Discover Whisky

I’m taking a little detour from my Islay survey to venture into Mike’s territory. Blair Atholl village is situated in the rolling hills of Perthshire. There is a famous castle and the village contains an old water powered grain mill. Along with Dunkeld, Pitlochry (which is actually where the distillery is) and the Pass of Killicrankie, I used to visit the area quite often, having fallen in love with it back in the days of Scout camps. It is a land of dark brown rivers running through narrow gorges surrounded by ancient woodlands and tales of heroism.

The whisky of the same name but slightly different spelling (only one l) is something of a rarity these days but my dad is a great fan of it and received a bottle which he passed on to me for tasting.

Blair Athol, 12 Year Old, 43%

Colour

Reminds me immediately of the dark rivers, it is a deep brown. (The distillery has its own burn, the Allt na Dour; and while I don’t remember what colour it is it’s a safe bet it’s brown.)

Nose

Gentle, dark peat but not too strong, a hint of wood bark.

Initial Taste

Malty, a little smoke, a touch of caramel but not too much. A nice balance.

Later taste

The taste develops as you progress down the glass. It becomes stronger and spicy to a degree. The smokiness also increases, like an old howf with a log fire in the grate.

Finish

A long satisfying finish that leaves you with a smoky caramel taste with a spicy kick.

Conclusion

This is a relaxing dram, not too challenging but with a quiet strength that would round off a fine day on the Perthshire hills or fishing the Tay.

Visiting details

Less well known than some of the other Islay malts, probably because of the intimidating (to some) Gaelic name as much as the distinctive taste. The labelling is redolent of the sea; an ever present feature of Islay life. This one I tasted in an Edinburgh bar, a good one. The barman seemed surprised to be asked for this malt, was visibly relieved when I declined ice, and almost raised a Spock-like eyebrow when I declined water. As if to say, “ahh, a man who knows his drinks”. One takes respect appreciatively wherever one can find it!

Bunnahabhain - 12 years old, 40%

Colour

Darker than most malts, almost a hint of tawny in the brown. Being an Islay dram you immediately think of peat but the reality turns out to be rather different.

Nose

Rich, chocolatey, but with a hint of the sea as befits the helmsman on the front of the bottle, and also of the lighter phenols that are more typical of the lighter, yellow Islays. It smells stronger than its 40% rating.

Taste

Initial taste
Hmm, very different. Xmas pudding, caramel, rich dried fruit. First thoughts are that this is a winter dram; for the leather armchair and the log fire up in the laird’s house. If there’s smoke here then it’s wood rather than peat. It also tastes stronger than 40%.

Later taste
The dried fruit gets stronger, hints of treacle and rich spices confirm the Xmas cake impression. However there is also a saltiness which starts to come through, and for a couple of sips it threatens to overwhelm the other tastes before thankfully receding into the background. The end result reminds me of some of the dark Rums that Mike enjoys.

Finish

Unlike many malts the finish is much the same as the main taste - warm, rich and spicy.

Conclusion

This is quite different from any of the other Islays. I don’t think I could drink a lot of it but enjoyed what I had in moderation. In this instance I didn’t get a chance to add water to it so that will have to wait for another time. I was intrigued by the saltiness and how different it was to anything else I’d tasted so about fifteen minutes later I followed it with a Talisker to see how the saltiness compared. The sensation was entirely different - in Talisker the salt is part of the whole experience, it’s the taste on the wind as you stand on the west coast gazing out to sea over Neist Point. In the Bunnahabhain it’s a counterpoint to the richness; it emerges like some demon of the deep and then plunges back into the darkness leaving only the memory.

This is a fascinating dram; I liked it despite not really liking the type; the rich dark whiskies aren’t usually to my taste. But it has character, which is fundamental to a top class dram. Maybe the balance is lacking a little, or maybe that is just my preferences showing through. I would drink it again, and I will try the older versions to explore the character further. Though I doubt it would make my top three it would certainly make a claim to the top ten.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had been exposed to a mature Laphroaig at way too tender an age when my taste buds were incapable of appreciating it. Since then I’ve only rarely gone back to this revered Islay malt and never in a suitable environment where I could observe it in peace and quiet. Would it still be the rich complex malt that I dimly remembered and which scares many single malt drinkers away to smoother locations?

Laphroaig - 10 years old, 40%

Colour

Mid amber

Nose

Not as strong as I’d expected, slightly medicinal, a touch of iodine.

Taste

Initial taste impression
Rich, warm, peppery, dry-ish (though not as much as the Ardbeg).

Later impressions
Peat, not so much smoke, walnut. Not as complex as I’d expected nor as balanced as the Caol Ila.

First after-taste is long but not particularly distinctive. Later on a warmth at the back of the mouth is evident along with a taste reminiscent of chillies.

After a little water
The addition of even a small amount of water does nothing for this Laphroaig. There seems little in the way of aromatics released and it just tastes like weaker whisky.

Conclusion

To be honest I’m a little disappointed - I was expecting more of a challenge from this famous brand. It’s certainly not bad, indeed far better than many mainland drams (as long as you keep it well away from water!), but not in the class of the Caol Ila or the Ardbeg. Maybe I just got a poor sample - I’ll try ordering one next time I’m in a bar and see if there is any noticeable difference. However on the basis of this tasting I have the feeling that it needs to be stronger or older in order to fully blossom, so I’ll be interested to try one of the “specials” in later tastings.

Given that one respected whisky writer considers this distillery’s produce to be so good that he has to artificially handicap it in his tasting scores, this one has a lot to live up to.

Ardbeg 10 year old, 46%

A new bottle; always interesting to open a bottle for the first time and get the first impression. Some of them seem to explode into the atmosphere, announcing their arrival with fanfares so you immediately know what they are. Others creep up on you slowly, insinuating themselves into your awareness. Slightly to my surprise this Ardbeg falls into the latter category. The smell of the cork is very light and subtle.

Colour

I was further surprised to find that it was a very pale yellow. From recent experience of buying it in the bar of the Royal Overseas League I expected it to be darker, especially since it has a reputation of being peaty; our visually oriented expectations tell us that peat and dark go together. Not so this time.

Nose

Like the 12 year old Caol Ila the initial nose is subtle and complex. Greenery, touch of iodine and phenol. Leaving it a few minutes (difficult but we must be professional about this!) produces gradually more distinct notes with the phenols a little stronger. A scent appears which I can’t identify at first but later it comes to me - smoked fish! Cullen Skink has that same tang when it’s delivered to the table. Later and deeper inhalation brings more smokiness, and you can imagine yourself on an Islay beach with the mix of distant woodsmoke and fresh seaweed. The wood suggests oak chips to me although the tasting notes that I referred to later suggest hickory.

Taste

Initial taste impression
I must be getting immune to peat! (too much Talisker? nah ) This is a far lighter peat though, and there is more of a floral overtone, although it takes a while to come through because the spirit feels stronger than its 46%. The warmth seems to stay at the back of the lips and creeps gradually back over the tongue.

Later impressions
As the air and whisky interact there comes an unexpected chocolate, surprisingly sweet against the contrasting bite of the alcohol. Later still there is a light citrus taste - somewhere between lemon and passion fruit.

After a little water
The colour becomes a very pale lemon. That chocolate note is there again, even stronger. Surprisingly the overall impression seems to become warmer and in a curious sense stronger. The reduction of the spirit strength seems to allow the volatile oils to escape into the taste amalgam. This is not at all what I expected, because as I’ve mentioned previously I generally prefer my whisky at full strength.

Conclusion

Ardbeg is by reputation a very balanced whisky, and I can certainly agree with that, though it’s a very different balance to the Caol Ila and I think I marginally prefer the way the latter’s taste components fit together. However this is one that will bear continued acclimatisation. Like the Bruichladdich I reviewed earlier there is a feeling that it might go well with some foods, the obvious thought being to team it with a fish-based meal. I can imagine it with smoked salmon and the idea of it with kippers is intriguing.

No question that it’s a class dram. Might not be to everyone’s taste and I’ll be surprised if Mike takes to it, but if you appreciate the fishy, smoky, west coast nature of Islay malts then do try this one. So far though, my tastes edge towards the Caol Ila, but that’s hardly a condemnation and I’ll definitely be revisiting this one repeatedly to see how my perception of the balance develops.

Postscript

A few days after my first session with it I had occasion to have a dinner of lightly smoked trout so naturally I pulled out the Ardbeg to test my theory. I can confirm that the two made an excellent match and I’ll try that again in the future, perhaps switching to other Islays to see how they compare.

For this first survey of Islay single malts I’m sticking as much as possible to standard versions that you should be able to get from most decent off-licenses (liquor stores for our American cousins). This will give us a comparison point when we come to the more exotic versions later on and will allow our less experienced readers to progress through the tastes with us on our explorations. Our journey starts with a malt known as the “hidden” Islay because it is far less well known than some of the others:

Caol Ila - 12 years old, 43%

Produced just a few hundred yards north of Port Askaig on the east coast of the island and looking over the sound to Jura. The name means “Sound of Islay”. The distillery, which once had its own puffer, was rebuilt in 1974.

Colour

The colour is a pale yellow, with not so much of the greenish tinge that some of the other variants of this malt often have.

Nose

The initial nose is subtle, and predominantly smoky. Deeper inhalation gives a warmer impression with a hint of iodine.

Taste

Initial taste impression
There is a balance of flavours here that makes analysis quite difficult. Smoke certainly but not overwhelming, and unlike a Dalwhinnie (much improved in recent years) there is a lot more going on than just good smoke. Peat, like any Islay, but again not overwhelming. There is a hint of … what is it? Liquorice? no not as strong as that, Black Treacle perhaps. The more you try to pin down individual tastes the more they slip away; just when you think you’ve tasted something sweet it turns into a hint of citrus.

A few sips later
There is some suggestion of grass, but definitely a salty grass, redolent of fresh winds sweeping across the machair - no possibility of this being from anywhere other than an island, it has Islay written all through it. A relaxed warmth on the front and centre of the tongue precedes a lovely peat influenced finish that lingers in the back of the throat.

Adding a (very) little water
Not as much effect as with the stronger proof versions but there seemed to be a subtle hint of rich bitter chocolate, which I must admit wasn’t what I expected.

But balance is the word I keep returning to, the overall taste is like all of these and none of these. There’s a natural balance of flavours here that master blenders would give their right arms for. You can see why this malt has been so popular for blending - apparently about 90% of their output goes into a number of blended whiskies. But thank heavens we have the pure malt available - it’s not that long ago that some single malts were simply never sold in their natural state.

Conclusion

Not as smack-in-the-mouth gorgeous as the cask strength versions I’ve had in the past but for a standard bottle of 12 year old 43% this is seriously good stuff. I may have to do an AB comparison against my long-time favourite Talisker in this category. I’ll need to do it soon before the Caol Ila bottle runs out - I seem to be becoming an Islay addict!

My next Caol Ila purchase may be a stronger proof version and it may have to wait till I’ve bought something else for the Islay tasting, but there will definitely be one. And if for any reason it had to be this standard version then I could live with that; this is a very good whisky indeed.

Since its purchase and reopening in 2001 the Bruichladdich distillery has been showing a healthy imagination in its marketing and a variety in the types of whisky it releases. I remember in early 2004, while touring with a theatre company in Germany, being impressed by the market penetration they had achieved in even quite small German towns, noting a few large and professional displays in wine and spirit shops.
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