

Nose: Hearty notes of dry ginger, woody spices, hints of golden syrup and fragrant vanilla. With water, the spice notes develop and the sweetness gets more syrupy.  

Palate:  A superb dryness hits first (making one think about rich, dry Oloroso sherry) with more dried ginger, cinnamon, peppered meats, a hint of apple pie and a dusting of dark sugar.  With water, there is also a creaminess, perhaps reminding the palate of some of the Ardbeg bottlings of the last few years -  Uigeadail, Airgh Nam Beist and Alligator.  In fact, the dried fruit, chocolate gingers and orange zest notes are very reminiscent of the snappily titled bottling of last year. 

Finish: Lingering notes of dried fruit, with a touch of the ginger and a little menthol creeping in.

Overall:  Another highly drinkable Ardbeg, which sits firmly in the flavour camp of many of the distilleries favourite bottlings.  It is powerful without water, but doesn't lose its dynamic when a touch is added.  If you liked Alligator, you'll definitely enjoy this.  Question is, would you be prepared to undertake a bog snorkelling session for a bottle?   

I guess we would.  Zip up Harrison. We're going in.

oooh, what could this be? An Ardbeg Playing Card perhaps. Click on it for some fun, fun, fun...

oooh, what could this be? An Ardbeg Playing Card perhaps. Click on it for some fun, fun, fun...

Bowmore's New Batch

'Small Batch' is quite a hot topic at the moment.  Numerous bourbon producers retail a small batch whiskey, each one purportedly demonstrating a differing characteristic to the company's regular releases- Four Roses, being a noted - and highly enjoyable example.

But what does 'small batch' mean exactly?  The problem I have with this phrase is that it is relatively meaningless, given that there are no actual parameters surrounding what size a small batch could be.  If you're the Balcones distillery in the USA, held together with tin foil, passion and ingenuity, a small batch is likely to be pretty much what it says on the bottle - very small - and limited to boot.  But if you're Beam Global, a small batch could be 20,000 cases- so long as it isn't getting into the realms of what a regular release amounts to.

The same thing applies to single malts with small batch written on the label.  Take Kilchoman for instance. Should this tiny distillery release a small batch of something, one would expect it to be only a few hundred bottles, given the size of the operation.  But where does that leave Morrison Bowmore?

This month, Bowmore release a small batch single malt of their own.  Matured in first & second fill bourbon casks, the whisky purports to be the distillery's lightest and delicate expression to date, bottled with no age statement and at 40%.  But the question still remains about what exactly a small batch of Bowmore is??  According to the press release this whisky is 'launched in response to consumer demand for special and small batch whiskies...a genuine release of limited volume, vatted in restricted quantities...'

Ok. But that still doesn't tell me a great deal.

Does any of this really matter?  Does anyone actually care?? Shall we just have a dram and stop wondering???

Bowmore - Small Batch Reserve - 40%

Nose: Perfumed fruit gums, liquorice, lemon zest and a faint waft of smoke jump straight our of the glass- no hanging around here.  Given a bit of a nose around, some red berry fruits, strawberry sherbet, black pepper and Swarfega (that terrifyingly 'green' hand cleanser) start to emerge. It's intriguingly light, yet very pleasant indeed. Outdoors with a summer BBQ would be an ideal location for this dram.

Palate: Wow, the palate is super light on the first sip, then comes the smoke (sweet, creamy woodsmoke) followed by more of the red berry fruits, some perfumed pomander/make up notes and sweet vanilla.  It's like kissing someone who's wearing bright red lipstick, after they've finished a menthol cigarette -  and I don't mean that to sound derogatory. 

Finish:  Lingering notes of the fruit and vanilla with the last gentle notes of the smoke. 

Overall:  Light, summery and with all the hallmarks of Bowmore, just paired back.  It will make a subtle introduction to the distillery for a newcomer, or those fans of Bowmore who prefer a more gentle touch. However, one question I have is where this leaves the regular 12 year old? There are several similarities between this small batch release and the 12yo (both bottled at 40% and both lighter expressions of Bowmore) but this expression retails at around £10 more, despite not having an age statement on it.   

Batch size eh... Just how long is this particular whisky-flavoured piece of string?  

Seven Nation Army

To say that India is a big whisky market would be, well, an understatement. Last year I had the pleasure of sharing a dram with Dr. Vijay Mallya, the ‘King of Goodtimes’ and Indian drinks Barron.

During our ‘session’, the facts came thick and fast; from the huge (and I mean huge) amount of liquor sold in the country, through to the current number of potential consumers reaching drinking age every day (more than 50% of the population is under the age of 25) and onwards through to the complex taxation system within each Indian state which seems to be holding the industry back there.

The whole affair was fascinating, not least as I have a monthly column writing about whisky (real whisky, not Indian Made Foreign Liquor) in a major Indian daily newspaper, so I’m like a dry sponge thrown into the Playboy mansion pool when it comes to facts and figures for this particular market.

One of the biggest challenges facing brands operating in the spirits category, especially in the luxury spirits category, in India is how to upscale their offerings. With assaults on the marketing from the likes of Johnnie Walker and Royal Salute, proper ‘Ultra Premium Scotch whiskies’, it’s a tough old game when you’re churning out molasses based spirit all day long.

However one company, one major player in the market, has seen an opportunity to build a luxury brand for the Indian market dealing with high-end Scotch whisky. Seven Islands is a new label on the block, acting somewhere between an independent bottler and a diffusion brand (to steal a fashion term) started by Tilaknagar Industries Limited, one of the biggest drinks brand owners in India. As I rifle through my reams of notes on liquor sales in India (seriously) I see they own Indian whisky brands such as Shot, Classic and Mansion House, so they know their stuff. (Note to anyone starting an Indie band: look to Indian liquors for band names. Here are some examples: Red Knight, Special Appointment, Black Stallion, G.S. Genius, Silver Peg... the list is almost endless)

It seems from the launch of this brand, that the idea is to create a ‘cool’ independent bottling and then take it back to India once the brand value has been properly built in places such as the UK and Spain. Well, it is a shame they didn’t take the time to mention either the ABV or the age statement of the liquid in their literature, giving their text over pretty much solely to the idea behind the brand. Personally, I  feel it is always dangerous to focus on the brand building at the expense of the liquid. Or not even at the expense of the liquid. I mean, they don’t give any details about the liquid what-so-ever in their press release. A bad sign.

What we do know is that the hooch in the bottle is from BenRiach and subsequent research has shown up that it’s been bottled at 42.8% abv. Oh, and it is going to be £90. So let’s have a try of the liquid and see if they’ve got solid rock on which to build their house, or if they’ve just gone down the beach and chosen some sandy land...

Seven Islands Vintage – NAS – 42.8% abv

Nose: Apples and pears are the most notable aromas to jump from the glass and the longer one enjoys these notes, the more prominent the flavours of clear apple juice become, backed with a hint of furniture polish and some cinnamon. It’s actually very inviting.

Palate: Apple strudel, short flurries of whipped cream, rich honey and heather. The palate is soft and smooth.  Very drinkable.

Finish: Medium in length, the finish has elements again of apple sauce, spiced rum and some hint of vanilla.

Overall: Hugely inoffensive, this whisky is dangerously drinkable but for a luxury product, I was expecting something richer, thicker and a whole lot more sherried. I’m not sure I’d be happy to part with £90 for what appears to be a perfectly drinkable No Age Statement, no-name (unless you’ve got a press release) Scotch whisky.

I’m kinda left confused by this release. Scant details on the liquid always makes me shudder;  like when I’m at a football match and order a ‘meat pie’. “What is this mystery meat you’re serving me up?” I’m left to wonder. I guess Pukka Pies have built a very good business on that, but then they’re not pretending to be Mark Hix are they?

  

The Old Man Of Ballindalloch

Well, here's a turn up for the books.  As we mentioned in a previous post it seems that a few distilleries are raising the stakes by releasing some truly striking bottlings in preparation for the Queen's Jubilee of varying ages.    

Well not Glenfarclas.   George and his team haven't jumped on the 'Jubilimpics' bandwagon, yet are releasing their oldest expression in the distillery's history.  A single cask, filled in 1953 has been purchased by Polish finance company, Wealth Solutions, released exclusively by Master Of Malt and by the looks of things, the 400 or so bottles are well on their way to becoming the stuff of legend.  George Grant jokingly mentions that he wasn't even born when cask 1674 was filled and that it was his grandfather, who was in charge of the distillery.

The bottling was chosen from one of four casks of the oldest whiskies in Glenfarclas' warehouse and was bottled 47.2%.

On closer inspection, the rather grand miniature we have been sent of this ancient liquid is not the robust dark, tannic colour one would expect for a whisky nearing 60 years old, but as always, appearances can be deceiving, so the only way to truly judge this elder gent's talents are to pour a healthy dram.

Glenfarclas - 58 years old - Cask 1674 - filled 20th November 1953 - 47.2%

Nose: Surprisingly light, given all that time in the oak.  Notes of lighter dried fruit emerge first, with apricot jam, chopped almonds, some sweet vanilla notes, balanced by a very light spicy note (hints of cinnamon buns, glazed with brown sugar) Further in, a sweeter caramel note develops, giving this a much more spritely feel than expected.  Old for sure, but still working its magic.

Palate: The tannins make themselves known with an upfront dryness and more of the spiced buns.  A return of the apricot, mixed with fragrant vanilla, more chopped nuts and cereal notes. A dash of water reduces some of the tannic influence, leading to a resurgence of the vanilla notes and this time sweeter fruit notes.

Finish:  Lingering oak notes, with a particular spiciness left of the palate.

Overall:  An elderly gentlemen, with all the stamina and sense of fun that an ageing playboy has, but with a wisdom and experience to back it up.  This is a surprisingly youthful whisky in places, with some drier cask influence, but make no mistake, it certainly has more life in it yet.  The Robert Redford of the Glenfarclas range. Superb.