Absent Friends: Lagavulin & Caol Ila Feis Ile Bottlings

Bling comes to Paradise Island

For the better part of a decade now, Caskstrength has been trekking up to Scotland on an annual pilgrimage to Islay, for the annual Festival of Music and Malt, the Feis Ile. It is a thoroughly enjoyable event and one of the warmest whisky welcomes you can receive anywhere in the world, with outstanding whiskies and tasting sessions, the likes of which are rarely seen outside of festival time. Put it this way, when else would you see Micky Heads, dressed as a Gangsta Rap star?

This year however, our diaries did not allow for a trip up to the whisky isle during festival time, due to other presenting and writing commitments. Fortunately we had already popped in to say a quick hello to the good people of Islay with a visit a few weeks beforehand. With the most recent Caskstrength post being on the latest Laphroaig offering, the next two will feature other Islay distilleries and some of their more unusual output, as a tribute to the great festival.

One of the big draws for visitors to the festival is the annual batch of special releases which the distilleries roll out and there has been no change at the 2014 festival, with the island's eight distilleries (and not forgetting Jura, too) creating something unusual and limited to reward those making the long journey to the Inner Hebrides.  The outturns have changed significantly since the distilleries got behind the festival began back in 2000  - and considerably since 2007, when Caskstrength began its Islay voyages.  

Alas, gone are the single cask offerings, replaced by bottling runs much larger in number. A shame, as we feel that the travellers making the (not inconsiderable) effort to get to Islay should be rewarded for their efforts. But with the huge success of the week-long event and vastly increased visitor numbers, the small outturns left a lot of visitors extremely disappointed when they couldn't pick up a special bottling from their favourite distillery, only to see said bottles arrive on popular auction sites for super-inflated prices a week later.  

It's simply a case of dammed if they do, dammed if they don't for the distillers.  One option could be to explore the possibility of customising the releases for the bottles purchased at the distillery.  Perhaps a special necker/ hand applied shoulder label, or a different capsule colour - or a simple space on the back label for the distillery manager to add a signature if you can track the busy folks down... food for thought, marketing folks out there. 

Anyway, a sample from each of Diageo's Islay-owned distilleries (Caol Ila and Lagavulin) turned up earlier this week, which we were eager to explore. Regular readers will be aware that we usually keep a daily diary of our adventures at Feis Ile and the seven previous Lagavulin releases have been superb, so this gives us a good opportunity to look back at those releases, while trying the 2014 edition. Click on the dates below if you want to see our tasting notes from the previous bottles: Alas, 2007's tasting notes seem to be lost somewhere in the darkest archives of the website, but trust us, it was a fabulous release. 

2008/2009/2010/2011/2012/2013

Lagavulin - Feis Ile 2014 - Distilled 1995 - Bottled 2014 - 54.7% - 3,500 bottles

Nose: A dry, medicinal/carbolic note opens up the proceedings, followed by classic Laga smoky bacon/charred meat, Star Wars figures (apologies, as we've used this ref. before, but take a whiff of a vintage Princess Leia or Chewy action figure and you'll see what we mean... sad but true) some earthy, moist leaves and darker sherry wood notes. The charred notes are dominant, as is the dryness. It's not the most sizzling and vibrant of Lagas, but let's not forget that this is nearly 20 years old now and maturity has taken this beast in a much more sublime direction. 

Palate: Sweet off the bat, into a swathe of drying woody notes, some sweetened black Lapsang tea, more smoked meat, with a surge of peat, zesty lemons and a dusting of both coal and icing sugar. It's rich, powerful and dry, but hangs onto the right side of woody, before the rot begins to set in. 

Finish: Very lengthy, with the smoke subsiding and the resonant sherry sweetness coating the tongue.  

Overall: A tricky toss up here: The recent Jazz Festival bottlings perhaps edge this for sheer brilliance, but without doubt, it still claims a premier spot when it comes to limited edition peated gems. Given the pedigree of Lagavulin - and its staple core whisky with the 16 year old, which pretty much redefines peated whisky, there will always be high expectations placed on the shoulders of those involved in the choosing the releases. Again, they have played a blinder, as this one will absolutely delight the enthusiasts who can get hold of one. 

Our 'mini-journey-from-our-desk' takes us up and onwards to the north of the island, to Lagavulin's sister distillery, Caol Ila. It always amazes us just what a consistent dram Caol Ila is, from the excellent core rage offerings through to independent single casks, rarely do we find a bottling from this distillery that is not exceptionally drinkable. 

When it comes to festival bottles, Caol Ila has also been releasing a series which started off as single casks and developed into longer run offerings, kicking off in 2008.

Caol Ila - Feis Ile 2014 - distilled 2002 - Bottled 2014 -55.5% - 1,500 bottles

Nose: Tremendously spicy on the first sniff, with cloves, cassia bark and a sprinkling of nutmeg, all vying for your attention with black pepper and of course some sweet peat smoke. It's incredibly aromatic, light in character and also in possession of a little fruitiness too: think soft ripened bananas and some freshly picked raspberries too. 

Palate: Very sweet, into the classic lingering Caol Ila sootiness, but backdropped by sweet black coffee, some oaky smoke, a touch of orange zest and nutty breakfast cereal.  On the back there's a slight menthol which, all in all, gives this a sublime balance.  

Finish: Lingering sweetness and a fresh zesty orange note nestles against the slightly sooty/dry peat.

Overall: An outstanding release. Not too woody (somewhat ironic, given the nickname of the current distillery manager, David Woods) and well balanced, this is a whisky with swagger strength and balance. A great bottling indeed.

It is clear to see how there has been a shift in strategy of the Feis Ile bottlings released by the Diageo-owned Islay distilleries in the last two years with the runs increasing dramatically to meet the demand. But this is an issue faced by every distillery on the island and with the continued fascination that Islay holds for new whisky enthusiasts, it is only going to get more tricky to cater for everyone wanting something special. When it comes to the Lagavulin, £99 for a limited release 19 year old is is a valiant attempt to 'keep things real' with the pricing strategy, which has, in recent years become a little absurd.

Fair play guys and see you bright and early next year.   

Everybody's Changing: Laphroaig Select Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Before becoming professional whisky writers, Neil and I both worked in the music industry at different major record labels, doing A&R.

A&R is the department within a record company that is responsible for discovering new music, signing artists, making records and managing the artist as a product, through the record company system.

In my time as an A&R Manager at Island Records, I worked with some very inspiring people, from incredibly talented artists, songwriters, record producers, photographers and other creatives. But also people who taught me a lot about the industry of fashion, of tastes, and how to market creativity and artistry, to turn it from an etherial ideal into a tradable commodity, and to build brands which emotionally engage with consumers and take people on a journey.

Occasionally, very occasionally, this involved trying to hoodwink the general public with some artist or another whose talent maybe didn't match the size of the marketing budget allocated to them, and the phrase 'you can't shine a $hite' was a mantra for avoiding those types of deals. But mostly, it was the job of a record company to take the acorn of talent and help grow the oak tree of success from it; to be a magnifying glass over the artists' works.

I remember well a discussion with a very experienced Senior A&R Executive, Ferdy Unger-Hamilton, about the debut album from Keane. The record had been a huge success off the back of three fantastic singles, Everybody's Changing, This Is The Last Time and Somewhere Only We Know and a fourth single was due to be released, with the obvious choice being the Keane-sounding Bend and Break. 

By this time, the band were enormous, with a huge amount of radio play, sell out shows and a record which had sold well into the multiple of millions and Unger-Hamilton's choice for single release number four was the slightly left-field 'Bedshaped'. I remember well his reasoning:

"Millions of people know what Keane sound like, so we should put out something from the album that is a little different; it might attract a new fan to the band." 

And it did, with the album going on to be awarded 9x Platinum status in the UK.

There has been a lot of digital noise in the last few weeks about the new Laphroaig Select, the latest release from the iconic Islay distillery. The noise has not been all positive, it has to be said. Partly due to the copy attributed to this release (spelling Oloroso, 'Olorosso', Hogshead 'Hogs Head' and describing first fill as 'First Filled') and partly due to the liquid, with Serge over at the consistently excellent whiskyfun.com describing the liquid as "...totally un-Laphroaig I’m afraid, the coastal/medicinal/smoky side is there but it’s just whispering".

But here's the thing: maybe that's the point. Maybe, if you like Laphroaig 10, you've already got a bottle of Laphroaig in your cabinet. Or, like us, more than one expression of this peated beast.

Laphroaig - Select - NAS - 40% abv - RRP £34.99

Nose: Lemon grass, citracal, white peaches, pear drops, icing and a hit of cherry drops. The smoke sits behind all of these, and doesn't give the classic Laphroaig TCP that we are used to, but a more subtle smoky tone which you'd expect to find somewhere in the North of the Island. The whole lot is wrapped in sweet vanilla.

Palate: This is a sweet and subtle dram (not something you'd often say about a Laphroaig), with very light smoke on the palate, gooseberry fool, green tea, dream toppig and fresh lemon juice. Think about eating a lemon and sugar pancake with the dying embers of a summer bonfire in distance. 

Finish: A slight bitterness and more of that lemon juice and delicate smoke. Chamois leather.

Overall: Indeed, this is not a 'Laphroaig' as we know it. If it has a distant relative, perhaps Caol Ila Moch (which is almost £10 more expensive) would be the closest thing to it. In its price bracket sits the No Age Statement offering Laphroaig Quarter Cask (a touch more expensive) and the big and bold famous brother, the 10 Years Old (almost exactly the same price), both of which appeal to a certain type of palate; the classic Laphroaig drinker. But this offers up something very different to either of those, something more akin to a Bunnahabhain, Highland Park 12 yo or, moving away from Scotland, the Hakushu Distiller's Reserve giving a different side of smoky whisky making which might appeal to those whose nose and palate don't agree with so much medicinal peat smoke.

If you are one of those whisky drinkers who bought a bottle of Laphroaig 10 five years ago and still haven't got past the first sip, yet you are on your fourth bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label already this year, then this might just be the Laphroaig for you... it might just be the bottle that widens the appeal of Laphroaig to a different drinker. And that can only be a good thing, so welcome to the (lightly) peated party.

However, if you're looking for the classic Laphroaig DNA, you might want to look elsewhere.

Mon Sherried Whisky: The Balvenie SIngle Barrel 15 Year Old and The Glenlivet Nadurra Oloroso Edition

There is something quite glorious about a summer’s day. To be honest, here in London, it isn’t quite summer just yet, but we are at the start of a rather warm snap which will, fingers cross, will last across the weekend.

In the UK, this is the sign for women to raid their wardrobe for flowery Laura Ashley dresses and for men to bare their legs; but when it comes to whisky, our thoughts turn from heavily peated numbers, to lighter whiskies (grains and blends), served up in a highball glass with ice, topped up with soda water and a slice of something zesty.

And herein lies the exact reason why we all need a cabinet of drinks: there is no one ‘cure all’ spirit for that moment when you want to pour yourself a dram or mix yourself a cocktail.

Our advice for putting together a basic drinks selection is to build up your cabinet from the basics, making sure you have a good quality gin and vodka in your freezer, with plenty of ice and some glasses, too (if you don’t have a lot of room, then make sure you have four Martini glasses at the very least). If you can store highball glasses too, then a top tip is to put a small amount of water in the bottom of each glass, so you have a natural layer of ice in each one; brilliant for G&T’s.

Moving from the freezer to the fridge, ensure you have some cans of tonic and soda water, as well just some filtered water too.

Topping all this off, a good drinks cabinet should contain a nice brandy (go Armagnac for better value than Cognac), a good rum (two if you can afford it- one for sipping, one for mixing), some Tequila and cocktail bitters (Angostura at the very least). And then some whisky.

You’ll notice here that, save for the rum where you can reach out over several varieties and Tequila / Mezcal where you might want a sipping option as well as a mixer, whisky is where the greatest variation is to be found. If we were being honest, you probably could do with having the following in stock:

A Smoky Whisky: Preferably a single malt with a good level of peat smoke. Example: Lagavulin 16.

A Sipping Whisky: Not everyone likes peat, so have a non-peated offering, too. Could be a blend, single malt, a bourbon, Irish or Japanese whisky. Example: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Years Old.

A Sunshine Whisky: A grain whisky or blend helps for those summer days when you want a long drink. Example: Cutty Sark Original.

So, in a basic cabinet we’d look at three different whisk(e)y offerings; quite a lot more than the others, but all playing different roles in the team.

In this blog we focus on all styles of whisky, trying to review them with their purpose in mind. As became evident in our look at flavoured whiskies recently, you can’t review something like J&B Urban Honey in the same way that you would a 40 Year Old Brora. Equally, as with Dave Broom’s new book The Manual, you shouldn’t be ashamed of mixing a ‘sipping single malt’, either.

When it comes to these single malt sippers, there are more and more appearing on the market all the time; some brand new offerings from indie distillers, others being released from major distillery names as range extensions.

One distillery who is undertaking a re-jig of their more niche offerings, is The Balvenie who have recently launched a couple of new single barrel expressions. It was a year ago when we reviewed their ‘new’ 12 Year Old First Fill American Oak Single Barrel, and the time has come again for another release from them, this time a 15 Year Old Oloroso Sherry cask.

The Balvenie – 15 Year Old Sherry Cask – Single Barrel – Cask Number 4440 – 47.8% avb – each batch has no more than 650 bottles – RRP £79.99

NOTE: These tasting notes are for one specific cask release, no. 4440. Other casks may differ.

Nose: Certainly a sherry cask whisky, this gives ginger and honey up front, some dusty oak and golden syrup, this isn’t hiding its roots. There is a slight Piri-Piri sauce element which develops over time. Returning to the nose after a while, the key elements have died a little and the spirit remains, giving a punchy youthfulness to the dram, but always with that Oloroso backbone of sweet spices.

Palate: Fresh apricots drizzled in honey sit atop cinnamon spices, some over ripe banana and rum and raisin milk chocolate. It is powerful with a hint of complexity, and some spiritus elements. Mouthfilling, the wood influence shines through towards the back of the palate giving plum chutney and more raisins.

Finish: Lots of ginger, runny honey and spices, which develop into nutmeg and cardamom.

Overall: This is a very tasty dram, which packs in big flavours with a good ABV balace, too. My preference is with a splash of water, which opens up the dram to reveal red cherries and heather honey, giving a better example of the smooth Balvenie spirit for which it is famed.

Another giant of the Speyside distillery world, who is also expanding a diffusion range (if you will) with an Oloroso matured edition, is The Glenlivet who welcome the ‘Oloroso Matured’ batch to the already popular Nadurra line. This will be the first ever 100% sherry matured offering from the distillery, under their own label. At the moment this is only available in Global Travel Retail, is a No Age Statement and is bottled at 48% abv but, as with other Nadurra releases, will see a ‘full strength’ edition hit local markets in the future.

The Glenlivet – Nadurra Oloroso Matured (batch OLO314) – NAS - 48% abv RRP TBC

Nose: More tropical fruits than the Balveinie, which is focuses more on ginger and honey. This is a fresher dram (I’d wager a touch younger, but not by a lot) and gives peach melba, fruit cake, cardamom and mango on the nose. A hint more summery than the Balvenie.

Palate: Cinnamon and Cardamom come through with a sprinkling of nutmeg. Blood Orange and fresh mint are backed with cigar box and a distinctly meaty tone of well aged rare steak, slightly peppered. It sits well on the palate, with the pepper and sweet sherry partnering well together.

Finish: Bloody orange meets vanilla macaroons to give a hearty, sweet finish which is mouth watering with a back drop of gala melon.

Overall: Again, this really opens up with a drop of water, smoothing it out reflect the distillery character and would be my preference to serve with a splash of H2O. It is going to be interesting to see how this works at an even higher abv. Bring it on!

These two new expressions are both excellent and with a splash of water both reveal their true distillery characters, which is pleasing as it is easy to lose track of the true DNA of the base spirit once sherry casks are involved. Both are perfect examples of ‘sipping whiskies’ which make themselves available for team selection in your drinks cabinet. Now it is up to you to decide which you want to be part of your team...

  

Indie, Indie, Indie Part 2: Master of Malt DARKNESS! Collection

In our second look at some indie releases from retailers, it is the chaps over at Master of Malt who yet again throw their creative brains into a cask, add in a bunch of spirit and leave it to infuse.

Having stepped up their game in terms of their own bottlings (crowing their releases with a 60 Year Old earlier this year), some of the most memorable ones being an 18 year old Ardbeg last year and a very floral Bowmore before that, they have now released a new mini-series of whiskies which have all been additionally finished in a small, first fill sherry cask (50 litres).

The series, known as Darkness!, features spirit from Ardbeg, Macallan and Clynelish distilleries as well as two from Benrinnes.

Benrinnes 15 Years Old, Pedro Ximenez Cask Finish, 53.3% abv: A nose of rich fruits and oak, linseed oil and fresh leather. The palate gives a firm oak note, followed by dark cherries, cinnamon and nutmeg. Fruity and spicy. The finish is oaky and fruity with lasting spices. A big tasting dram.

Benrinnes 15 Years Old, Oloroso Cask Finish, 52.9% abv: A more subtle dram with less big oak and more fresh pine (as you would expect from the different style cask), raspberry and white chocolate. The palate is again more subtle with cherry pie and apricot jam. The finish gives sandalwood and old leather.

Macallan 15 Years Old, Pedro Ximenez Cask Finish, 52.3% abv: Ginger and mint, this is the most closed of the five samples we have but over time opens up to reveal vanilla and cream soda. The Palate is sweet and rounded, the most easy drinking of the bunch and feels a lot older in flavour, with a hint of sulphur and red apple. Finish plays with spent matches and meaty pulled pork.

Clynelish 16 Years Old, Oloroso Cask Finish, 54.9% abv: Wood polish/wax, butter beer, some sweet cure bacon and ghee on the nose. The palate is hazelnut praline, walnuts and crunchie bar. The finish is chopped chilli and milk chocolate.

Ardbeg 21 Years Old, Pedro Ximenez Cask Finish, 40.1% abv: Well, this shows that no matter what cask Ardbeg spirit has been sitting in, you always ‘come home’ to Ardbeg when you stick your nose in a glass of it. Classic Ardbeg smoke, this isn’t a meaty dram it is quite delicate for a PX casked whisky and at 21 years old comes from their lighter production period (in terms of volume) of the early 1990’s.  Apple pie with cinnamon and warm custard on the nose, followed by a palate of very delicate smoke, apple sours, some sour cherry, vanilla and lemongrass.  

Of these initial samples, the two Benrinnes showed up the best. The biggest curveball was the Ardbeg which we thought might end up somewhere in Lagavulin 16 territory but actually retains a huge amount of vanilla and green apple; a surprisingly easy dram to drink but not a ‘sherry monster’ like the others.

This range is due to spin off battings from other Scotch distilleries, including single grains (which we are personally looking forward to the most) and already has a North British, Dailuaine, two Aberlours, an Aultmore, a Glen Moray and a Tomintoul (all carrying age statements) in their stable. Obviously, coming from such a small cask, they are in 50cl bottles (the new ‘en vogue’ bottle size these days, don’t ya know) and bottled at cask strength.

   

Indie Indie Indie Part 1: The Whisky Exchange Exclusive Cask Selection

We love a good indie whisky release here at Caskstrength.net.  In fact, so keen are we on one-off interesting little gems, that they actually make up a rather large portion of our own cabinets. The issue with independent bottles is that unless you try it, you can’t quite be sure of what it is you’re gonna get. That’s the gamble.

The whole point of a proprietary bottling is consistency. When you buy a Glenfiddich 12 Year Old, you know you should be getting something very similar to the last bottle you bought. And the next bottle you buy.

Indie bottles are different, however. As the mavericks of the business, they can be totally leftfield from the norm. The Syd Barrett of bottlings: sometimes genius. Sometimes, erm, questionable.

But amid all the inconsistency that indie bottles can deliver, more often than not they uncover some real gems, as we saw recently with the liquid coming out from Cadenheads.

And it is retailers who seem to be taking a lead in either bottling their own expressions or working with other likeminded souls to release exclusive bottles of indie offerings.

A few weeks ago, The WhiskyExchange released eight new bottles; all independent bottlings, all exclusive to them. Of the eight, four are smoky, four are not. Let’s have a quick look at the latter four first:

Balmenach 1988 (25 years old), Hogshead #1132, Signatory Vintage, 55.6% abv: I think this is the first Balmenach we’ve ever reviewed on Caskstrength.net. A rich and creamy nose gives great flavours of watermelon and mint. The palate is oily and thick and gives oak spices, vanilla and tea tree oil. Takes water well to give a finish of strawberry coulis and cream.

Clynelish 1995 (17 years old), Refill Sherry Cask #12794, Signatory Vintage, 56.2% abv: The classic Clynelish nose of wax candles burning in the middle of a table where a steak dinner has just been served. This gives way to light summer fruits. On the palate, more meaty and waxy notes which are really quite delicious and provide a bold but rewarding flavour experience of plums and blackcurrants. The finish carries on in the fruity nature of the palate. Very tasty indeed.

Edradour 2006. Bottled 2013. Oloroso Cask #240. Bottled for The Whisky Exchange. 59.2% abv: A very oaky and woody nose, this is giving little more than ‘oak’ until the addition of water brings out the Oloroso notes, raspberry jam and cigar casing. The palate delivers more oak, dunnage warehouse flooring and some sulphur tones which linger into the finish, too.

Glentauchers 1997. Sherry Cask #5580, Gordon & Macphail for The Whisky Exchange. 54.3% abv: BBQ brisket, Mars Bar, chopped hazelnuts on the nose. The palate his a HUGE hit of sherry; so powerful yet with some grace and balance. But pretty much just sherry, backed with a hint of the BBQ brisket again. On the finish, coffee, coffee and more coffee. A big dram!

Of these four whiskies, the latter two were forward on the sherry front with the best of the bunch being the Clynelish which carried a great balance of flavours. A really quite fantastic dram.

On to the smoky offerings:

Ledaig 1997, Sherry Cask #465, Bottled by Gordon & Macpahil for The Whisky Exchange. 56.8% abv: Ahhh, we love a Ledaig here at Caskstrength.net and this is a great example of why. A rich nose of mince pie and smoke, sweet yet earthy. The palate gives smoked cream soda rapped with parma ham and figs and the finish... smoked brown sugar. A little dry, but aside from that a winning dram. Really very good indeed.

Kilchoman 2008. Bottled 2013. Bourbon Cask. Bottled for The Whisky Exchange. 61% abv: a whopping ABV here, I was expecting more smoke on the nose, but again this is classic Kilchoman, with smoked cheese, fresh vanilla pods and lilies on the nose, a hint of coal dust but more vanilla on the palate and more smoke an vanilla on the finish. 61%? You’d never guess it. Another brilliant, but disturbingly easy-to-drink, dram.

Caol Ila 1984 (29 Years Old), Refill Sherry Cask #2758. Signatory Vintage. 54.7% abv: Oooh, on the nose this is another corker. Rich balsamic notes mingle with air dried speck ham, cigar smoke and real ale. The palate gives real aged spirit, delicate oak balanced with smoke and cherry jam. The finish is a perfect mix of smoke and red berries. Delicious.

Laphroaig 1998 (15 Years Old), Refill Sherry Cask #700393. Signatory Vintage. 60.8% abv: Hummm... a very sweet nose, which works well with the smoke to give a Lapsang-Souchong-with-a-spoonful-of-sugar effect. The palate once again hides this massive abv with oak, varnish, antique shop, cinnamon spices and smoke. A finish of red fruits and more spice finish of this wonder.

So, that’s four fantastic peaty offerings from the good people at The Whisky Exchange. If I had to pick one... well, I’d go for the Kilchoman I think. No, the Laphroaig. No, wait... the Caol Ila! It is a very hard choice.

A nice step-change from your usual distillery bottlings, these showcase a different side of the distilleries on offer, in only a way that indie bottlers can do. Great stuff.

** A quick Amendment: The guys at TWE have informed us that the Edradour and Kilchoman bottlings are partnership releases with the distilleries, not indie releases. **