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Maritime Wizardry in Wick

July 16th, 2009 Bill
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I have to confess to never having previously tasted any of the output from this most northerly mainland distillery, so I came to it with no preconceptions, save perhaps wondering if it would be anything like the well known distillery on the facing islands of Orkney.

Old Pulteney – 30 year old, 44%

Colour

Pale gold, lemon or maybe acacia honey

Nose

Sea air, green leaves, light and airy

Taste

Initial taste
After the colour and nose this was unexpectedly warm and rich, redolent of caramel chocolate. Not the false “added caramel” taste you get with some cheaper malts though, rather a luscious but light flavour, and maybe that acacia honey thought wasn’t far off the mark. Darker chocolate notes increase later.

Later taste
A citrus tang  – perhaps bitter Seville orange – creeps in as the whisky warms up. This seems to help it remain relatively light for such a venerable malt.

Finish

Long and delicately rich – light honey predominating

Conclusion

Well balanced and satisfying. Although it’s a 30-year old it retains a freshness more associated with the 12-15s that I usually favour, with none of the over-rich cloying tastes that you sometimes see in older Speysides. The fact that there has been no additional finishing with wine or sherry casks, and plain white bourbon casks have been used throughout, means that the quality of the spirit has been allowed to predominate. Given the fashion for experimental finishes this could be seen as either brave or just very sympathetic to the nature of the whisky. Whichever it was it’s been the right decision and very worthwhile.

Again and again when I’m doing these tastings I’m amazed at how often the whiskies encapsulate the feelings of the places where they are distilled and matured. Even in a blindfold tasting I would know this was a north-east whisky without a shadow of a doubt.

This is a gentle dram, subtle rather than complex, but pure rather than simple. It has an understated but undeniable quality which is refreshing, like the air on the north coast from which it comes.

I would expect it to be a good match for fish, particularly something like the herring which Wick was once so famous for, where the citrus taste would match with the sweetness of the fish. But it would also stand alone as a perfect after dinner dram. This is not a cheap dram but it is a very good one. If you like sound of the descriptions or are already a fan of the northern malts then I can heartily recommend it to anyone with the budget. I’m quite taken with this and I’ll certainly be watching out for some of the other single malts they produce to see if they reflect the same fine qualities.

SMWS Cask no 25.47

May 4th, 2009 Bill
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This is the first tasting note from my recent visit to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s rooms in Queen St in Edinburgh. The Society has a tradition of not referring to their bottlings by name, but only by cask number, but they do give hints that enable you to identify them with a little research. I’ll continue that tradition here. For those of you who are Society members they can be bought at www.smws.co.uk/shop/ (though I imagine you’ve all been there already!) and all of you can see the full selection there.

The first whisky in our tasting was from a distillery in Falkirk that is sadly no more. Mike has long had a soft spot for this one so he’ll be annoyed that he couldn’t make the tasting. Regrettably my original tasting notes disappeared from my Palm Pilot, so these are based on recollections a few days afterwards with hints from the Society’s own notes. Sometimes I agreed with them, sometimes I didn’t…

Cask no 25.47

Described by the Society as A Sunny Flower Meadow Picnic
19 years old, 59.7%

Colour

Pale yellow

Nose

Spirity to begin with, as might be expected from this strength, with floral scents coming through and a hint of what might be a resin.

Taste

First taste
Not really what I’d expected at all – much better than the basic malt that used to be sold in the shops. Softer and more subtle, floral notes – maybe elderflower – but with hints of spice – probably Cinnamon – and wood.

Later taste
Rose begins to come through along with a taste that reminds me of the smell of old leather furniture. The Society tasting panel mentioned chocolate and marshmallow although I can’t say I noticed those.

Finish

Some of my fellow tasters thought the finish was long but I found the opposite. What was there was good though.

With a little water

I have to say that I overdid the water a little, and as a result I probably missed the effect somewhat. However there was no sense of the sudden release of aromatics that I’m familiar with from the western distilleries. A little more rose and maybe a touch of pineapple-type citrus. The Society notes mentioned lemon and cut grass and I could see where that might be the case if I’d used a little less water.

Sometimes leaving a whisky for 10 or 15 minutes can bring out more flavours. We checked back on this one later and found that it wasn’t one that benefited from this approach. Personally I’d drink it at cask strength.

Conclusion

While this lowlander wasn’t my usual style of malt it was a satisfying dram, light and subtle with some excellently blended flavours. Because it is no longer made it has rarity value – at the price quoted I probably wouldn’t buy it myself, but for those of you who favour this style I can imagine it being a must-have and I suspect it’ll sell out quickly.

Tasting excellence in the Hallowed Halls

May 2nd, 2009 Bill
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In midweek I had the great pleasure of attending a tasting given by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society for invited whisky bloggers at their lovely premises in Queen Street in Edinburgh. While I had visited their original home in Leith on previous occasions this was my first sight of the interior of their New Town rooms and I have to admit to being impressed on all levels. For this event we were directed to the top floor of the building to a well-appointed boardroom with superb views over Queen St Gardens and further to the Firth of Forth. Perfect timing as it was a superb evening of soft sunshine highlighting the pink blossom which has been such a feature of this Spring. One of those nights when it’s good to be alive.

The purpose of the tasting was to sample the latest release of the Society’s bottlings which will be available this week, and it was gratifying to be invited to such company, particularly given the recent hiatus in our postings caused by upheavals in business and personal life for both Mike and me. The five malts concerned will each be accorded individual tasting posts here in the near future – all were very interesting and quite different from each other, and reflected the efforts of the Society’s tasting panel to provide quality for their members. I had a small disaster in that my Palm Pilot decided to ditch the tasting notes I made during the evening due to a battery problem – next time I’ll use old technology and write them down (if I can work out how to read my own writing!). Fortunately the Society provided a selection of their own panel members’ notes so I should be able to reconstruct mine before the memory fades too much.

The tasting group were warmly welcomed by the delightfully enthusiastic Jenny and Stephanie and the tasting was led by Olaf, who described how he had originally become the first overseas member and subsequently become more involved in the activities after moving over here, as well as later regaling us with stories of some of his many distillery visits. My thanks to all of them for an excellent night.

It was fascinating to hear the other bloggers talk about their own recent tastings and to discover how differently we all viewed the diverse tastes that we were presented with. It’s all too easy to concentrate on your own preferences and ignore some of the vast diversity of flavours available in our favourite drink and I’ll certainly be on the lookout for some of the whiskies mentioned during the evening.

Unfortunately Mike wasn’t able to attend, being on a business trip to London – he missed a fine selection of whiskies and a very convivial evening which I hope may be repeated in the future. I’m off to try writing up those tasting notes.

Ledaig – Mulling over the island differences

May 2nd, 2009 Bill
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Rating: 5.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Although I’ve still to finish off the first sweep of the standard Islay malts the only remaining one was heavily mentioned in my recent book review so I think it’s time to venture further afield on the west coast.

The island of Mull has always been one of my very favourite places, ever since a lovely holiday early in married life. I saw my only “in the wild” otter there and despite twice having car problems have only good memories of the place. However when I first visited, the little distillery in Tobermory was the one downside as it was mothballed and looking a bit down at heel. Thankfully it has since been revived and there are two versions of its output fairly readily available. One uses the modern name of that most picturesque of villages while the other uses the old name. This time round we look at the old one.

Ledaig – 10 years old, 40%

Colour

Pale straw

Nose

Spirity with just a hint of oiliness.

Taste

Initial taste
Soft and fairly dry. There is no particularly over-riding flavour – very little peat or smoke, although a taste of peat ash comes through after a couple of minutes. A mild lemon appears shortly after.

Later taste
Curiously this dram seems to get stronger the longer you leave it. A warmer richer taste replaces the lemon and the nose seems to become sharper. There are some brief notes of what might become floral but these are short-lived. There is also something that reminds me of some herbs but I haven’t been able to identify which ones as yet.

Finish

Medium length.

Conclusion

After having spent the last few months with the heavyweight Islays I’ve had to readjust my expectations. All single malts can’t be in the top 5% or be deep and challenging but that doesn’t make then unworthy of drinking at the right time. I may also have to retune my tastebuds because malts that other people describe as peaty seem to me to be devoid of that taste! ;-)

On the strength of this tasting, and I’d like to try it again, Ledaig appears to have little of the complexity of its more celebrated island cousins. This is a much simpler spirit, which in some ways echoes its Tobermory origins, clean, light and relaxing, but with an inate strength that underpins it. If you like the west coast or island style but balk at the salty and/or peaty superstars then this might just be for you.

Northern spirit and Spanish warmth – The Lasanta

October 5th, 2008 Bill
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Like the earlier tasting of Blair Athol, this Glenmorangie expression arrived via my father and a good friend who knows his tastes. The Tain distillery have been in the forefront of special finishes and this one uses Spanish Oloroso Sherry casks. I’d heard Mike talking about one of their other finishes, the Quinta Ruban which uses Port casks, in enthusiastic terms so I was intrigued to discover what this would be like; especially when I realised that two days after opening it was already half empty! Perhaps though I should mention that this was partly due to a farewell toast to Jock Wilson, the oldest Normandy Veteran at 105, whose funeral had taken place that day, and at which dad had spoken eloquently.

Glenmorangie – The Lasanta -  46%

no age given other than the Sherry finish is after at least 10 years in Bourbon casks.

Colour

Rich dark-golden honey.

Nose

Warm, spirity, the sherry is quite noticeable but well-blended, hints of black treacle and perhaps a little peatier than expected for a Glenmorangie.

Taste

Initial taste
Rich, dark chocolate, treacle again, walnut, black raisins. The sensation seems to go across the top of the palate and down the back of the mouth.

Later taste
A little of the spirit edge comes off and leaves a lush, warm, enveloping taste. There is a hint of spice and bitter Seville oranges but with the bitterness masked by the sweetness of the sherry, while there is a suggestion that the treacle has changed to almost-licquorice.

Finish

Long, smooth and rich. Very relaxing. It’s hard to resist another glass!

Conclusion

In some ways quite unlike the standard Glenmorangie which is much lighter, this is a rich concoction suited to long evening discussions surrounded by wood panelling and a warm fire. However in other regards you can still detect the essential nature, which I’ve seen described as “soft and gentle”, providing the base for the darker richer layers which the sherry finish provides. Their advertising uses the “Glen of Tranquility” translation prominently and that is a perfect description of this excellent combination of Highlander and Spaniard.

No longer a compromise – Bowmore

July 30th, 2008 Bill
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Bowmore used to be regarded in some quarters as piggy-in-the-middle; a bit of a compromise between the two extremes of the Islay tastes, but certainly in recent years this seems to me to be rather unfair. I’ve enjoyed it on a number of occasions, particularly since a visit to Islay some years ago, and Mike and I attended a tasting of three Bowmore bottlings in the Spring, but given the comparative nature of my current enquiries into Islay malts I was interested to see whether it would stand out as well as the others.

Bowmore 12 year old, 40%

Colour

Amber.

Nose

Peaty, warm soft smoke.

Taste

Initial taste
Again warm and smoky, an enveloping taste that seductively wraps itself around your tongue, leaving a comfortable feeling like the memories evoked by the still-warm remains of a peat fire.

Later taste
An unexpected sweetness briefly appears and then recedes again, replaced by hints of liquorice – but not too much. The alcohol tastes stronger than its rating, maintain the warmth. Some oak coming through the smoke. There is none of the saltiness of Bunnahabhain but it would be wrong to think of it as being one-dimensional as the peat smoke is a subtle thing, changing wraith-like in your senses and never quite allowing you to pin it down.

Finish

The intensity isn’t as long as you might expect – as the alcohol dies back it seems to take the main tastes with it – but the remnant background flavour remains in place for rather longer to remind you that another sip is waiting.

Conclusion

While very different from its neighbours it has a distinctive feel of its own. Perhaps not as complex as Lagavulin or Laphroaig nor as clean as Bruichladdich or Caol Ila, this is nevertheless a quality dram. Ideal for escaping a cold winter’s night. I know from experience that the 15 year-old is even better but that is for another tasting note. In my own preferences in this raft of tastings I’d say it is above Laphroaig and possibly Bunnahabhain, but below Caol Ila and Lagavulin. There would be times I’d prefer Ardbeg and others where I might prefer this Bowmore.

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