90 - 01/10/2001 - THE FOUR SEASONS
- Weather, whisky & some seasonal suggestions - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Log Entry # 90 - October 1, 2001 Hurray! After a few years of single malt explorations I came to the conclusion that the freezing cold
of the winter winds requires a different malt than the humid heat of the summer. I found that the Lagavulin 16yo that had warmed me during the dark months somehow didn't seem alltogether 'appropriate' in the summer. There's nothing
quite like a Lagavulin 16yo on a cold winter night. Preferably in front of a fireplace in the woods while the wind is howling in the treetops, but the radiator of my central heating system will do quite nicely as well whenever I'm
in Amsterdam. It's a very personal thing, but I just don't seem to be able to enjoy an Islay malt (or most other malts, actually) in the summertime when temperatures exceed 20 degrees Celcius. Well, off course I ENJOY them - just
not as much as during 'Sipping Season'. Another interesting feature of the water of life. After discussing the topic of seasonal influences at length with Louis Perlman I decided to add some 'seasonal suggestions' to my liquid log. It's just an arbitrary list with commercial malts that, at least to my taste, seem to
perform particulary well in a certain season. The fact that this probably isn't very useful for visitors that don't live on the Northern hemisphere in a place with a moderate maritime climate didn't deter me. SEASONAL SUGGESTIONS: Winter (January, February, March) Spring (April, May, June) Summer (July, August, September) Autumn (October, November, December) Does this mean that I don't like Talisker 10 in the summertime?
That's it as far as the seasons is concerned - scroll down for actual tasting reports. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 91 - October 15, 2001 One of the big liquid events I've been looking forward to was the 'Touchstone Tasting' of four malts from Orkney, the main island off the north-eastern coast of Scotland. A touchstone tasting is not unlike an ordinary head-to-head tasting session, but instead of sampling the available malts in consecutive pairs, different malts are tasted against one 'touchstone' malt. On the table: It's not hard to guess which one will be the touchstone malt.
I started the session with a H2H of the only two available 'official' bottlings of a twelve years old Orkney malt; Scapa 12yo (40%, OB, 100cl) and Highland Park 12yo
(43%, OB, 100cl). Scapa ('that other Orkney malt') is the obvious underdog in this situation, with a preliminary rating in the mid-70's. For the next H2H of the evening, I opened one of the 'Ultimate' bottlings
I picked up before my Big Ban started; the Highland Park 12yo 1988/2001
(43%, Ultimate), to be precise. Bottle #492 from Sherry butt #10452 was distilled on 19/05/1988 and bottled on 29/01/2001 - the week of Klaus Everding's second visit to Amsterdam. In the glass, the Ultimate 12 looks just a tad lighter than the 12yo OB.
The OB 12 wins on the nasal front. It's bigger and more complex - especially for the first 10 minutes. The taste of the OB is more complex and balanced as well, but the sheer explosive power of the Ultimate 1988 is amazing. And
it's a deceptive malt too - the nose of a mild Speysider but the kick of a Skye or Islay malt. Not unlike some Caol Ila's I've tasted; the friendly nose seduces you, but as soon as you taste the stuff... brace yourself! A few years
ago, I tasted another Ultimate Highland Park that was distilled in 1988. That one was bottled in 1995 and scored 75 points. But this bottle is almost twice as old and plays in a different league. An interesting alternative to the
OB with a price tag of 32 Euro's. It's a shame it will probably be sold out by the time my Big ban is over. And finally, the highlight of the evening: HP OB's go H2H.
Bla, bla, bla... Let's just see if this malt warrants such swollen language, shall we? Phew! I'm struggling with my preliminary rating for HP 18.
OK - that was fun. Let's review the results of tonight's tasting: The best malt of the evening
was, without a doubt, the HP 18. It has all the qualities of the HP 12, but slightly enlarged. That's why it takes the place of the empty bottle of HP 12 on my top shelf without being rated - not unheard of, but a rare honour nonetheless. Under normal circumstances, the HP 12 would have been replaced right away, but with my big ban and all, I'll have to wait until Christmas before I can buy a fresh bottle. Until then, the 18 should be a worthy replacement.
However, the real revelation of the evening was the Ultimate HP 12. The fact that the character was quite different from the OB's could indicate that the master blender at Highland Park distillery mixes a fair amount of older
(or more heavily sherried) stuff through the official 12 bottling. See added note 1 for more. That's tonight's tasting over with - Bless you and goodnight... - - - mAddendum 91A - Bye Bye Big Ban After the wallet-shattering events in April (see
log entry #80) pushed the number of bottles in my reserve stock past 100, I
decided I wouldn't allow myself to buy any more malts until Christmas. And everything worked pretty well - for a while... It all went pear-shaped on October 13, exactly 7 months after I started my Big Ban. When I came through
Utrecht Central Station, I passed 'Traverse' - one of my favourite liquorists until I discovered Ton Overmars and Menno Boorsma. Over the years, their selection has grown, but so have their prices. I couldn't resist dropping by,
just to see if they had the Balvenie Islay Cask on stock. It isn't officially available in Holland (yet?), but Traverse sometimes has some special imports on offer. Well, not today. I stood in front of the shelves in agony.
And then there's the harmful effects of socialising with other malt maniacs. Over the last few weeks, American correspondent Patrick has been taunting me relentlessly. He has obtained a shit load of new bottles recently and I have
to admit (reluctantly, mind you ;-) that some of them made my mouth (and eyes) water. While I was struggling to keep my Big Ban, Patrick made sure to keep me updated on every friggin' bottle he acquired. The evil fiend kept kicking
me by e-mail while my big ban held me down! The urge to retaliate became stronger and stronger... To cut a long story short, I left the premises clutching 9 new bottles;
You can tell I was feeling adventurous; I haven't tasted any of these bottlings before. Objectively speaking, that isn't the case with the Douglas Laing Talisker 'Tactical' 19yo 1980
50%, the Douglas Laing OMC Ardbeg 27yo 1973 50% and the official Ardbeg 30yo 'Very Old'. The price I'm willing to pay for a bottle may be slowly rising, but I'm still not completely comfortable with shelling out more than 100
Euro's for a bottle. Sadly, one of the many symptoms of malt madness is an adverse effect on one's cognitive abilities - even without sampling the product itself. All three bottlings were already present in my reserve stock, but
since they are among the rarest and most expensive bottles in my current collection I'm hesitant to open them. In my warped logic, buying these spare bottles made sense because it maximises the return on my previous investments. In
effect, it allows me to open a few very special bottles without remorse. Looking at it from that viewpoint, I made a good deal today. Breaking my Big Ban didn't satisfy my malt hunger - it only increased it. Back in Amsterdam, I
went to Menno Boorsma. According to his website, he had Aberlour a'bunadh and Macallan 10 100 Proof on stock for +/- 50 Euro's. That seemed like worth the trip. Sadly, he had neither one on stock at the moment. I had pretty much
tasted everything else, except the Longrow 10 that's still too rich for my blood at more than 90 Euro's. Uncharacteristically, I left without buying anything. As a result, my malt fever had reached a critical level when I made my
final stop of the day at Ton Overmars. I left the shop with:
Almost all these purchases at Ton Overmars were familiar bottlings. The odd couple are the Caol Ila and Springbank. Having satisfied my immediate need for a liquid fix, I hung around for a while longer chewing some fat with Ton. To my dismay, I discovered that I could have saved 25 Euro's by ordering the Ardbeg 1973 OMC here instead of picking it up at Traverse. Darned! My malt madness kicked in again, so I ordered:
The bottles arrived within a week. I'm especially pleased with the OMC Ardbeg 29yo 1972 and Ardbeg 26yo. 1974. The whisky in these bottles was produced before the distillery made some changes in the production process in 1975.
Especially the 1972 should be interesting; it has been finished in sherry casks for at least 6 months. The UD Rare Malts Mortlach 20yo 1978 (62.2%) was on my list because Jaap, a malt buddy from Holland, is raving about it. This
may prove to be a bad gamble, but I really wanted some Mortlachs in my collection. Looking at age and proof, it will be hard to find other Mortlachs that offer a better price per dram. The last bottle on the list was the Vintage
Island 8yo Cask Strength; reputed to be a genuine Talisker. Only 26 Euro's - this should provide a lot of bang for my bucks. Was that it? Yes, I went malt mad again. All bottles
moved directly to my reserve stock, except for the Connemara NAS, Vintage Skye 8yo, Black Bottle 10yo and Isle of Skye. They were opened within a few days and emptied within a few weeks. See mAddendum 91B for details. - - - mAddendum 91B - Affordable Fun
I opened some of the bottles I acquired recently to help me prepare for the Islay season that lies ahead. The Connemara NAS (40%, OB, Irish) is a steal at 20 Euro's. The
Black Bottle 10yo
(40%) is 'just' a blend, but offers great value as well. This latest bottle seemed identical to the one I emptied a couple of weeks before; great in the nose but simply too unbalanced on the palate. (See log entry #94H for details.) The rating of
71 points stands. After some of the 'Vintage' bastard malts, this is one of the best buys under 20 Euro's. Ian McLeod's Isle of Skye 8yo (40%) is a
blend that contains the Talisker single malt. OK, let's proceed with the real thing; Vintage Island Malt 8yo Cask Strength
(57%, SV bastard malt). It's bottled at a neat and round percentage, which leads me to believe this is not a 'real' cask strength whisky. I've tasted CS malts that were more than three times as old and still clocked in well over 60%. Not to worry, though; 57% is quite satisfactory.
That's it for now, at least as far as the latest bypass tastings and acquisitions are concerned. - - -
mAddendum 91C - Status 52-Challenge So, where does this latest tasting put me in the '2001/52-Challenge'? That's all, folks. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 92 - October 27, 2001
The last time I checked, the counter of the 2001/52-Challenge stood at 50. The evening was unusually warm for the time of year.
OK - First of all I'll have to figure out a final rating for the Aultmore 11yo 1985/1997
(43%, Signatory Vintage, bottle #468 of 484 from oak butt #2904, distilled 9/10/1985, bottled in 8/1997). Aultmore is one of the lesser known Speyside distilleries, located not far from Strathisla and Strathmill. This bottle has been hiding on my middle shelf since last November, so the final rating is long overdue.
My next target was the Glendronach distillery, located in the far East of the Speyside region - in the
'Deveron' area, to be precise. The distillery (founded in 1826) is not active at the moment, but it hasn't been demolished either. At the moment, I have two different
bottlings of Glendronach in my collection; the 12yo. 'Traditional' in my reserve stock and the 15yo. on my middle shelf. Then I opened the Glendronach 12yo 'Traditional'
(43%, OB). Contrary to the 15, this version is matured in both sherry and bourbon casks. This must have been one of my liquorist's more creative imports - the cork had a Cyrillic 'Oikonomicon' customs seal on it. The idea of having a H2H session of Glendronach 12 vs 15 was very tempting, but I still had a lot of tasting ahead of me. Uncharacteristically, I managed to restrained myself. There'll be plenty of time for a H2H later; these bottles are not going anywhere. At least, not far; the 15 moves to my top shelf, banishing the Cragganmore 12 (sob...) to my bottom shelf - at least for now. The Glendronach 12 moves to my middle shelf for further investigation.
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy - Now I get to open another bottle from my reserve stock. Now all I have to do to finish my plan for tonight is empty two bottles from the bottom shelf; the Strathisla 12 and Strathmill 10. The Strathisla 12yo
(43%, OB) has been on my shelves for almost 2 years now and it shows. The character has definitely changed - and not for the better. The
Strathmill 10yo (43%, SV Scottish Wildlife,) comes from the same area as Strathisla, just like the name suggests. There's a Sciurus vulgaris (common red squirrel) on
the label, which turned out to be quite appropriate. The malt seemed a little common to me as well. Well - that settles it... Having completed the 52-Challenge, I can shift my attention to some of my other pet projects, like the Malt Madness Matrix and the completion of phase 1
of the mission. There are only three undiscovered (active) distilleries left - a situation that will be rectified within a few weeks. Finishing the 52-Challenge made me feel pretty good about myself. - - -
mAddendum 92A - Springbank 21yo & Dufftown 12yo A few days after I broke my Big Ban, my 'little' brother Franc dropped by for a song writing session. We fuelled
our inspiration with the remainder of the Braes of Glenlivet 15yo, but found ourselves with an empty bottle around 22:00 PM. I opened the recently acquired Springbank 21yo
(46%, OB) because this bottling will become unavailable soon. Due to production gaps at the distillery, a 21 years old Springbank OB won't be marketed for a couple of years. I already missed out on the Springbank 12, so I wanted to check if the raving reports by Andrew Dinsdale and Louis Perlman were justified. If so, I still have the opportunity to stock up. My bottle with code 00/199 25/08/00 produced a very decent 'Plop!' when I opened it.
Now we had to empty a bottle from my middle shelf to make room for the Springbank. Franc wanted an
'easy' malt to sustain us for the rest of the night, So we chose the Dufftown 12yo 1987 (43%, Chieftain's Choice). No further notes. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 93 - November 11, 2001
Tonight is a night of historic proportions. - Balmenach (mothballed in 1993) The original purpose of my mission was to
locate the best single malts available and spend the rest of my life happily getting drunk on those 'best single malts'. With that in mind, it makes little sense researching distilleries that will (probably) never operate again. As
years go by, it will be harder and harder to obtain the product of these distilleries, so I'll disregard them for the immediate purpose of this phase of my mission. Incidentally, I haven't bothered to acquire bottles of Glen
Flagler, Glenury Royal (both closed in 1980's) and Ladyburn (closed in 1970's) for the same reason. - Caperdonich I started this session
with a moment of silence to commemorate the occasion and prepare for the discoveries that lay ahead. Then I put 'Conquest of Paradise' by Vangelis in the CD-player and poured my first glass ever of Glenlossie. The
Glenlossie 10yo 1989/2000
(43%, McGibbon's Provenance) is not coloured or chill filtered. As far as I'm concerned, that's a big plus for a single malt. Another nice feature of the McGibbon Provenance bottlings is the precise indication of the season in which the malt is distilled and bottled. In this case, the whisky was distilled in the autumn of 1989 and bottled in the spring of 2000. The result is a Speyside malt that's extremely light in colour, which indicated maturation in a bourbon cask.
Let's proceed with the Caperdonich 1980/1998 (40%, Connoisseurs Choice). Finally, I reached the pinnacle of a 5 year tasting career when I opened the last bottle from an
undiscovered (active) distillery; the Teaninich 1982/1998
(40%, Connoisseurs Choice). The Teaninich distillery is located in the southern part of the northern Highlands, about a mile west from Dalmore. If geography is an important factor, this one should do OK considering its neighbour (in casu Dalmore 12) does so as well.
OK - Do you realise what this means? That means I've kind of finished phase 1 of my mission. So... The Port Ellen 18yo 1981/2000
(43%, McGibbon's Provenance) is present in my reserve stock in two flavours. Both are winter (1981) distillations, but one is bottled in the spring of 2000 and the other in the autumn of 2000. When a cask of single malt whisky is bottled, this usually happens in a single run. This means these bottles probably come from different casks, one aged a few months longer than the other.
After careful deliberation, I chose the 'younger' spring distillation. The colour is a deep reddish brown; very dark,
especially considering it's not artificially coloured. This indicates sherry wood ageing. This latest eruption of malt madness has left a chaos on
my shelves, but I'll worry about that later. Tonight, I'd like to take the time to reflect on what I've learnt so far. Just give me a minute to get in my rocking chair
while I pour myself another glass of the Port Ellen and put on another record - Victoria's Requiem, to be precise. See mAddendum 93A below for my liquid reflections.
- - - mAddendum 93A - Phase 1 Preliminary Review Thanks to tonight's session, I've almost completed phase 1 of my mission. Almost?
Together with the 3 bottles from the last undiscovered distilleries in Scotland I opened tonight, that makes 20. As soon I've emptied
these bottles I will have finished phase 1 of my mission. Completing the 52-Challenge two months ahead of schedule (see log entry
#99) has boosted my confidence considerably. Eventually, my confidence got so boosted that I recklessly decided to commit myself to a new goal; I'll try to empty these 20 bottles before January 1, 2002 - exactly 50 days from today.
If I succeed in my 50 Day Push, I can proceed with phase 2 of my mission next year. Phase 2 will probably be very different from
what I expected when I started phase 1 five years ago. For one thing, I'm thinking about an approach where I start rating malts 'by
the dram' instead of 'by the bottle'. There are so many different factors that influence a particular tasting experience ('nasal
condition', amount of time the bottle has been open, size and shape of the glass, weather, room temperature, amount and quality
of water, malts sampled before, dinner enjoyed before, mood, etc.) that I frequently find a deviation in ratings for drams from the same bottle. Sometimes just a few points, but in a number of cases 5 points or more.
What's more, the differences between different batches of the 'same' single malt can be huge - with the notable exception of 'single
cask' bottlings. The Bowmore Darkest is an excellent example. (Don't just take my word for it; check Davin's 11th E-Report or the Malt Madness Matrix for a second opinion.)
Rating 'by the dram' also means no more preliminary ratings.
I can imagine an approach where, at least for my log entries, I say goodbye to preliminary ratings and give a rating as soon as I've
opened a bottle and sampled it. This would enable me to better track the development of a 'breathing' bottle over time. The rating
would be likely to change while I take my time to finish the bottle. An added bonus of this approach is that it makes it possible for me to score drams I've tried in whisky bars or at festivals.
Anyway - all that is not important right now.
The system entailed that I divided my collection of opened bottles between 3 different shelves. Each shelf holds 16 bottles. The top
shelf is reserved for old favourites like Lagavulin 16 and Macallan 12, while freshly opened (unrated) bottles go to my middle shelf.
The bottom shelf is the final destination for three sorts of rated bottles; 'unable to replace', 'too average to replace' and 'too
expensive to replace'. Every time I open a bottle from my reserve stock, I have to rate a bottle on my middle shelf and move it to
either my top shelf or bottom shelf. Consequently, I have to empty one of the bottles on my top or bottom shelf to make room. I guess all this sounds pretty complicated - and it is.
My current shelf system works pretty well in the sense that it manages to keep the number of opened bottles down to 48 most of
the time, but it is flawed. For one thing, it limits the number of new bottles I can try because freshly opened bottles have to remain
on my middle shelf for months while they wait for a 'final' rating. Lately, the increased flow into my reserve stock has transformed
my bachelor pad into some kind of freakish whisky research laboratory. The many 'bypass operations' I've had to conduct over the
last year prove that my current shelf system can't properly channel my curiosity. As a result, a lot of bottles remain on my shelves
longer than a year - and in my reserve stock even longer. As far as I'm concerned, that's not desirable. The longer the period
between acquisition and tasting of a bottle, the smaller the chance I'll be able to obtain spare bottles in case of an amazing discovery.
Furthermore, the content of my top shelf isn't limited to 'old favorites' anymore. With bottles like UD Rare Malts St. Magdalene 1979
and Flora & Fauna Benrinnes 15 up there, it's obvious I've loosened my restrictions regarding replacability and value. Likewise with
my bottom shelf. Surely, fine malts like Cragganmore 12 or Dailuaine 16 deserve a more elevated position? Somehow, the current situation just doesn't seem right.
So, I think it's safe to say my shelf system is in dire need of a revision. Of course, these 'borders' are variable. It all depends on the average quality of the open bottles in my collection at a particular
moment. If I were to suddenly open all 'Old Malt Cask' bottlings in my reserve stock, I'm sure some bottles with ratings in the lower 80's would be pushed towards my middle shelf. Oops! I just looked at the time. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 94 - November 18, 2001 Last week, I opened four 'new' bottles from my reserve stock (Caperdonich 1980, Glenlossie 1989, Teaninich
1982 and Port Ellen 1981) without properly making room on my middle shelf. I'm currently thinking about a new shelf system, but until December 31 I'll stick with what I know. That means I'll have to do some drinking, some
rating and some shuffling tonight in order to clear away 4 'old' bottles. I decided to go for some of the malts in the Malt Madness Matrix that I haven't rated yet. I started with the Old Pulteney 12yo
(43%, OB, 100cl), quite shapely bottled. Next up: the Glenfarclas 21yo
(43%, OB). Michael Jackson, Craig Daniels and Louis Perlman seem to be very enthusiastic about it with ratings approaching 90 points.
After intensive tasting over the last 2 months, the Macallan 18yo 1982 (43%, OB) seemed to be slightly less complex and endearing than the 18yo 1976 that enjoyed the hospitality of my shelves a few years ago. Craig
Daniels and others have reported on a slight but steady drop in the quality of Macallan OB's over the last years - and I'm afraid I have to agree with them. Tonight's tasting revealed: And then there's the Aberlour A'bunadh
(59.6%, OB), a cask strength malt that immediately captured my imagination when I opened it this summer. This is the first bottling without a 'batch' number; I'm very pleased
that I've managed to secure 2 bottles of batch #6 for my reserve stock. Too bad the prices are exploding. While I'm at it, I might as well figure out a final rating for the
Highland Park 18yo (43%, OB). This bottle sneaked its way onto my top shelf two months ago to replace the HP 12yo OB. Hip hip... hurray. Another 4 single malts to add to the Malt Madness Matrix. Finding a spot for the Glenfarclas 21 is easy.
There's no question the Aberlour A'bunadh is top shelf material as well. But figuring out what bottle has to go is not so easy. I finally decided on the Glen Scotia 14yo (40%, OB). This Campbeltown malt is a completely
different whisky, but the bottle on my top shelf is almost empty. I have 2 spare bottles in my reserve stock to sustain me in the future. I forgot to make specific notes for this one. It was a little maltier than I remembered,
with mysterious vegetable notes. Peat after 10 minutes. No need to change the rating of 84 points, though. The GS14 remains a well-rounded, playful Campbeltown malt.
The Macallan 18 belongs on my top shelf as well. The Macallan 12 is the obvious target for replacement, but that bottle is not nearly empty. The quality of the Macallan 12 may be slipping, but it's still a very good malt
that deserves my full attention. The Caol Ila 1981/1995 (40%, Connoisseurs Choice), on the other hand, was nearly empty. The cheap tin screwtops Gordon & MacPhail use for these bottlings makes them poor choices for
long term storage after opening. Considering I opened this bottle more than 18 months ago (on April 1 2000, see
And then there's the Old Pulteney 12 that needs a place to stay. A nice malt, but with the current abundance of greatness on my top shelf, I had no choice but to move it to my bottom shelf. The first bottle to catch my eye was the
Glenesk 1984/1997 (40%, Connoisseurs Choice). I opened it exactly one year ago and decided on a disappointingly low score a few months ago (see Oh boy.... See the mAddendum 94A for some notes on 'home vatting'. - - - mAddendum 94A - Home Vatting So - How do I produce my infamous home-made 'Special Blends'? I usually start with a mixture of 2 - 5 quite 'basic' single malts to form anything between 50 - 70% of the end product. I used to use blends (mostly Teacher's) as well, but I'm in a position to exclusively use single malts now. That means there's no grain whisky to spoil things... The selection of the malts that forms the basis for the blend depends mainly on availability. At any given time, I have
no more than 50 opened bottles available for blending. Even less, when you think about it, because you can be damned sure I won't use the likes
of Macallan 18 or Ardbeg 17 for blending. Based on the available malts, I try to imagine a combination of characteristics that would work - if possible around a certain 'theme'.
After sampling the first vatting, I decide if I want to go for 'nose' or 'taste' in the second vatting. Composing a good blend is a
genuine art and I don't have the skills or craftsmanship (yet?) to produce a special blend that is more than the sum of its parts. On
rare occasions I manage to mix a blend that either smells or tastes better than any of its components - but never both. This just goes to show how very difficult the task of the master blenders at the distilleries really is.
When I've decided which 'route' I want to take, I add a number of other malts to the mix and sample the product again. Based on
the results of this second vatting, I either (a) 'bottle' the vatting, (b) add more malts or (c) go back to the first vatting for another
try. When I've found a combination that works, I 'bottle' it to let the malts 'marry' for a few weeks. Of course, this should happen in
a wooden cask, but I don't have any of those lying around. So, I use a couple of special (350 ml, 500 ml or 700 ml) bottles instead.
I guess the procedure sounds pretty complicated, so I'll take you through the vatting experiment I did today with Glentauchers 1979
and Caperdonich 1980. Both are Speyside malts nearly 20 years old, rather delicate and subtle. They both could use some more power in the taste - a cask strength malt maybe?
15 ml Glentauchers 1979/1998 (40%, G&M) First Vatting Results (15 ml sample): Man! Sometimes you strike gold on the first time. I'll probably make this vatting as it is, because the nose is amazing! The taste could use some Islay power, though - and maybe some big sherry and woody notes as well. I hope I can achieve this without
spoiling the nose. The Vintage Talisker 'bourbonish' 8yo. C/S could add some sparkle to the mix but then it needs something heavy
and sherried to balance it. Glendronach 15 or Aberlour A'bunadh are excellent, but I want these excellent bottles to last as long as
possible. How about a sip of the Benrinnes 15? Ordinarily, I would deem it too good for blending, but I'd better pick a bottle I'll have to empty anyway in my '50 Day Push'.
10 ml Talisker 8yo (40%, SV bastard single malt) Second Vatting Results (25 ml sample): The taste has improved, but the nose hasn't. The influence of these powerful malts is just a little too strong. I think I'll go
back to the first vatting for my final attempt of the evening. While I emptied my second dram of the second vatting for inspiration, I
explored my shelves for suitable candidates. I finally decided on two soft-spoken malts from 1981 and 1982 who would complement
the other three malts in the mix rather than overpower them. This would add a nice 'theme' to the vatting as well. It would contain 5 malts from 5 consecutive years; 1978-1982. The recipe for the final vatting (500 ml):
- 100 ml Royal Brackla 20yo 1978/1998 (59.8%, UDRM) Final Vatting Preliminary Results (15 ml sample): It's 02:15 - time to call it a night. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 95 - November 22-25, 2001 Oh boy....
Day 1 - Thursday, November 22 It all started on November 22, around 18:15 when I arrived fashionably late to meet Johanna Ngoh and her boyfriend Charles in the lobby of their hotel. Johanna is an editor for the Canadian edition of whisky Magazine 'An Quaich'. We got digitally acquainted through Davin, the Malt Madness correspondent in Canada. The ice was immediately broken when they surprised me with a Canadian bottle of Dun Bheagan 8yo - an unchillfiltered 'bastard' (pardon my French) bottling of Lagavulin. An excellent choice, especially because this bottling is not available in Holland. Even if it were, it would be different - this is a 75cl bottle, while all 'standard' bottles currently sold in the European Union are 70cl. We had
a little time to kill before the main event of the evening, so we strolled over to the 'Gall & Gall Exclusief' near Dam Square. Like most foreign guests, Johanna and Charles were surprised to discover how small
Amsterdam really is. Most locations inside the canal zone are within walking distance of each other - sometimes even crawling distance. The collection and prices at Gall & Gall weren't particularly interesting, but
we had a hard time leaving just the same. Nearly every bottle we spotted on the shelves ignited a lively exchange of experiences and opinions.
We arrived around 19:00 sharp as requested - to find that the event would start an hour later than originally planned. Quite a bummer, because we were very eager to start the tasting and Johanna and Charles seemed a
little tired from their flight. The wait was worsened by the fact that three different Ardbegs were poured before us on the table - Ardbeg 10, Ardbeg 17 and the new 'Lord of the Isles' bottling (+/- 25yo. old). The
glasses were already on the table when we walked in, so when we finally were 'allowed' to drink the whisky had been breathing for 90 minutes in a room filled with smoking and beer-belching people. That can't be good!
The misery was soon forgotten when Stuart Thompson, manager at Ardbeg distillery, started addressing the punters around 20:15. His undiluted Scottish accent commanded the immediate respect and silence of all the
whisky lovers in the bar. After all, Scotland is the 'holy land' of all whisky fundamentalists.
Previous to the actual tasting, Stuart told us something about his own history in the whisky industry. Before he started managing the Islay distillery, he worked for Glenmorangie - who bought Ardbeg in 1997. Founded in
1815, the distillery quickly became an 'insiders secret' and was quite successful. Chances turned around 1980 - about the same time Ardbeg gave up on their own floor maltings. The stills had been operating infrequently
since 1981 and according to Stuart the place was a shambles when he first saw it - 'Beirut and Sarajevo rolled into one', I think his words were. With an investment of 5 million Euro's, Glenmorangie has managed to revitalise
the distillery since then. And the malt community has applauded them for it - rightly so, I think. Stuart kept his introduction short and sweet - in maybe twenty minutes he dazzled the audience with lots of
industry information and anecdotes. Along the way, we picked up some wonderful information about the history of the distillery since 1815 and the way Ardbeg operates today. For one thing, Ardbeg only uses first-fill or
second-fill casks for their single malts. Third-fill casks are also used, but only for blends.
All this talk about whisky made me pretty thirsty, so I had already been sipping illegally from my Ardbeg 10 before we got to the official tasting part of the evening. I usually start my sessions with the younger malts,
and save the older ones for later in the evening. When we started tasting around 20:30, we did so with the Ardbeg 17yo (40%, OB) instead of the 10. I hadn't thought about it, but this actually makes sense. Because
the 17 - at least this version - is bottled at 40%, it's not as 'heavy' as the 46% 10.
But how good was it, you ask? We proceeded with the Ardbeg 10yo
(46%, OB). A nostril symphony of salt, peat and smoke. Later, it showed some sweetness in the nose, but none in the taste. The 17 seems almost 'sherried' in comparison. As it turns
out, that's not surprising - the 10 is produced from 100% bourbon casks, while the 17 is a mixture of bourbon and sherry casks. I don't remember the exact percentages, but I doubt the 2% sherry / 98% bourbon ratio
Arthur wrote down is correct. I imagine that a mere 2% is not enough to make a significant impact - at least not enough to explain the big differences between the versions. The taste of the 10 was peaty, bitter and dry. Especially the peat stands out after the trademark Ardbeg
explosion. I really like the fact that it's bottled at 46%. This means chill filtration isn't 'required'. Ardbeg made a big point about this when they introduced the 10, and today it seems they have set a trend. (See Louis's
E-Report #34 for more information about the adverse effects of chill filtration.) The Ardbeg 25yo 'Lord of the Isles' (46%, OB) was the absolute highlight of the evening - and the premiere
of this version in Holland! It is made up of 15% sherry casks and 85% bourbon casks from 1974, '75 and '76.
Somewhere along the way, Stuart claimed that Ardbeg was the most heavily peated malt on the market today, with phenol levels of 50 ppm. Johanna and I looked at each other with a sceptical frown. What about Laphroaig
or Longrow? When Johanna confronted Stuart with her doubts, he claimed that the shape of the stills at Ardbeg and a mysterious device at the top of the stills (called a 'regulator', if I remember correctly) were
accountable for the slightly smoother Ardbeg style. With a few more malts behinds our belts, we finally got to exchange a few personal words with Stuart while
Arthur from 'the whiskysite' kept pouring generous drams from the bottle of Fraser's Reserve 7yo (40%, bastard malt) from his private locker at De Still. This is reputed to be a bastard Ardbeg - Stuart had never tried
it before. It appeared young and quite fresh in the nose, with lots and lots of salt in the back of the taste. Again, my sinusitis prevented me from picking up anything meaningful. We finished off Arthur's bottle within half
an hour, and that served him well, because he was the one responsible for the delay of the session in the first place.
We left a little after 22:00. I could see that Johanna and Charles were pretty exhausted, so I didn't bring up our original plan to
visit L&B's afterwards. I was a little tired as well, to tell you the truth. I dropped them off at their hotel and returned home. After I got there, I resisted the temptation to open the Dun Bheagan 8yo.
right away. I was having a bad nose day and I wanted to have control of all my faculties when I tried it for the first time. Instead, I made sure to get a good night's sleep before: Day 2 - Friday, November 23
Sadly, the tasting conditions were as deplorable as the night before. I had one of the worst nose days in modern history and only a few of the stands offered water for the cleansing of the glass and dilution. To make
matters worse, the current popularity of single malt whisky attracted droves of loudmouthed 'yuppie' and 'dinkie' nitwits to the event. All the stands were very crowded and cigar smoking was actually promoted. On the positive side, everybody received a proper nosing glass when they arrived and the location in the 'Grote
Kerk' in The Hague was well-chosen. The beautiful old church added a (thin) layer of solemnity to the occasion. The whisky stands themselves were very crowded, bit the church was big enough to offer enough
secluded seats to recover from intensive dramming. And let's not forget the wonderful conversation that could be had - there were quite a few serious malt maniacs between the philistines.
I arrived around 18:00 and took a moment to absorb the atmosphere. Only for a moment, though - my main goal tonight was absorbing the whisky.
Since I have the Aberlour A'bunadh on my shelves right now (and since it was a little early for a cask strength malt, I selected the 'new' Aberlour 10yo (43%, OB) as my next malt. When I tried an earlier bottling about
seven years ago, it scored 80 points, but a bottle I tried earlier this year only reached 77 points. At the stand, they offered the latest bottling, which seemed back to true form. Very nice with lots of sherry. I forgot to
make proper notes, but this one made it to my shopping list. This was my first stop of the evening. Since my dramming capacity is limited, I passed on the Bushmills,
Jamesons and Craigellachies. I strolled over to the next stand; Gall & Gall. After the luscious drams Pernod Ricard poured, they looked a little cheap with Glenfarclas 8 as their only single malt. They offered Te Bheag
and Poit Dubh as well, but who wants to drink blends when there are so many single malts around? I merrily skipped along to the Glenfiddich / Balvenie stand and nearly tripped when I spotted a bottle of the
Balvenie 17yo 'Islay Cask' (43%, OB). Now that's interesting! I've been curious about it since I heard about it but it became (scarcely) available in Holland just a few weeks ago. It kind of 'replaces' the 15yo. Single
Barrel, which is no longer produced. Age-wise, they belong to the same cohort, but the price of the 17 Islay lies around 100 Euro's - more than twice what I had to pay for the 15, which was bottled at 50.4% to boot.
The new 'single barrel' version of Balvenie is the 25yo. old, but that one costs somewhere near 150 Euro's. Does that mean the new bottlings are better? I can only hope that the Balvenie 10yo. and 12yo. Doublewood remain at the current levels of price and
quality. If not, I'm afraid they are destined for a big fall on my 'bang-for-your-buck' list. I certainly hope not, especially because the stand crew was very nice and poured a very generous dram. I didn't want to abuse
their hospitality, so I left the 21yo. Port Wood alone. Instead, I proceeded to the 'Classic malts' stand. They had all the standard versions of the classic malts available. I might have dropped by if they had the Distiller's
Editions, but they were not in sight. So I proceeded with my tour of the festival.
The next stop was the Bladnoch stand. The man who recently brought this Lowland distillery back to life, Raymond Armstrong, was
enthusiastically engaged in conversation, so I didn't get the chance to speak to him in person. I did get a little taste, though. They poured the Bladnoch 10yo (43%, Flora & Fauna) in tiny plastic
cups. As a result, I couldn't smell or taste anything meaningful. The combination of a bad nose day, a young lowland malt and the small cups resulted in a nice experience without any remarks. A shame, especially
because Bladnoch is my favourite Lowland distillery after Saint Magdalene. At the stand of Moët Hennesy Holland (Dutch agents for Ardbeg, Glenmorangie and Glen Moray) I ran into
Arthur, the guy from 'the whiskysite' again. We took advantage of a quiet moment at the stand and ambushed Bob Bron, managing director. We had a very nice conversation; Bob took the all the time to answer every
question we had while we enjoyed a stiff dram of the Glenmorangie 10yo (43%, OB). Strangely enough, this bottle seemed more like the Cellar 13 than previous versions of the 10 - Softer and sweeter with a smoother,
less 'coastal' character. When the topic of 'special' wood finishes came up, Bob admitted to being less than enthusiastic about most
results of this practice - including the Glenmorangie Sherry. Such candour is rarely seen - a lot of people in the industry act like the product they are selling is the best in the whole wide world. I have to agree with Bob,
though. I absolutely love the Glenmorangie Port and Madeira finishes I tried, but the Sherry didn't do it for me. Neither did most other special wood finishes I've sampled so far, for that matter. However, malts like the
Balvenie Doublewood prove that multi-maturation CAN work beautifully. I would have liked to hang around a while longer, but I had only covered half of the festival so far. This meant
I had to say my goodbyes and move along. I stood in line for a Springbank 10 for a while, but got bored after a few minutes and wandered off to the Bowmore stand. There I tried the Bowmore NAS 'Dusk' and Bowmore
NAS 'Voyage'. (Things were becoming increasingly vague, so I forgot to jot down the alcohol percentages.) Both whiskies are finished in port wood casks. The guy behind the stand proved he knew very little indeed
when I asked him about the differences between the two - apart from the alcohol percentage. 'Well', he told me, 'One is aged in ruby port and the other one in ordinary port.' After enjoying a short break and two tasteless salmon sandwiches, I was very pleasantly surprised when I resumed my tastings with the Connemara NAS Cask Strength (59.2%, OB). This stuff packs a whallop! Ka-Boom!!! The taste seems even peatier than that of the normal Connemara, which was the peatiest Irish whisky on the block so far. I haven't seen it in the shops yet, but I'll make sure to pick it up on sight - if the prices are as friendly as those of the ordinary bottling, that is. My next surprise was even bigger. After arranging a little reunion for next year, I moved on to the stand of De Still. By now, I had come full circle. Not my tasting skills, though. My notes for the Magilligan NAS (a pure pot still Irish whiskey from Cooley) only tell me that it smelled like beer, while all I got from the Glenfiddich 18yo 'Ancient Reserve' (40%, OB) was apple in the nose and salmon in the taste. And that might have been just the mediocre salmon sandwiches haunting me...
A little before 21:00, with a whole hour of free drinking ahead of me (!), I decided to get on the train back to Amsterdam. I suppose these kind of festivals are great for introducing novices to the wonderful variety of
single malts, but I personally prefer different dramming conditions. The event was just too crowded for my liking and the cheap side-shows started to get on my nerves as well. It's amazing to see how a whisky festival
attracts droves of entrepreneurs selling clothes, shoes and even fish! Can you believe it - Funky fishmongers stinking up the place? If you ask me, they shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a dram of single malt whisky. Humbug!
Day 3 - Saturday, November 24
The world looked a little bit cloudier than usual when I woke up.
Damn these cheap tin screw caps! I decided to open the Longmorn Glenlivet 12yo
(40%, Gordon & MacPhail) right away to keep it from evaporating further. Technically speaking, it's an 'independant' bottling but G&M have been marketing a 12yo.
old Longmorn for years now. This makes is one of the 'standards' between unofficial bottlings.
Alarmed, I checked for other 'suspect' bottles in my reserve stock. Fortunately, most appeared to be OK. The screw top on the Glenrothes 8yo
(40%, MacPhail's Collection, 1999 bottling) was a little loose, so I picked that one as my second fresh bottle for the evening. I purchased this one because I wanted to check if a
younger, unofficial Glenrothes would perform as well as the 1985 OB I enjoyed a few years ago. Now I had to find room for these two bottles. Ergo: 2 bottles would have to disappear from my middle shelf. In the spirit of the evening, I went for two other GorMac Speysiders - I made sure to pick 'virginal' bottles with the '50 Day Push' in mind. I selected the Glentauchers 1979/1998 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail) from my middle shelf. Finally, I turned to the Caperdonich 1980/1998 (40%, G&M Connoisseurs Choice). The two bottles I was supposed to empty tonight were far from... eh... empty. I could handle one or two more
drams tonight, but finishing off both bottles would be very unhealthy. So I decided to use them for one of my 'special blends' to enjoy the results later. I knew I wasn't giving the bottles the respect they deserved, but
some sacrifices have to be made if I want to finish this first part of my mission this year. I suppose that serves me right for taking it easy through the first 4 years of phase 1...
Only one more day to go before this wonderful whisky weekend is over. Day 4 - Sunday, November 25 In my original plans for this weekend, tonight was reserved for a big tasting session at my place with Johanna
and Charles from Canada. Sadly, they had to return to Canada earlier than planned. I still wanted to do some sampling, though. I will change my current shelf system soon, but it works fine for what I've got planned for
tonight. Inspired by the Ledaig I tried at the festival, I decided to process three different malts from the Tobermory distillery from the Isle of Mull. Apart from the 'Tobermory' malt (made from unpeated malt), it
produces Ledaig as well. The name of this whisky, made with peated malt, is pronounced as 'Led-chig' - meaning 'safe harbor' in Gaelic. At the start of the evening I poured myself a stiff dram of the Tobermory NAS
(40%, OB) from my bottom shelf. This is one of the lowest scoring malts ever and the bottle is nearly empty. Last chance for this bottle. The
Ledaig NAS Sherry Finish (42%, OB) on my middle shelf was a limited edition for the year 2000. When I opened it this summer, I was pleasantly surprised. Based on the price tag (28 Euro's) and my previous
experiences with the Tobermory, I was very sceptical. The Ledaig 20yo
(43%, OB) is something completely different. The two 'no age statement' versions were produced after the distillery reopened around 1990, but this one dates back to the days of different owners
and different production and storage methods. Unfortunately, the information on the label is very limited. To conclude my investigation, I did two quick H2H sessions; Tobermory NAS vs Ledaig NAS Ledaig NAS
vs Ledaig 20yo The Ledaig 20yo moves to my middle shelf, the Ledaig NAS goes to my bottom shelf and the Tobermory NAS is
empty. It's a little early for big conclusions, but based on my experiences so far it seems that Ledaig can be an interesting malt - provided it has matured long enough. Of course, the interesting question is: how long is long
enough? That concludes the proceedings for this weekend. - - - mAddendum 95A - Acquisitions: Aberlours & Islays Well, that was an exhausting weekend.
Friday's sampling of the Aberlours reminded me of the fact that this is a very interesting distillery with high quality output. I picked up the Aberlour 10 on sight - a litre for 25 Euro's is a really great price and I wanted to give this malt another try anyhow. I avoided the Aberlour 12 Double Matured which was relatively unattractively priced at 45 Euro's and went for the Aberlour 'Antique' instead. This version is intended for tax-free sales only, so I don't know when I will be able to buy it again. The bottles of Aberlour 100 Proof were bought 'on faith'. Craig Daniels rates this bottling above the A'bunadh and a price of 42 Euro's for a litre of cask strength single malt whisky is great. The only one to top that is the Glenfarclas 105, as far as I know. Four bottles of Aberlour is quite enough for one haul, so I turned thirsty gaze towards Islay. The Signatory Vintage Caol Ila 12yo. 1989 46% comes in two flavours; one aged in bourbon barrels, the other in sherry casks. A H2H should be intriguing. The McGibbons Provenance Port Ellen 1981 was priced a lot friendlier than the OMC 1979. Friendly enough for me to pick it up. Like the one already on my reserve stock, it's a winter distillation / autumn bottling.
That concludes today's purchases. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 96 - December 3, 2001
Have you been monitoring my recent '50 Day Push' exploits?
Trying to empty 15 bottles in less than a month is sheer madness, and very unhealthy to boot. Besides, I wouldn't be able to give some very excellent bottles the attention and respect they reserve when I rushed
them through my shelves like a maniac. Many malts evolve over the course of a few months in an open bottle; I wouldn't want to miss watching the malts on my shelves 'grow up', so to speak.
I've come to my senses and reluctantly decided to give up on the '50 day Push'. I might be able to even the score by successfully completing my final project for this year; the 'Malt Mania Marathon' . The objective is to figure out final ratings on the 16 bottles on my middle shelf before the year is over. That way, I will have ratings on at least one version from every active distillery in Scotland by the end of 2001. Rating the bottles on my middle shelf also enables me to improve my slightly dysfunctional shelf system soon - but I'll get into that later.
I decided to go for 4 different Speysiders tonight. The big problem with Speyside malts is that there are so
many of them. Especially over the last year, I was 'forced' to seek out bottles from relatively obscure distilleries like Glenlossie, Convalmore and Pittyvaich in order to complete phase 1 of the mission. Now it's time
to put them to the test. I opened the evening with the Glenlossie 10yo 1989/2000 (43%, McGibbon's Provenance, distilled Autumn 1989, bottled Spring 2000, not coloured, not chill filtered). The Glendronach 12yo 'Traditional' (43%, OB) was produced in the south-east of Speyside. Glendronach is
one of the few distilleries that still malts their own barley. Unlike the Glendronach 15yo OB (matured in 100% sherry casks) this malt has matured in a combination of sherry and bourbon casks. Contrary to the two previous malts, the Convalmore 15yo 1983 (43%, Chieftain's Choice, Series 2952) has been hiding on my middle shelf for over a year now. The Pittyvaich 18yo 1976/1995 (43%, Signatory Vintage, matured in oak casks, distilled 22/6/1976, bottled
2/95, cask #8633/34, bottle #222 of 630) was another familiar resident on my middle shelf. I opened it on December 2, 2000 (see
OK - Four bottles rated, twelve more to go. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Log Entry # 97 - December 7, 2001
Whooah - it's freezing outside! Time to bring out my mittens and a couple of island malts. The Highland Park 12yo 1988/2001
(43%, Ultimate, bottle #492 from sherry butt #10452, distilled on 19/05/1988, bottled on 29/01/2001) proved to be a very nice surprise when I opened it in October for a H2H of 5 Orkney malts (see
After my inspection of the 'northernmost' distillery of Scotland, I turned south to the isle of Mull. The Ledaig 20yo (43%, OB) was opened recently and caused quite a stir. It performed a lot better than I expected after
two other versions (Ledaig NAS and Tobermory NAS) from the distillery proved disappointing.
OK, enough dilly-dallying around the 'fairer isles', it's time to bring out the Islay malts.
Finally, I sampled the Bowmore NAS Cask Strength (56%, OB). It is one of the oldest residents on my middle shelf. I've tried it often since I opened it last year (see Phew - that's it for tonight. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 98 - December 8, 2001
I'm taking advantage of a string of good nose days to decide on a final rating for the 16 bottles on my middle shelf. Tonight is the third session in a row; four more bottles await their final judgement. I selected four
Gordon & MacPhail bottlings for the occasion. I'll dispense with further pleasantries and get right to the tasting report. The Longmorn Glenlivet 12yo
(40%, Gordon & MacPhail, white label) was opened on the same night as the Glenrothes 8yo, about two weeks ago. The tin screw top of this bottle had been damaged, so it has been
breathing heavily since I purchased it over a year ago. The bottle of Teaninich 1982/1998 (40%, Connoisseur's Choice) was kind of special because it was the last bottle from an 'undiscovered' active distillery I opened.
Which brings us to the last 'GorMac' of the evening. The North Port-Brechin 1981/1998 (40%, Connoisseur's Choice) was produced by a distillery that closed down in 1983, so technically speaking I didn't have to taste it
for phase 1 of my mission. Well, I did it anyway.
The four malts I've sampled tonight have filled my quota for the Malt Mania Marathon (I've now rated 12 bottles on my middle shelf), but there is another issue I need to solve. Klaus will be visiting Amsterdam again
next year and he asked me to save some of the UDRM St. Magdalene 1979 for him. That means I'd better remove it from my shelves a.s.a.p. - there's less than 1/10 of whisky left in the bottle. You may have figured out that this left a vacancy on my middle shelf. That's it for tonight. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Log Entry # 99 - December 9, 2001 During the last three sessions I reviewed 12 bottles on my middle shelf; this means only 4 open bottles in my collection lack a final rating. Time to tie up the last loose ends.
I figured the Springbank 21yo (46%, OB, 00/199, 25/08/2000) would be perfect to start the last lap of the marathon. My first impressions after I opened it in October were positive enough for me to secure two spare
bottles while I still had the chance. Due to production gaps at the distillery, the Springer 21 won't be bottled for a while. Now it's time to translate my initial impressions into a solid score.
From the Campbeltown peninsula, I shifted my attention North by Northwest to the isle of Islay. Although the Port Ellen distillery (closed in 1983) was located on the south shore of Islay (like the 'powerhouses' Laphroaig,
Lagavulin and Ardbeg), most versions I've tried resembled the 'softer' style of the northern Islay malts. The Port Ellen 18yo 1981 (43%, McGibbon's Provenance) seemed no exception when I opened it on November 11.
(See log entry #93.) This bottling isn't artificially coloured or chill-filtered - always a good thing.
Two bottles down, two more to go. Which brings us to the last malt of the Malt Mania Marathon. OK - I think a small '
It also means that all the open bottles in my collection have been rated. - - - mAddendum 99A - 'Scotland by Dram' So, I've finished phase 1 of my mission and the 52-Challenge. If I plan my tastings carefully, I may also be able to form 'second opinions' on the distilleries I've only tried one version of so far. Under the new rules of engagement I can add the tasting notes and ratings to Malt Madness as soon as I've sampled the malts. If things go smoothly my new Big Black Book will contain notes on at least two different version from each active distillery in Scotland by the end of 2002. - - - mAddendum 99B - Christmas Shopping On December 27, I visited Ton Overmars to do some late Christmas shopping. Strangely enough, I find it much easier to resist temptations since I broke my Big Ban in October. Patrick came to his senses as well and has ceased his relentless taunting, which helps. I entered the store with the intention not to spend more than 50 Euro's on a bottle. This is actually harder than it sounds, because there are very few affordable new discoveries left, while the prices have been rising steadily - even at Ton Overmars. My resolve was tested, but I passed up on the Balvenie 17 yrs. Islay Cask (105 Euro's) and Ardbeg 25 yrs. 'Lord of the Isles' (155 Euro's). They cost a pretty penny - I was quite sure I could spend my money more wisely. I even passed up on the opportunity to buy a spare Ardbeg 1972 for 111 Euro's. I already have two bottles in my reserve stock and I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that I can't buy eveything I want to. Instead, I went for a couple of more reasonably priced bottles - mostly old favorites.
These six bottles together cost me less than Ardbeg 25yo and Balvenie 17yo would have. The Ardbeg 1990/2001 Spirit of Scotland
was something I just had to own when I saw it, even though it was priced slightly above my limit. Ardbeg is one of my favorite
distilleries and I've never tried a bottling of this series before. And it's a cask strength to boot. If my recent experiences with the Laphroaig 10 C/S are any indication it should do very well. The Ardbeg 17yo and
Bunnahabhain 12yo (nice price!) are old favorites but the new bottling of Edradour 10yo was a bit of a gamble. An earlier 10yo bottling I tried (clear, 'standard' bottle, 70 points)
wasn't very exciting but Craig Daniels and a few visitors of the site insist that this bottling is much better. Well, it's certainly more attractive - a nice, bulky bottle in a nice, bulky tube. And there's a new kid in town... Maybe Ton's pricing has become a little quirky, but it may also be the advent of a general rise in price of Lagavulin 16 in Holland. As soon as older stocks from shops with a smaller turnover (or larger stocks) are depleted this new bottling will appear on shelves throughout Holland and I'll now if the rising price is a national phenomenon. I guess such a development would be logical, given the fact that Lagavulin 16 is such a great whisky and Holland is no longer a third-world country on the international maltmap. After a malt market has been 'developed', prices at import-level ususally go up.
When I discovered single malts around ten years ago your average bottle of 12 years old single malt whisky would set you back 25
to 30 Euro's. A litre of Lagavulin 16 cost only 33 Euro's. Prices have been steadily rising since then. I guess I really should stop
moaning about it, but don't forget I'm Dutch. For the last three years, Ton Overmars was a haven in a sea of rising prices, but no
more. Most prices are still quite good, but he's no longer the cheapest address in Amsterdam for some malts. Aberlour A'bunadh,
for instance, can still be obtained for 59 Euro's at Menno Boorsma while the Lagavulin 16 is a few Euro's cheaper at Gall & Gall than at Ton Overmars. Fortunately, I didn't have to go to Gall & Gall for Lagavulin 16. Actually, I didn't have to go anywhere because I already have 4
bottles in my reserve stock. But I knew a secret - a secret that has been eating me up inside. There is a dirty old supermarket in the ghetto where I live.
The liquor part of the store mostly sells cheap beer, jenever (gin) and horrible fantasy blends with prices
below 10 Euro's. Strangely enough, they do sell single malts as well - no less than five different ones! They have Glen Grant n.a.s.,
Tamdhu n.a.s., Glenlivet 12, Oban 14 and... Lagavulin 16! The fact that they carry the stuff is quite baffling, but the price of 32 Euro's is even more amazing.
Of course, I couldn't resist dropping by and picking up three spare bottles. The Lagavulin 16 has been my number one malt for 10
years now, so I really couldn't buy too much of it. One of the weekend-clerks at that store is an exception as well - he's a
malt-crazed philosophy student that actually knows his stuff. We talked before and he tracked the origins of my previous Lagavulin
batch for me. They are part of a batch of 200 cases (1200 70 cl bottles, 43%), bottled in 1999 and imported in january 2000. The
store only sold small quantities, but now the stocks are depleted. They now had the new 2001 bottling on their shelves, but the price
remained as pleasant as ever. Even if my three new bottles prove to be 'inferior' to bottlings from the previous millennium they'll likely offer plenty of bang for my bucks. My final purchase of this year was made at Menno Boorsma. I managed to ignore the Longrow 10yo (105 Euro's) and McGibbon's
Port Ellen 19yo 1982 (109 Euro's). I doubted long and hard about the Aberlour A'bunadh Batch #6 (59 Euro's). Compared to Ton
Overmars and Gall & Gall, the price is very friendly but I already have two bottles in my reserve stock - enough for now. There are now exactly 125 bottles in my reserve stock. They should last me for quite a while if the prices keep rising in the future. If the introduction of the Euro as an actual single currency next year (within two days, actually) causes prices to inflate beyond the borders of sanity I could go without shopping for a few years. If the single market has a positive effect (i.e. a negative effect on prices), It'll probably have a positive effect on my drinking (i.e. a negative effect on my health) as well... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <<< Previous 10 entries - Next 10 entries >>> (Or check out the overview of all log entries) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
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