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Rediscovering a class act – Lagavulin

June 10th, 2008 Bill
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I remember, many years ago, trying Lagavulin a few weeks after finding Laphroaig too medicinal for my young palate, and quite liking it. However for some reason our paths have hardly ever crossed since then. Memory and changing tastes often play tricks so I was interested to see what my opinions of it would be now.

Lagavulin 16 year old, 43%

Colour

Deep amber

Nose

Oh, this is good. You can tell immediately. Warm, slightly salty.

Taste

Initial taste
Exactly like the nose, love at first sip. Brings to mind a warm summers day by the seashore with the grass warm under your feet. There’s a real feeling of mature quality; the fact that it’s older than the normal “standard” malts at 16 years old is very evident. It makes me wonder what the Laphroaig, which readers may remember I thought was not yet fully developed, would have been like at this age. I also wonder what the special 12 year old bottlings of Lagavulin will be like – I’ll definitely be finding out! Did I mention it was warm?

Later taste
The saltiness increases slightly, but not to excess as was threatened with the Bunnahabhain. A little caramel comes through, and increasing suggestions of sweet sherry. The sweet and the salty battle for supremacy but in the end they settle for parity in a balance that retains interest and vitality.

Finish

A strong distinctive finish that stays mostly at the front and sides of the tongue and lasts a long while.

Conclusion

This time the memory merely understated the quality – or the young tastebuds couldn’t yet appreciate it fully. I like this, a lot; better even than the Ardbeg and very close (though a rather different style) to the Caol Ila. It has something in common with Talisker in the rich complexity and saltiness. Perhaps a little more sherry and caramel than the Skye classic, perhaps not quite so many interwoven flavours, but very satisfying indeed. In my list of favourite standard single malts this has now taken a place in the top three – displacing Bowmore (which I’ll be reviewing next) and Highland Park – which is high praise indeed.

My only very slight concern is that any older versions might not be any better, as the sweet sherry flavours might take over, but I’ll happily try them out just in case!

Whisky Dreams – book review

May 12th, 2008 Bill
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No whisky enthusiast needs to be told about Islay, the island that is so steeped in our favourite spirit that it seems to run in the very blood of the inhabitants. Equally we are all aware of the sad fate of many of Scotland’s famous old distilleries; mothballed or closed forever due to the boom and bust nature of the blended whisky market mixed in with the effects of prohibition and two world wars. So any reversal of fortune, any revival of a closed distillery is to be celebrated. Read more »

Yoichi better than Talisker?

May 1st, 2008 Bill
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That strange whirring noise you can hear is old Scots stillmen spinning in their graves. A Japanese whisky has been named Malt Whisky of the Year by Whisky magazine. Yoichi 20 year old from Hokkaido succeeded last year’s winner Talisker 18 year old to become the first ever overseas winner. It’s £150 a bottle so I don’t anticipate sampling it anytime soon, but it apparently tastes of smoke and blackcurrant.

Just to pile on the agony Suntory Hibiki won the best blended category. Excuse me while I go and cry into my Caol Ila.

P.S. I would have included a link to Whisky Magazine, but any site in this day and age that tells you that you have to use a particular browser to view it doesn’t deserve one. As a web designer I won’t be visiting it again.

Blair Athol – A brief visit to the Highlands

April 25th, 2008 Bill
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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

Old Unpronounceable – Bunnahabhain

April 7th, 2008 Bill
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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.

Laphroaig – still challenging after all these years?

March 20th, 2008 Bill
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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.

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