100 - 31/12/2001 - MISSION STATUS
- What have I learned during phase 1 of my mission? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Log Entry # 100 - December 31, 2001 Exactly five years after I started this Liquid Log, we've arrived at entry #100. This seems like the perfect occasion to look back and reflect on what I've learned since I started my
quest for the perfect single malt.CLICK HERE
to jump to the 'Special Report' I've written for the occasion. It features my tasting notes on the 'Amsterdam Ardbeggeddon' - a mega-tasting session with 14 different Isaly malts. Scroll down to read about my first tastings in 2002. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 101 - January 1, 2002 Last night - or rather this morning -
my brother Franc and I enjoyed the remains of two bottles of Ardbeg (10 & 17 OB's) during our traditional new year's hike through the woods. A thick blanket of snow and a full moon; perfect conditions to kick off my 'Scotland
by Dram' project. We emptied the bottles well past midnight, so my year 2002 started with Ardbeg. After a good night's sleep I felt more than ready to continue my virtual journey tonight. For those of you that have just tuned
in: After several fun 'projects' last year, I've come up with a new challenge for 2002. On the
To complicate things further, I've also committed myself to a parallel project as well; the I prefer to go about things as systematically as possible, so I selected four malts from the top of
Empty - Arran NAS. (43%, OB, 70cl, Bottom shelf) The bottle of Arran NAS
(43%, OB, sherry casks) was an oldie. I picked it up in June 2000 when I started my Reserve Stock. With a rating of 61 points it's one of those malts that failed to impress me. Perhaps that's not too surprising considering this whisky inside the bottle is very young - the distillery was founded in the mid-1990's. They say youth has its virtues - let's find out if that's true.
The Aultmore 11yo 1985/1997
(43%, Signatory Vintage, distilled 9/10/1985, bottled 9/1997, oak butt #2904, bottle #468 of 484) has enjoyed the hospitality of my shelves for over a year now. It was my first bottle from this low-profile distillery. The Allt-A-Bhainne 1989/1999
(50%, John Milroy Millennium Selection, matured in oak casks) is a single cask bottling - at least that's what the label claims. It doesn't specify a cask number or a bottle number, though. I've never understood what's the use of single cask bottlings when they don't give any information about the cask. All it tells us right now is that other bottles with the exact same label might be completely different.
Finally, I opened the
Aberfeldy 1978/1996
(59.3%, Scott's Selection, matured in oak casks). A younger Ultimate bottling I tasted last year didn't manage to overly impress me - 70 points is nothing to get too excited about. This version comes in a very nice 'leather' box, is very light in colour and produced a very good 'plop' when I opened it.
OK, that takes care of the planned part of the evening. I poured my first dram of Aberlour in 2002 (the exceptional Aberlour A'bunadh) and started to figure out where tonight's exploits have left me as far as 'Scotland By Dram' and the 'Second Chance Challenge' are concerned.. - - - Shorthand Still Reviews (A) Let's see which distilleries I can cross off my list;
Aberfeldy
(Midlands) - I've sampled a younger bottling last year (Ultimate 9yo 1991; see log entry #88) and tonight's tasting takes care of the 'second opinion'. And let me tell you that opinion has improved considerably. The 1978 Cask Strength version is much better than the Ultimate. So much better in fact, that I was tempted to raise the still score from a measly 2 stars to 4 'Highly Recommendable' stars. After careful consideration I concluded that a malt of this age and strength (and price, I might add)
should perform well. Four stars should be reserved for serious overachievers. That being said, an encounter with another good Aberfeldy bottling could earn it 4 stars. Aberlour
(Speyside) - The dram of Aberlour A'bunadh I'm enjoying while I write this takes care of my obligations as far as the 'Scotland by Dram' project is concerned. And since I've sampled several consecutive bottlings of the 10yo in the past as well I can forget about Aberlour when it comes to second chances. Bottlings of the 10 varied between 77 and 80 points and the A'bunadh (no batch number) scores 89 points - reason enough to generously award 4 stars to Aberlour. With 5 other versions in my reserve stock I'll have plenty of time to find out if all bottlings live up to the same standards. Lucky me!
Allt-A-Bhainne
(Speyside) - After a few unremarkable tastings with a James McArthur Allt-A-Bhainne 12yo back in 1997 (70 points; see log entry #2) I've tried my 'second opinion' version tonight. My opinion has improved a little, but not enough to lift the distillery to 4-star status. Good, but nothing to go too crazy about.
Ardbeg
(Islay) - Located on the Hebridean Isle of Islay and established in 1815. Apart from the two versions I sampled this morning I've 'officially' sampled two other bottlings so far. These Ardbegs scored remarkably well, and so did the many other versions I've tasted 'unofficially'. Islay is my favourite island in the whole wide world and Ardbeg is one of my three favourite Islay distilleries. (My other favourite 'powerhouses' are Lagavulin and Laphroaig.)
OK - four 'A' distilleries down, five more to go; Ardmore (Speyside), Arran (Isle of Arran), Auchentoshan (Lowlands), Auchroisk / Singleton (Speyside) and Aultmore (Speyside). Status Scotland by Dram / Second Chance Challenge: - - - mAddendum 101A - 'Bottomline Ban' My malt madness may have calmed down a bit, but I still need some kind of system to prevent me from bankrupting myself on liquor
in 2002. As I've learnt the hard way, a complete 'Big Ban' doesn't work very well for me. During the ban that lasted for 7 months (see
log entry #98
for details) the purchase-pressure kept building and building, resulting in a highly combustable situation. Unavoidably, things finally exploded into major malt madness mayhem. When the smoke cleared up a few days later, I found myself 32 bottles richer and a few thousand Euro's poorer.
That's why I've come up with a cunning new mechanism; the 'Bottomline Ban'. Sounds cool, eh? But what does it mean? Bottom line: the number of unopened bottles in my - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 102 - January 19, 2002 German correspondent Klaus and his malt buddy Michael visited my humble abode twice before and returned for another session tonight. They muled over a shipment of 13 new single malts from Weinquelle in Hamburg, which made them extra welcome. I'll get back to the new additions to my reserve stock later on; first I'd like to tell you about the events that took place at the 'Amsterdam Ardbeggeddon Reprise'. Halfway through our first dram, Arthur from the whiskysite
joined us. Like Michael, he was reluctant to translate his impressions into ratings at first. Fortunately,
Klaus and I (with weight and experience on our side) managed to persuade them. 1 - Macallan 18yo 1982 (43%, OB)
Pointy conclusions: 2 - Pittyvaich 18yo 1976/1995
(43%, Signatory Vintage) Conclusions:
Before we had finished our glasses the food arrived.
3 - Dallas Dhu 10yo (40%, Gordon & MacPhail) Conclusions: 4 -
Highland Park 12yo 1988/2001 (43%, Ultimate) Conclusions: And
this is where things got REALLY interesting. We decided to do a H2H2H (a Head-to-Head-to-Head-tasting) with three different versions of Caol Ila. All contenders were distilled in 1989, but after that they got treated very
differently. 5 - Caol Ila 1989/1999 (43%, Mackillops Choice) The Mackillops Choice bottling (bottle no. 71
from cask no. 1804) was muled over by Klaus and Michael last year. Klaus was crazy about it and convinced me to purchase a bottle as well. It has been hiding in my reserve stock for a long time but I finally opened it a few weeks
ago to find out if I wanted to order a spare bottle. It scored 85 points on its opening night, enough to make it to my latest shopping list. You may have noticed that the bottlers have managed to extract 868 bottles from
a single sherry cask, while they needed two bourbon barrels to fill just 654 bottles. This isn't too surprising when you know that the average sherry cask is much larger than the average bourbon barrel. As a result, the
sherry-matured Caol Ila is a single cask bottling, while the other one isn't. OK, let's get back to the tasting notes. Pointy conclusions:
This tasting was a tough one. For one thing, the bottles were freshly opened. Some bottles change considerably after they are opened, especially in the first few weeks.
This means my conclusions are preliminary to some extent.
Around 22:00 PM Arthur
had to leave for another venue. He was travelling by bicycle and had to ride for more than 10 kilometres to reach the centre of Amsterdam. It was rather cold, so Klaus, Michael and I were glad we could stay indoors. We decided to express our solidarity with a dram of...
8 - Laphroaig 15yo 1985/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask) Conclusions: 9 - Saint Magdalene 19yo 1979/1998
(63.8%, UDRM) Conclusions: OK - on to the next top shelf malt... 10 - Springbank 21yo (46%, OB) Conclusions: 11 - Port Ellen 18yo 1981 (43%, McGibbons Provenance) Conclusions: 12 - Aberlour A'bunadh (59.6%, OB, no batch number)
Conclusions: Finally, we arrived at the last documented tasting of the evening, an intriguing H2H sampling of two 'official'
Glendronachs; Conclusions: Hurray! - 14 malts down... At the start of the evening
Klaus and I had to use all our persuasive powers to get Michael to declare scores for the malts, but at the end there was no stopping him. Long after Klaus and I had given up all our ambitions for serious sampling and restricted
our comments to 'nice' and 'very nice', Michael kept on rating. After every dram, his face got a puzzled expression that lasted for a while. Then it would open up in a broad 'Eureka' smile while he delivered a rating - not unlike a
midwife delivering a baby. My malt-o-meter stood at 20 by the time we got to sleep. This was an evening well spent; I'll worry about the status of 'Scotland by Dram' and the 'Second Chance Challenge' later. See my added note for the details of the loot Klaus muled over. - - -
mAddendum 102A - First Shoppings for 2002 I've made some calculations and I figured my wallet could stand another shopping spree. Klaus was kind enough to
bring over some 'pleasantly prized picks' from Weinquelle in Germany. The Euro has finally arrived, so it was the first time we didn't have to worry about exchanging Deutschmarks for Guilders and vice-versa. Ooh, boy. I'm a happy camper! Thirteen bottles richer and a little over 500 Euro's poorer. This will be my last big purchase for quite a while; I don't want to jeopardize my 'Bottom Line Ban'. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Log Entry # 103 - February 16, 2002 Last week my brother Franc and I visited France for some serious skiing and some far less
serious writing for our e-zine 'Weird Planet Magazine'. (I cunningly planned my 'retraite' in Val d'Isere to avoid the festivities around the Dutch royal wedding and my own birthday...) After an exhausting day of skiing, we kicked
back with a good glass to discuss assorted topics. Those 'good glasses' were mostly filled with pastis or absinthe, but we managed to finish two bottles of whisky as well. The first one was the 'Ye Monks'
(40%, blend, distilled by Donald Fisher from Edinburgh) Klaus brought it over from Germany and Franc and I emptied the bottle in France. It's a bit of a curiosity; a 75 cl bottle with some strange kind of plastic anti-alcoholics device installed in the neck of the bottle. It took several minutes to fill a glass! The label claims it's 'a curious old whisky'. Well, it wasn't so 'curious' after all - a pretty standard blend with hints of smoke and citrus in the malty nose at first. Opens up after a while, becoming quite expressive for a blend. The taste is soft and quite sweet. Faint fruit. Slightly grainy on the palate, but not bad at all. Good, solid centre. Salty finish. Sal-ammoniac? 'El Monje' receives 51 points; it has a high 'Instant Re-fill Factor'.
We picked up the Glen Turner 8yo Special Reserve
in France. I've misplaced my notes, but if memory serves it's a vatted malt bottled especially for the French market. It performed rather well and Franc and I assigned scores in the lower 60's. (I'll add my tasting notes if and when I find them.)
OK - On to the actual topic of this log entry. After careful deliberation, we chose the two official bottlings of Glendronach in my collection. Last month's H2H-tasting of Glendronach 12yo 'Traditional' (43%, OB, 70cl) and
Glendronach 15yo '100% Sherry' (40%, OB, 100cl) produced some interesting results, so I wanted to repeat the experiment. The cork of the 15 started to fall apart, so it's a good thing the bottle will be emptied tonight. Conclusions: As far as I'm concerned there's no reason to change my ratings. Both are very enjoyable malts that offer good value, but the 15 has considerably more depth and stamina, even with big chunks of cork in
it. Still, it amazes me that the nose of the malt that has been partly aged in bourbon casks smells more like actual sherry to me than the version that has matured for 3 more years, exclusively in sherry casks. Maybe I simply
haven't sampled enough sherries to make an informed judgement. I vaguely remember some sherry tastings with more rare and exclusive sherries that seemed to go more into the direction of the Glendronach 15, but I'm just not sure.
After a generous re-fill of our glasses, both bottles were empty. Two more victims of my malt madness, I guess. On the bright side, this gave me the opportunity to move the new Caol Ila's to my top shelf. This means the F&F
Benrinnes 15 is ((temporarily?)?) 'demoted' to my middle shelf - another indication that the average quality of the bottles on my shelves is steadily improving. Maybe I'm finally learning how to liquidise my assets efficiently and
effectively... The night was still young, so we went for another H2H. Conclusions: The rating for the last few drams of Longmorn Glenlivet 12yo was
considerably lower than the 82/83 it scored when I first 'opened' the bottle on December 1 2001. I blame excessive evaporation for its quick deterioration. I won't change the final rating of 80 points, though - it's a nice rating
in the middle of the score-bandwidth. The Longmorn 15 replaced the Longmorn 12 on my middle shelf, after which we embarked on a game of chess that quickly became so exciting that I forgot to take notes for the rest of the evening.
So - that's it for the report on this particular session. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 104 - February 23, 2002
One of the bottles the Germaniacs brought over from Hamburg last month was a small bottle of Tomintoul 14yo
(43%, OB, 33.33cl). The design of the label is very similar to the 10yo I tried last year. It looked so vulnerable and helpless between all the big bottles that I decided to take affirmative action - I opened and emptied the bottle in a special 3-week 'bypass operation', avoiding all the hassles that come with passing a bottle through my shelf system.
Tonight, I decided to finish the last 3 to 4 drams in the bottle. Hmmm - now what?
Hmm - and I figured I might as well finish with the 5cl miniature of Glen Scotia 14yo (40%, OB) Geertjan Uytenboogert sent me. He though this particular bottling was much better than previous batches and wanted to hear my opinion about it. Well, of course, I'm glad to help out - especially if it means free drinking... Fourteen years can be a difficult age. I have to admit I'm not to sure about tonight's
findings when it comes to the Oban and Glen Scotia. I emptied quite a few glasses of the Tomintoul before I got around to them an was focussing on a new article for Malt Maniacs during the tasting. I won't consider them 'officially
sampled' and get back to them in the future. So, where does that put me in the 'Scotland by Dram' project?
(See the mAddendum for details.) - - - mAddendum 104A - Status Review 'Scotland by Dram'
Ah - All my great plans to go about this systematically (read: alphabetically) were thwarted last month when Klaus and Michael lured me into a lengthy detour across a dozen different distilleries. Since I last checked, I could cross 12 more active distilleries off my 'Scotland by Dram' list; - Caol Ila All these distilleries are relatively familiar; I've tasted at least two different
bottlings from each one. That means they are not on the list of my 'Second Chances Challenge'. I'll try to get back to my 'organized' A-Z system in the future, so I'll publish my shorthand distillery reviews when I get there -
alphabetically speaking. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 105 - March 2, 2002 I've got some big events planned for
the near future; events that will have a notable impact on my collection. First of all, there's the upcoming Lagavulin Extravaganza. One of the side-effects will be the removal of the two Lagavulins (16 OB and 14 MurMac) from my
top shelf. And then there's the March JOLT where I will open five new bottles from one single distillery; Aberlour. All these fresh bottles will need a spot on my shelves, so it's time to make some room. I'll spare you the
mathematical details, but the bottom line is that I have to remove two bottles from my shelves to prepare for this month's events. I went for two bottles that were almost empty anyway - the Glenmorangie Madeira Wood Finish and
the Dalmore 12. And there's a good reason they're almost empty; both are highly accessible single malts that can be enjoyed during all seasons and under all circumstances. At the same time, they offer enough intriguing details to
keep the demanding malt maniac satisfied. Especially the Dalmore 12 has a high 'Instant Refill' factor - I opened the bottle only four months ago. Time to say goodbye - after I've made some closing notes. The Glenmorangie Madeira Wood Finish
(43%, OB, 100cl, bottled +/- 1998) was one of the better incarnations I've tried. The variations between different batches of the Glenmorangie special finish range can be considerable. This litre bottling scored an average of 83 points at previous tastings - an enjoyable malt with a special wood finish that offers an interesting new perspective on the way single malts 'should' taste.
Person: Vincent Van Gogh The Dalmore 12yo
(43%, OB, 100cl, bottled +/- 2001), on the other hand, still delivered in spades the last time I tried it. The Dalmore isn't quite as characteristic as the Glenmorangie Madeira, but it's one of the best all-round malts I know in the 'highly affordable' price bracket. A litre goes for +/- 30 Euro's here in Holland.
Person: Winston Churchill Hmmm - the clock said 22:30 when I had taken care of my 'shelf management' duties. I wasn't tired yet, so I shifted my attention to
two miniature bottles that ended up in my collection about 6 months ago when I broke my 'Big Ban'. I started with the Glenturret 12yo
(40%, OB, 5cl, bottled +/- 2000). Tastings of a big bottle about two years ago didn't really excite me that much. The text on the little cardboard box claims Glenturret is the oldest distillery in Scotland. Hmmm... Person: Sissy Spacek The last malt of the evening was the miniature Highland Park 12yo
(40%, OB, 5cl, Bottled +/- 2000). This miniature came in its own tiny round tube. A few months ago, the packaging of HP12 of the big bottles changed to a square box
and I suspect they've changed the packaging of the miniatures as well. This means this is an 'old' bottling - although all the other (litre) bottles came in at 43% instead of 40%. Person: Claudia Cardinale That's it - I'm full... I can cross Glenturret and Dalmore
of my 'Scotland by Dram' list, and this 'new' bottling of the Dalmore 12yo takes care of the 'second chance'. (See my mAddendums for other adventures in maltland.) Status Scotland by Dram / Second Chance Challenge: - - - mAddendum 105A - Islay Shopping Spree Shortly after my previous log entry, Ton Overmars managed to lure me to his shop once more with a very special offer; 1 litre of Laphroaig 10 C/S for just 39.95 Euro's! That's more than 10 Euro's off the regular price for a malt that scores 91 points on my personal hitlist. Reason enough to drop by, I thought. Five seconds after I walked into the store I knew I wouldn't be able to leave with just one or two Laphroaig OB's - a couple of irresistible new Islays had just arrived on Ton's shelves. Everything went hazy for a while and when I regained my senses I stood outside with:
Subconsciously, I'd restricted myself to Islay malts this time. My final purchase of the day (two spare 'Port Ellen' Lagavulin 16's) was made at the strange little neighbourhood supermarket I mentioned before. With all the disturbing rumours that have been going on about Lagavulin 16 it seems like a sound investment at just 32 Euro's a bottle. - - - mAddendum 105B - Port Ellen Official Bottling
There's a new bottling in town that everybody's talking about and I just had
to have one - even though the price is WAAAY over my budget at +/- 200 Euro's. I'm talking about a rare official bottling of Port Ellen. The Port Ellen 22yo 1979 (56.2%, 2001 bottling, no. 3942), to be precise. In this case, only 6000 bottles were produced.
Even when I discovered that Ton Overmars had secured a few bottles for 'just' 180 Euro's a pop, I couldn't justify buying it - not to my wallet and not to the other bottles in my collection. I've decided on respecting certain
price ceilings this year; a soft 50 Euro's limit for the relatively 'average' malts (pardon my French) and a hard 100 Euro's limit for those genuine 'Special Occasion' malts. Buying this Port Ellen would mean breaking yet another
one of my own rules. But that's when I got creative. But what whisky to choose? Oh, I don't know... How about that official Port Ellen?
- - - mAddendum 105C - Loch Dhu 10yo Those of you who've read the harrowing reports about my previous encounters with the infamous Loch Dhu 10yo may find this hard to believe, but since a week I am the proud owner of another
bottle. The Loch Dhu is very probably the worst single malt Scotch whisky ever produced (my personal score: 11 points), but even the mediocrest of malts becomes a sought-after prize as soon as they stop making it. And that's the
case with Loch Dhu. The Mannochmore distillery that produced it finally came to its senses and decided to cease production. The unique 'ashtray' style of Loch Dhu had a few fervent fans, but the general consensus seemed to be
that it's not very good - to put it mildly. It's also the whisky that people get most excited about on my 'Public Warnings' page.
So - How did this bottle arrive on my shelves? I gladly accepted. As for the Mannochmore distillery: the UD Rare Malts Mannochmore 22yo 1974 on my middle shelf is actually pretty good, so there's hope for this young distillery yet. It was
established in 1971, so perhaps we should look at the Loch Dhu as just one of those mistakes everybody is entitled to make in youth... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Log Entry # 106 - March 31, 2002 Over the last three months, I've been neglecting my duties as far as my 'Scotland by
Dram' project is concerned. With only 9 months left, I've still got 64 distilleries to 'visit'. I started with the Ardmore 11yo 1990/2001
(46%, Signatory Vintage). Then I asked for an Arran malt. My last dram at De Still was the Aultmore 1989/1999 (50%, John Milroy Golden Strength). Well, That's three suckers on a row! The Auchentoshan Three Wood
(43%, OB) is matured in three different casks; American Bourbon, Spanish Oloroso Sherry and Pedro Ximenez. The bottle has been in my reserve stock for almost two years now; ever since my collection of bottles began to significantly exceed my drinking capacity. I sampled the Auchentoshan 10yo over five years ago and wasn't particularly impressed (68 points). Since then, I've found a few Lowlanders that have significantly improved my opinion about this region; Bladnoch and St. Magdalene.
Now we will find out if my new-found love for Lowlanders includes Auchentoshan. Well, that was a very pleasant surprise! OK - Three months after I started my 'Scotland by Dram' tour, I finally have visited all the distilleries starting with 'A'. Only 25 more letters to go. Before I
get to Shorthand Still Reviews and Still Scores, I had to remove two other bottles from my shelves to make room. The Aberlour 10yo
(40.0%, OB, 100 cl, bottled +/- 2001) was opened only last week for the our second Malt Maniacs JOLT (see added note). The event had a significant effect on the contents of my shelves; after the smoke had cleared there were 5 different bottles of Aberlour on my shelves. More than enough, I would think. Time to remove my least favourite from my shelves.
The Allt-A-Bhainne 1989/1999
(50%, John Milroy Millennium Selection, 70cl, oak casks) was opened in January, especially for the 'Scotland by Dram' project. With a score of 78 points, it performed reasonably well, but I'm systematically trying to get rid of 'A' bottles.
Ordinarily, I would have emptied the Aberlour
and Allt-A-Bhainne straight away, but now I'll save them for the 'Midsummernight's Dram' Extravaganza in June. (More about that later..) On the table:
Nose: The [1] shows much more sherry than the [2] at first; [1] is primarily sherried, [2] is primarily malty and nutty (with a dash of cinnamon). [1] is slightly more
accessible, partly because the alcoholic, spirity notes of [2] have a tendency to overwhelm the subtler fragrances. The [1] offers a slightly wider perspective as well, especially after some breathing. It shows smoke and fruits,
peaches and apricots among other things. [2] grows more sherried over time, but never reaches the extremes of [1], which has slightly more 'staying power' as well. Diluted with 5 drops of water each, the smoke in [1] comes to the
foreground, while [2] seems to grow fruitier. Both are a true festival for the nose; [1] is slightly more transparent. Conclusion: Both are smashing malts, only different. This takes care of all the 'A' distilleries; the results: - - -
Shorthand Still Reviews (A)
Ardmore
(Speyside) - The Ardmore Distillery (established by William Teacher in 1898) lies in Aberdeenshire, in the far Southeast of the Speyside region. In fact, it's so far off the beaten Speyside track that it could be considered a Eastern highland malt.
Arran
(Arran) - This is one of the youngest distilleries in Scotland; production started in 1995. It's the only distillery on the isle of Arran, to the east of Islay and Campbeltown. The only widely available bottling is a version without an age statement, first released in 1998. I've sampled two incarnations of this bottling; one distilled +/- 1999, one distilled +/- 2001. The bottled spirit should be 5 or 6 years old by now; too young to mess with the big boys.
Auchentoshan
(Lowlands) - The 10yo OB was the first Lowlander I ever tasted and I wasn't particularly impressed. I've waited many years to try another bottling and after sampling the 'Three Wood' I wish I had sooner. Further investigation may be required.
Auchroisk / Singleton
(Speyside) - Until recently, Singleton (of Auchroisk) bottlings were quite rare in Holland. More and more different versions are becoming available now. The distillery lies just Northeast of the Speyside heartland, not far from Strathisla and Aultmore. It was founded in 1974; the first single malt bottling was released in 1986.
Aultmore
(Speyside) - The Aultmore (Gaelic for 'big burn') distillery was built in 1896 by Alexander Edward, owner of Benrinnes. It is located a little north of the town Keith, near Strathmill and Strathisla. It's used mainly for the 'Dewar's' blends, but every now and then a single malt bottling appears. With scores of 71 and 72 points for the two versions I've tried, I can't justify awarding this distillery more than 2 points.
Where does that put us in this year's challenge?
- - - mAddendum 106A - Aberlour JOLT On March 23, 22:00 GMT, the second International Malt Maniacs JOLT (Joint On-Line Tasting) started. It ended
many hours (and many drams) later. This time around, we focussed our attention on Aberlour, a Speyside distillery that proved to be something of a hidden gem. The malt maniacs managed to sample more than a dozen different bottlings
of Aberlour in a single 'virtual' session. I sampled six different bottles; five of them freshly opened:
(Visit Malt Maniacs to read about our Aberlour adventures.) I actually had a pretty bad nose day during the JOLT itself, so I'll have to organise a little 'Aberlour Reprise' to investigate further. If I have the time, that is.
I'd really like to do a big 'Hopalong H2H' with these malt a.s.a.p., but Aberlour is one of the distilleries I've already crossed off my 'Scotland by Dram' list. I should really be focussing on the 66 distilleries I still have to
'visit' this year. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 107 - April 1, 2002 After the wintery Laphroaig JOLT (Check it out!!!), the
temperatures have been rising steadily here in Holland. Spring in in the air, everything is turning green and it looks like the Islay season is winding down. Normally, I welcome the warmer weather with open arms, but this year I
would have liked winter to hang around for a while longer. Why? Sadly, my megalomaniac plans were shattered when I slammed into the wall of
reality. About a month ago I was ambushed by a nasty internal infection in my jaw, which made my face swell up to 'Elephant Man' proportions. I was put on a diet of heavy antibiotics and painkillers - a diet that prevented me from
consuming even a single drop of alcohol (my personal favourite painkiller). Last week, my doctor finally gave the 'All Systems Go' signal, so I could safely resume my dramming.
Trying to execute my original plans (emptying 10 bottles) within a week would very probably lead to new health
problems, so I decided on a new approach. For tonight's tasting, I will collect all the different Lagavulin bottlings in my reserve stock (except the 1980 and 1984 'Distiller's Edition'), open them and sample them in small
quantities alongside the two versions on my top shelf. After I'm done, I'll temporarily remove all these bottles from my shelves and put them away safely. In November or December I'll dig them up again to find out how they perform
after they've had a long breather. Before I get to the actual tasting report, I'd like to address a couple of other issues concerning Lagavulin. Because the 'standard' 16yo bottling has
been my number 1 malt for over 10 years (it was pushed from the pole position of my Top 10 only a few months ago), I've been closely monitoring 'the buzz' about this Islay distillery. And there has been a lot of buzz lately. For
those of you who are a little behind on current affairs I've gathered some facts, opinions and rumours about Lagavulin; 'NEW' LAGAVULIN 16yo IN HOLLAND A few months ago, a new batch of Lagavulins has reached our shores that has a slightly different packaging from previous ones. It's impossible to find out exactly when this whisky was bottled,
but I'm guessing somewhere in 2001. The 'Classic Malts' seal has moved to the bottom of the box. The Royal seal with the text 'By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen...' at the top of the label has been replaced by a little
picture of a boat and the text 'Lagavulin Distillery, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay. The label at the bottom of the bottle used to state 'White Horse Distillers Glasgow', now it says 'Port Ellen, Isle of Islay'. The changes are subtle,
but I checked the old, empty bottles in my 'History' cabinet and they all had pretty much the same design - even the litre bottles and my very first (75cl) bottle. This means this is the first significant change in packaging in at
least 10 years. I'll call the old version 'White Horse' and the new version 'Port Ellen'. Does the fact that the Royal seal has vanished mean that the distillery or their owners (White Horse) have lost their Royal Warrant when it
was reviewed? And if so, does that mean the sensible tastes of Queen Elizabeth have picked up on the changing character profile of Lagavulin 16? If the preference for peat is hereditary, her majesty could very well be a secret
Islay lover - it seems Prince Charles is rather fond of Laphroaig and even granted the distillery a Royal Warrant a few years ago. PRICES & AVAILABILITY IN EUROPE If the British Royal household is anything like the Dutch, they won't be actually paying
for their single malts. The Dutch Royal family has been leeching off the population for centuries and still does so today, even though they are amongst the wealthiest families in the world. The taxpayer has to cough up their
multi-million Euro salaries, while Royal Warrant holders are expected to deliver to one of their many palaces for free - sending a bill for delivered services or good is considered just 'not done'. We commoners have to pay for our drams, though... That shows I should really stop my whining. The character of
Lagavulin 16 may be slightly slipping (more about that later), but it still offers lots of 'bang for your buck'. In most countries, it's considerably cheaper than comparable malts like Ardbeg 17 or Laphroaig 15. I guess everything
below 50 Euro's could be considered a fair price for these excellent single malts. Besides, I should count myself lucky that I'm able to pick up a bottle whenever I want. I've been hearing disturbing gossip about the possibility that Lagavulin 16 might be phased out of the European market, perhaps to be replaced by a new, younger version. Although I'd welcome the opportunity to try an official bottling at a different age, I don't see why the producers would need to stop producing this critically acclaimed malt if they want to bring a younger version to the market. Bowmore has certainly proven that a range of malts of different ages can me marketed successfully, and so have Ardbeg and Laphroaig in more recent years. Why would Lagavulin be any different? I think an 'official' Lagavulin 10 or 12 could very well coexist alongside the 16. It's hard to distinguish fact from fiction when you ask people in the whisky industry about issues of quality and availability. Most of the time, you get the standard
story about increased demand, limited capacity and rigid quality control. At the end of the day, most of us will just have to wait and see what will be available on the
shelves of our liquorists next year - and at what prices. BATCH CHARACTER DIFFERENCES
Strictly speaking, there's no such thing as 'the' Lagavulin 16.
And that's assuming the 'production specs' that can
be influenced remain constant. Rumour has it that they have been playing around with the phenol levels in the malt used for Lagavulin (more about that later), while the individual casks that are selected by the master blender are a major factor as well. Lagavulin 16 isn't a 'single cask' malt, so every batch is a vatting of multiple different casks. This allows the master blender to change the character of a commercial malt over time. Of course, the blender has a limited choice; the truth of the matter is that he'll just have to make do with the casks that are available at any given time.
So, even before they changed the packaging of Lagavulin 16 to the current design there were differences between batches. The general consensus seems to be that Lagavulin 16 has been 'dumbed down' intentionally over the years.
When I discovered the 16 around 1990, it used to be an extreme, almost aggressive malt. Peat was the defining element, but it was beautifully balanced by lots of other elements as well. The whisky in these bottles would have been
distilled before 1975. For a long time, I didn't detect a lot of notable differences between bottles, but around 1999 or 2000 I started to notice a few distinctive changes. The character started to shift in the direction of the
1979 Pedro Ximenez 'Distiller's Edition' that was introduced around the same time here in Holland; more sherried and lighter on the peat - more sweet, less salt. The character of the 'old' 16 OB was more extreme in its peatiness
- more like the Laphroaig 10 OB (43%). Or at least, the Laphroaig 10 as it was a few years ago. I haven't sampled nearly as many bottles of 'Phroaig 10 as I have of Lagavulin 16, but I've sensed some softening in this malt as well.
So far, the changes seem to be not as significant as what's been happening to Lagavulin, but it's cause for concern anyway. What's happening to all the massive peat monsters? INTERNATIONAL CHARACTER DIFFERENCES To complicate things even further, 'commercial' malts are sometimes vatted in different
'profiles' to suit the tastes and whims of different markets. In Italy, for instance, they seem to appreciate young malts more than in other parts of the world. To accommodate national preferences, Macallan bottles a 7 years old
version just for the Italians. I'm not sure this is the case with Lagavulin, but the tasting evidence suggests it. A Japanese bottling I once tasted was unusually salty, while a USA (?, 75cl) bottling seemed much sweeter. So,
it's entirely possible we're talking about 'different' single malts when we discuss 'the' Lagavulin 16yo. 'INDEPENDENT' LAGAVULINS Of course, you don't have to worry about batch differences with most (reputable) independent bottlings. Often, details like distillation date, bottling date and cask type are
mentioned on the label. Sometimes you can get more useful information from the labels of 'bastard bottlings' than from official distillery releases. In fact, you don't see many 'reputable' independent Lagavulins like the Murray
McDavid 14yo 1984/1999. Most of the malts on tonight's menu are 'bastards', rumoured to be young Lagavulins. Dun Bheagan, Finlaggan, Fuaran Ila, Ileach... Who comes up with these names? It seems young Lagavulin bastards are
flooding the market. You won't hear me complain about it, but it makes you wonder how some 'industry officials' can maintain the myth that rising prices for Lagavulin 16yo are caused by 'limited stocks' - something beyond their
control. If Lagavulin 16yo will actually prove to be scarce around 2010, won't selling off large amounts of casks at knockoff prices around 2000 have something to do with that? PEAT & PHENOL LEVELS One of the
factors that shape the final product is the phenol level of the malted barley used during the first phases of the production process. Decisions about phenol levels have to be made before the whisky is even distilled, so when we notice changes in today's Lagavulin 16 the causes for these changes lie in the past. Well, some of them at least - there are many different factors at play here, throughout the entire production process.
- Size and shape of the stills Of course, nobody knows the exact 'magic formula'.
Anyway - once more I'm getting side-tracked. Thinking about this I came up with a wild theory: maybe the text 'Port Ellen' on the new bottles of Lagavulin 16 indicates that they used Port Ellen maltings for it? It's very hard to find out the exact details about these matters - I may get back to this topic in the future if
I can find more reliable data. For now, I'd like to point out that the perceived 'peatieness' of a single malt whisky depends on much more than just the 'chemical' phenol level. So even if we would be able to collect more reliable
data on this topic we wouldn't be able to accurately predict the outcome (= the malt in our glasses more than sixteen years later). SALMIAC
If I had to pick one word to describe the current Lagavulin 16, it would be 'smoky'. Fortunately, I have thousands
of words at by disposal - but even then it's often very hard to accurately express what my senses are experiencing. A few weeks ago, I've received an interesting message from Finnish malt lover Janne Suominen about this topic.
'I read a while ago that us Finns are among the few salt liquorice loving nations on this planet alongside with the Dutch, and I wonder if this is reflected on the "national taste" in single malts. At least my friends
seem to veer towards the Islay-taste, which might be considered to feature some characteristics familiar to salt liquorice lovers. Since most creators of taste diagrams are from nations where salt liquorice is just a myth, it does
not find its way into the whisky vocabulary. So I kinda wondered if the Dutch whisky lovers ever use the term "salt licorice" instead of, for example, "medicinal"... I have converted many whisky hating Finns to
malt lovers with Laphroiag, and they usually exclaim that the stuff tastes like tar liquorice, and end up loving it. Tar liquorice is, as you might have guessed, salt liquorice with tar added to the mix...hot and warming, just like
a good Islay. If someone likes Talisker or Laphroiag, that person is usually a friend of tar liquorice as well. Is tar liquorice available in Holland?' No, it isn't, but Janne generously sent me some. It's called 'Terva
Leijona' and comes in two flavours, 'Salmiakki' and 'Lakrits'. The candy was packaged very nicely - classical and stylish. The Salmiakki was very nice - not unlike Dutch 'drop' (liquorice candy) but with some fruity elements
as well. Salt and sweet. Yes, I can detect the tar in the background! The Lakritsi seemed definitely more 'eucalyptical' in the foreground. Maybe some menthol? Not as sweet - or rather a different kind of sweetness. I've found
salt liquorice or salmiak (sal-ammoniac) in some malts, while others showed sweet liquorice/licorice root or a more fruity impression which reminds me of 'Engelse Drop' - I think the English word is 'Licorice All Sorts'. Now I have
a new 'reference aroma'. I've always associated tar with road/roof coverings, but now I can start looking for tar. Phew! I'm getting quite thirsty, how about you? There were 10 bottles in front of me; some of them bona fide Lagavulins, some of them 'bastard' bottlings. I had reason to believe these bastards are Lagavulins as well,
but there is no way to tell for sure. Maybe tonight's tasting will reveal more about their true origins. I used to conduct my 'vertcal' tasting sessions in a structured and 'logical' manner; starting with the youngest malts,
working my way to the old ones later on. Later, I learned that this isn't the best approach. Young whiskies can sometimes knock out your nostrils and taste buds, while more mature malts tend to be more refined and balanced.
Therefore, it makes sense to start with the older malts. The battle orders for tonight: 1 - Lagavulin 16yo New These are the malts - here are the results: 1 - New Lagavulin 16yo
(43 %, 'Port Ellen', bottled +/- 2001, 70cl) Although this particular bottle is half empty (I opened it +/- three months ago) I haven't really examined this new version closely - until now that is. 2 - Old Lagavulin 16yo (43%, 'White Horse', bottled +/- 1999, 70cl) I opened this bottle from my reserve stock especially for tonight's tasting. This is one of the last 'White Horse' batches. Previous
H2H-tastings of 'old' Lagavulins versus 'new' Lagavulins were actually old-vs-old matches; this is the first time the packaging has actually changed between the versions I compared. 3 - Old Lagavulin 16yo (43%, 'White Horse', bottled +/- 1994, 100cl) Like I wrote in the introduction about batch character differences, I feel that
Lagavulin has been changing over the years. But that's just a feeling. And what's more, I have to rely on my memory. It's very possible that I've become spoilt by sampling so many excellent single malts. This is the time to find
out if the Lagavulins I tried halfway through the 1990's are quite as good as I remembered. I bought this litre bottling in June 1995, took it with me to the woods and forgot about it afterwards. It turned up again last Christmas
when I had to go to the cellar to find some wine for guests. The cellar had been some kind of time capsule, capturing the character of a mid 1990's Lagavulin. How did I know it was an 'old' Lagavulin? Well, the true Lagavulin
Lunatic would recognise the telltale signs immediately; no back label, the volume indication on the left of the label and the text 'Guaranteed' on the red paper band across the cork. 4 - Lagavulin 14yo 1984/1999 (46%, Murray McDavid, 70cl) Unlike the other bottles in
tonight's proceedings, this 'MurMac' was opened more than a year ago. The 'breathing' of the malt may have had an effect on the malt, but I'm not even halfway through tonight's malts - which means there's no time to nitpick. The
Murmac is also the only genuine independent bottling; all others will be bastard malts. OK - It's time to move on to the 'Battle of the Bastards'.
5 - Fuaran Ile 1991/2000 (46%, Macleod bastard bottling, 70cl) Tonight's first bastard bottle was brought over from Germany by Klaus in January. Being a 'bastard', the name of the distillery isn't indicated on the label.
Klaus thought this was a Talisker, but the label states the bottle contains a single Islay malt - my guess is Lagavulin. Like the 'MurMac' it's matured in Bourbon casks and bottled at 46%. It isn't artificially coloured either. The
text on the back label suggests this stuff has been bottled exclusively for the German market. Well, bottle no. 062 of 600 from cask 1110 has managed to sneak its way across the border... 6 - Dhun Bheagan 8yo
(43%, Maxwell bastard bottling, 75cl) This is another bastard bottle that has reached me through international channels. Johanna from Canada brought it as a present when she visited Holland for last year's whisky festival in The
Hague. It's a 75 cl bottling for the Canadian market. 7 - Finlaggan NAS 'Old Reserve' (40%, Signatory Vintage bastard bottling, 70cl) The Finlaggan was introduced in Holland very recently. It's another Signatory Vintage bastard bottling in the same plain green
bottles used for the 'Vintage' Islays. The price is a bit steeper at 25 Euro's. 8 - The Ileach NAS
(40%, Highlands & Islands SWCL bastard bottling, 70cl) The Ileach (no age statement) is a bastard Islay malt that has been available outside Holland for some time now. I don't know if it's the same malt Jim Dawe sent me a
sample of last year (see Log Entry #73), but if my senses don't abandon me I'll soon find out. 9 - Vintage Islay 5yo (40%, Signatory Vintage bastard bottling, 70cl) This has been without a doubt my favourite bastard malt so far. The first few bottles in the
series I picked up around 1994 were 7 years old and absolutely stunning. At a price around 13 Euro's they managed to score 82/83 points. Over the years, Signatory Vintage have lowered the age of their Islay malt to 5 years while
the street price has risen to almost 20 Euro's. (See log entry #85 for more details.) 10 - Vintage Islay 5yo C/S (58.4%, Signatory Vintage bastard bottling, 70cl) Phew - my 10th malt and I'm starting to feel it... That was nice... But let's not get carried away here. I've just opened most of these bottles, which makes these results rather preliminary. The malts should get the change to catch their breaths before I pass my final judgement on them. I'll put them in a special cabinet for now and revisit them again later this year - probably in November or December. Amazingly enough, these were the first Lagavulins I sampled this year. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Log Entry # 108 - April 6, 2002 OK - after a 'Lagavulin' detour, I've finally arrived at 'B' on my virtual tour of Scotland. Why not start with the Islay trio
(Bowmore, Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain) while the temperatures are relatively low? Yeah - why not. Two of my rugby team-mates (Arend
& Dennis) had joined me to watch the game and enjoy some drams. After my missionary work in the field, they have both developed an interest in whisky. When they arrived, Arend proudly informed me he had just bought 'a few green
bottles from that hospital island'. 'Ardbeg?' I asked while saliva started to fill my mouth in a Pavlov-like reflex. Even though
there are almost 20 Ardbegs in my reserve stock, I had too suppress a sudden attack of malt-envy. The 10yo and 17yo on my top shelf were emptied a few months ago and I
currently don't have any open Ardbegs on my shelves. Ah! I happen to have 3 excellent Laphroaigs on my top shelf right now (10yo C/S OB, 15yo OB and 15yo 1985 OMC), and I was pretty sure Arend wouldn't have at least one of them. With a benevolent smile, I directed Arend to my top shelf. Hmmm... Meanwhile, rather than taking notes or making useful comments, Arend and Dennis were busy cheering for Wales. Crazy fools! Fortunately, they quickly switched sides once I explained my
'Distilled Happiness Theory' to them - a theory about the relation between International rugby and the quality of the whisky on our shelves in years to come. Together
with golf and sheep loving, rugby is one of Scotland's national passions. When the Scottish national team wins a match, the average Scotsman will be significantly happier than when they lose. I imagine this is a cumulative effect;
the more matches Scotland wins, the happier the average Scotsman will be. Now, some of those average Scotsman work at distilleries. As we all know, happier people perform better at work. The improved performance should translate in
a better end product: the 2002 single malts we'll have in our glasses in decades to come. A win for Scotland is a win for the whisky world.
Anyway, we were ready for a re-fill. The rugby match was becoming increasingly exciting, but I managed to sneak in a quick H2H of the official Bunny 12 against the Chieftain's. First nasal impression for both: Softly sherried with some fruit. The nose of the Chieftain's had notably more volume than the OB and developed faster. It seemed a little more complex as well.
The IB was the first to show some peat, and had the best balance after a minute. Fortunately. the OB catches on after a while.
By the time I finished the H2H, Scotland had defeated Wales 27/22. Well, almost... Not before trying my 'old'
Bruichladdich 15yo (43%, OB) first, though... Around
21:00, we got on our bikes and dropped by Arend's place for a in-depth look at the new Bruichladdich range. First, we tasted all three bottlings seperately; Bruichladdich 10yo (46%, OB, new bottling) Bruichladdich 15yo (46%, OB, new bottling) Bruichladdich 20yo (46%, OB, 70cl, new bottling) Next (and long overdue too): a H2H2H of the three new Bruichladdichs.
Conclusion: Bruichladdich seems to 'go against the Islay grain'. While many OB's of Bowmore, Bunnahabhain and Lagavulin seem to be slipping, the new range of
Bruichladdich is a big step forward compared to previous releases. It isn't one of my favourite Islay distilleries yet, but it's heading in the right direction. My, my - look at the time. Only 23.45 PM. My bottle of Bowmore Darkest
(43%, OB) is a bit of a strange case. It was quite awful when I opened in in August 2000 (65 points) , but I has shown steady improvement ever since. The Bowmore 15yo 'Mariner'
(43%, OB, 70cl) was the last Bowmore in my reserve stock. Because I've experienced big differences between different batches in the past, I've started to regard Bowmore
as a tricky investment. The risk of picking up a bummer bottle just seems too great. Finally, I sampled the Bowmore Cask Strength (56%, OB, 100cl) on my middle shelf. This is actually
one of the 'weakest' cask strength whiskies I've ever tried. Hmmm... I was in the mood for a Bowmore H2H2H, but it's 03:55 AM - Sleepy time. Status Scotland by Dram / Second Chance Challenge: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Log Entry # 109 - April 30, 2002 As I've written in previous log entries, April 30 is 'Queen's Day' in Holland, the day when the
unwashed masses celebrate the birthday of our queen Beatrix. But the date is significant in a much older, germanic/batavic tradition as well. Since medieval times, the night of April 30 is also 'Walpurgisnacht' - the night
when the witches get their broomsticks out of the closet to violate the airspace over Northern Europe on their way to a big secret house party in the sky. Gnomes and Goblins leave their lairs to dance with 'The Horny One' in the
pale moonlight. The name 'Walpurgisnacht' may have something to do with Saint Walburga,
an English missionary in Germany. Before her death in +/- 779AD she came to her brother Winnebald's abbey in Heidenheim ('home of the heathens'!!!) together with her other brother Saint Willibald. She assisted the more glamourous
Saint Boniface, who was brutally killed in Dokkum, Holland - in 782 AD, if I remember correctly. He was terminated by the 'Friezen'; a barbaric, red-haired Dutch proto-viking tribe living on heaps of mud sticking out of the North
Sea. I guess they frowned upon do-gooders in those days, because as soon as St. Boniface started spreading the gospel they got a bit miffed and chopped off his head. They may have even drunk from his skull, but there's no
photographic evidence of that. Anyway - Walpurgisnacht is a night of weirdness. 01 - Balmenach 10yo (43%, SWlF, 70cl) Before I get to the confirmed 'weird' bottles, I'll whet my apetite
with some fresh bottles from my reserve stock I'll need to open anyway. I realize some of them may not appear all that weird, but I was forced to be flexible during my selection process. On June 21, a couple of Malt Maniacs will
gather in Holland for 'A Midsummernight's Dram' - an international open air single malt whisky festival in our little 'family-forest' on De Veluwe. I don't have a proper drinking collection over there, so I need to assemble a
special MSND-stock for the occasion. I started my session around 16:00 - earlier than usual. Twelve malts for tonight's tasting may seem like a lot to handle, but I desperately need the practice for June. I suspect the number of
drams processed during the 'Midsummernight's Dram' will be significantly higher. To make matters even worse, the MSND festival takes place the night after the Macallan JOLT on June 20 where we will sample sixteen different
Macallans. The Balmenach 10yo
(43.0%, Scottish Wildlife) has a grouse on the label. It doesn't look very famous, so I take it there's no relation between this single malt and the mediocre blend by that name. The distillery was mothballed in 1993 by United Distillers who owned it at the time. It has been sold to Inver House since then, who haven't bottled anything yet. So, I guess it has a weird element to it.
The Banff 18yo 1980
(43%, Chieftain's Choice) was produced by another silent (Speyside) distillery, closed in 1983. I have to admit I really like the name; it sounds a bit like an elf or goblin that could have appeared in Shakespeare's 'Midsummernight's Dream' or Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings'.
OK, I'm clutching at straws here, but I guess the Bladnoch 1987/1999
(40%, G&M Connoisseurs Choice) has a slightly 'weird' story behind it as well. For one thing, the distillery is the the Southernmost in Scotland. I hold this Lowlander in high regard after sampling a couple of highly recommendable Signatory Vintage and Ultimate bottlings. The distillery was mothballed during a large part of the 1990's, but Raymond Armstrong brought it back to life recently.
By 18:00, I figured I might as
well add some 'weird' music to the experience. I went for Josquin Desprez, a medieval composer who wrote 'La Déploration de Johannes', among other things. I guess the Edradour 10yo
(40%, OB) is pretty weird as well. For one thing, it was produced at the 'smallest distillery in Scotland'. About 2 years ago, I sampled an earlier bottling. It came in a tall, unremarkable bottle and scored 70 points. The packaging of the new bottling before me is much more attractive. The bottle is very pretty, although the text 'Scotland's smallest distillery' on the cork seems a bit tacky. This may be true from a purely 'technical' point of view, but the owner of the distillery is Pernod Ricard - one of the largest conglommerates in the whisky world...
I've never encountered a malt that showed a bigger
difference between nose and taste. Which brings up an interesting point: shouldn't the scores we give to single malts be composed out of two different ratings, one for
nose and one for taste? This would be very helpful with malts like Edradour 10yo. As for Edradour being the smallest distillery in Scotland... I think that one of the genuinely independent distilleries in Schotland deserves that
title. Arran? Bruichladdich? Bladnoch? Glengoyne? Springbank? OK - what's next? You know what else is weird? On to the next one; the Littlemill 8yo
(40%, OB, 70cl). I'm not really looking forward to this tasting; previous tastings indicated that this is one in the 'Loch Lomond' style. Well, the Ledaig NAS
(42%, OB) on my bottom shelf is pretty weird as well. For one thing, it's the first bottling I've ever tried that was bottled at 42%. Usually, it's either 40% or 43%. It was a limited edition for the year 2000, matured in Sherry casks.
My second Ledaig of tonight was the Ledaig 20yo
(43%, OB). And then there's the Lochside 10yo
(40%, Macnab, 75cl). I picked up this bottle in March 2000 for +/- 20 Euro's. This bottling is quite rare, and as a result street prices seem to have sky-rocketed since then. Serge told me about an asking price of 100 Euro's at an auction last month!
What is the weirdest whisky ever produced? The last single malt for tonight: the Mannochmore 22yo 1974/1997
(60.1%, UDRM, 70cl) on my middle shelf. It was produced at the same distillery as the Loch Dhu but performed reasonably well earlier on. Whoo... I had to adjust my nose after the cask strength Mannochmore. I hope I haven't burnt out my senses, because the real highlight of the evening is
coming up. I closed the evening with a very special treat, the Marc de Gewürztraminer 2001
(55%, distilled 08/12/2001, 70cl) Serge Valentin produced himself. The label is hilarious - you have to see it to believe it. This marc hasn't matured in wooden casks, which seems to be tradition in Alsace where Serge lives. This also explains the complete absence of color in the distillate.
Fzzzbk... Status Scotland by Dram / Second Chance Challenge: - - - mAddendum 109A - Spring Shopping Spree in Amsterdam Spring is in the air and I felt the sudden urge to subject the contents of my wallet to some serious 'spring-cleaning'. What was my excuse this time? Well, a couple of certified malt maniacs will visit Holland in June and I need to assemble a suitable collection. Furthermore, I wanted to check if Menno Boorsma and Ton Overmars really were the only two decent liquorists in Amsterdam.
The first item on my scouting list was 'De Wijnrank' in Amsterdam. That didn't go too well. After wandering about aimlessly for an
hour without being able to locate the shop, I decided to hop on the tram to try and find the two next stores on my list, 'De
Eekhoorn' and 'Proost' on the Kinkerstraat. Not much luck there either - no more than some twenty standard malts on the shelves at prices that didn't really tickle my fancy.
Finally, I struck gold at the 4th store on my list, 'Chateau PC Hooft', Honthorststraat 1 (near the Rijksmuseum). Because the prices
are quite hefty, I hadn't visited the place again since I bought a Springbank 1979 there over five years ago. Their single malt
collection wasn't very impressive, but just when I thought about leaving the store I spotted two bottles of Macallan 10yo 100 Proof
(57%, OB, 70cl, European bottling) under a thick blanket of dust. This excellent bottling (score +/- 90 points) has been replaced by
a new '10yo Cask Strength' version (58.8%, OB, 100cl) recently. I had already given up hope on ever finding extra bottles. The
price of 55 Euro's was pretty steep compared to the 40 Euro's I used to pay at Menno Boorsma a few years ago, but in comparison with a similar bottling like Aberlour A'bunadh it's a far price.
I left the store (two Mac 100 Proofs richer) and proceeded to more familiar territory; Menno Boorsma at Ferdinand Bolstraat 112.
Prices there have been on the rise for about a year now, but you can still find a few good deals there now and then. I left with:
Final stop: After visiting these liquorists in downtown Amsterdam, I dropped by one of my neigborhood supermarkets and picked up a spare
Lagavulin 16yo 'Port Ellen' (32 Euro's) and a litre of Johnnie Walker Red Label (17 Euro's) as one of the 'punishment' bottles for the
MSN stock. When I returned home safely I had to find room for my new bottles - always a cheerful chore. As I was greedily fondling
my new UDRM's, I noticed that the Port Ellen and Bladnoch didn't seem to have a number on the back label like they usually do. Strange... I decided to check the bottles in my collection; here are the results:
Caol Ila 21yo 1975/1997 (April) - LLXK00000020, Bottles #0519 & #1437, France,
So, it seems United Distillers have stopped printing batch numbers on the labels or bottles after 2000. That's a shame, because
I've recently heard some disturbing rumours about 'fake' single malts. The more information we can get off the bottle, the more certainty we have that we're actually drinking what we think we are drinking... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <<< Previous 10 entries - Next 10 entries >>> (Or check out the overview of all log entries) |
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