E-pistle #01/01 - An interview with Derek 'Bowmore' Gilchrist
by Patrick Whaley, USA

This interview with Derek M. Gilchrist (Marketing Director at Morrison Bowmore Limited) was done some time before the actual launch of Malt Maniacs. It's still a very interesting and enlightening read, especially because some of the mysterious new whiskies mr. Gilchrist raves about have now actually reached the shelves at liquorists around the world.
That means you can check the malts for yourself.

The interview is published on a seperate page; CLICK HERE to read it.
 

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E-pistle #01/02  -  A Decade of Dramming
by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland

Aaaargh!!!....  At the start of 2002 I've 'seriously' sampled my 200th single malt whisky and made at least one virtual visit to every active distillery in Scotland. You would think that I would have discovered 'the perfect single malt' by now - or at least some nuggets of whisky wisdom along the way. Nothing could be further from the truth. The more single malts I try, the more I feel I've only scratched the surface of   a world too complicated to fully comprehend. Can you define a 'optimal' age for the single malt from a certain distillery? How exactly does a port wood finish influence a typical bourbon wood matured malt? Is there some way to predict how a particular whisky will react to water? What is the best all-round single malt on a hot summer night - and why? Every 'answer' you find is ambiguous at best and often brings up dozens of other questions. Of course, I often think I've found some sort of definitive answer - but that's usually after a stiff dramming session when I'm too drunk to write it down anyway...

To tell you the truth, I'm not all that anxious to find all the answers. Not yet anyway.
After all, reaching some kind of 'destination' would mean the end of the journey. I'm having far too much fun as it is.
So, even if we can't find all the definitive answers it doesn't mean we should give up the quest. When I started out the number of available single malts was relatively limited but that has changed - and how!  Every year thousands of different bottlings and batches see the light of day; simply too much to cover all by myself. Fortunately, I don't have to. There are eleven other malt maniacs I can turn to for information, guidance and comfort. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. First, let me give those of you who haven't been following the alcoholic events on Malt Madness a quick overview of the past decade of dramming.

Phase 0  =  1991 - 1996

It all started with my first dram of Lagavulin 16yo in the summer of 1991. After my amazing discovery of single malt whisky, I caught a mild form of malt madness. Nothing too serious; I didn't keep any notes on my tasting experiences and was pretty much content with enjoying a few old favorites like Lagavulin 16 and Talisker 10 every now and then. At any given time there were maybe 5 or 6 single malts on my liquor shelves; a small minority amongst an overwhelming majority of liqueurs, (tawny) ports, rums, vatted malts, common blends and Irish whiskies. Especially in the beginning, I spent more time mixing cocktails than sampling single malts.
However, that was about to change...

By the end of what I've later designated as 'Phase 0', some 25 different bottlings (mostly OB's) had passed through my collection (some of them more than once). The malt market in Holland wasn't very developed yet, so I got to sample a number of very affordable single malts that made it to our shores. With every new single malt I tried my hunger for new discoveries grew.
And then I found a couple of bars that offered a wide selection of malts, allowing me to sample some of the more expensive stuff without having to invest in a big bottle. This seemed like a good idea at the time, but on the long run it fundamentally changed the economics that governed my alcoholic purchases. For a long time my growing curiosity was kept in check by the fact that I wasn't used to spending more than 25 Euro's on a bottle. Once in a while I spent a few Euro's more on a bottle of Lagavulin 16, Laphroaig 10, Macallan 12 or Highland Park 12, but most of the time I acted like a real bottom feeder and went for the cheap stuff.

That started to change around 1995.
First of all, some of the more exclusive stuff I got to sample in restaurants and bars proved that there was a whole new world to be discovered if I was willing to spend a little more dough on a bottle. At the same time, the interest in (and availability of) single malts was slowly growing in Holland - and so was the Internet. I decided to make a career change and put a few pages on the web to teach myself HTML. One of these pages was a little story about my discovery of single malts.
Little did I know how it would grow...

Phase 1  =  1997 - 2001

After a couple of years of dramming my condition worsened.
On Januari 1, 1997 I officially started my mission to find the best single malt in Scotland. I started taking serious notes in my Liquid Log and my Little Black Book. Since I hadn't been keeping notes or records on the maybe 100 whiskies I sampled before 1997 I needed to start from scratch. Well, I have to admit revisiting some of the great malts I tried before was no punishment. I started to add some pages to the 'Malt Madness' site and people started to send me recommendations for new amazing discoveries. The website kept growing steadily and a couple of foreign correspondents started to fuel my malt madness with exotic tasting reports. These provocations of my curiosity forced me to start looking beyond my old favorites and further increase my price ceiling to +/- 50 Euro's. I have to admit I don't regret it, because it allowed me to discover some dynamite OB's like Aberlour A'bunadh, Ardbeg 10 & 17, Laphroaig 15 and Macallan 10yo '100 Proof'. The bigger budget also opened up the way to more independent bottlings which often offered a fresh perspective on a distillery.

By the start of 2000 a small revolution had taken place on my shelves.
The single malts that had been a small minority in the early 1990's had pushed more and more blends (and other liquids) from my shelves until they eventually disappeared completely in the new millennium. My shelves became a blend-free zone; all 48 available places taken up by single malt whiskies. At the end of the first phase of my mission I had 'officially' sampled exactly 200 different single malts - at least one from every active distillery in Scotland. When I say officially that means I've sampled them 'by the bottle'. During phase 1 I've 'unofficially' sampled over 150 other malts 'by the dram' as well, but when I started out in 1997 I figured that tasting just one dram didn't produce reliable results. As a result, only 200 from the more than 350 different single malts I've tasted are featured in my Little Black Book. Lately, I've come to doubt my convictions on this matter. That's why I will change my approach during...

Phase 2  =  2002 - ????

Actually, I still have to do a lot of thinking about the goals I have to set for myself during this phase. One thing is certain, though - I will try and collect as many data as possible. I regret not keeping track of all my 'dram' tastings over the last decade, so from now on I will try to include notes on the malts I sampled under less than perfect nosing & tasting conditions as well.

Over the next few months I'll do a lot of soul-searching (and dramming, of course) to figure out how to proceed with my malt mission. Looking at the future, it's important to remember the past. Let me present you with an overview of my current Top 10 so you can get a feel for my tastes and preferences when it comes to single malts;

Top 10 (on 01/01/2002)

1 - Saint Magdalene 19yo 1979 (63.8%, UDRM)
2 - Laphroaig 10yo 'C/S' (57.3%, OB)
3 - Lagavulin 16yo (43%, OB, 'White Horse')
4 - Lagavulin 1979 DE Double Matured (43%, OB)
5 - Macallan 18yo 1976/1995 (43%, OB)
6 - Laphroaig 15yo 1985/2000 (50%, OMC)
7 - Talisker 10yo (45.8%, OB)
8 - Ardbeg 17yo (40%, OB)
9 - Macallan 10yo '100 Proof' (57%, OB)
10 - Caol Ila 21yo 1975/1997 (61.3%, UDRM)

Scroll down for the tasting notes and scores in the Dram Diary at the bottom of this E-pistle.
For the purposes of this E-pistle, here's a quick review of my Top 10 single malts;

At number one we find the Saint Magdalene 19yo 1979/1998 (63.8%, UDRM).
Yeah, that's right! After more than 10 years the Lagavulin 16yo got pushed from the pole position just a few weeks before the end of phase 1. I will have to have one more 'verification' tasting to make it final, but for the purposes of this Top 10 I can safely say the Saint Magdalene is now my numer one malt. The nose of the Magdalene is astonishing; it simply has it all. Especially when the bottle has had a few months to breathe it displays about every fragrance known to man - and then some. The wonderful development just goes on and on and on. A steller malt. And to think that I used to dismiss Lowland malts as 'too flat and weak for my taste'...

Second  place is for the Laphroaig 10yo 'Original Cask Strength' (57.3%, OB).
To me, it combines the best elements of the ordinary Laphroaig 10yo (peat and character) and the 15yo (balance and depth), with the added bonus of a big cask strength kick. Prices vary a lot between different markets, but at the 40 Euro's I paid for a litre bottle it offers amazing bang for your buck. Reason enough to add one or two bonus points for value.

Meanwhile, the Lagavulin 16yo (43%, OB) that reigned supreme for a decade seems to have lost some of its magic. 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'. While the 'White Horse' version showed some signs of slipping over the last few years, the first bottle of the 'Port Ellen' version definitely performed below par with a score of just 88 points - not enough to reach my Top 10.
For now, I assume it's just a 'fluke' batch, so I'll keep Lagavulin 16 in my Top 10.
After all, it was my first true liquid love...

At #4 we find another Lagavulin, the 1979 Distiller's Edition Double Matured (43%, OB). I sampled it in the time that the 'ordinary' 16yo still was its powerful peaty self with a score of 95 points. In comparison, this version seemed a little too sherried for my tastes so I rated it a few points lower. As it turns out, the Distiller's Edition was the harbinger of a new, more sherried style that soon started to rear its ugly head in batches of the 'normal' 16yo bottlin as well. More 'Bowmorish'. I can only hope the rumours about a new 12yo version are true; I imagine this could be a rougher, cleaner, more extreme Islay malt - just the way I like it.

After a Lowlander and three Islay malts we finally see a Speysider at #5; the Macallan 18yo 1976/1995 (43%, OB). Sherry,fruit and wood in an almost perfect combination. More recent bottlings of the 18yo I've tried were not quite as smooth and balanced as this one. Combine that with the steep price of 75 Euro's and you'll understand why I usually go for a Macallan 12yo instead. The price of the Laphroaig 15yo 1985/2000 (50%, OMC) at #6 is a little friendlier than that of the Mac 18. Although the standard OB's of Laphroaig (10yo, 10yo C/S and 15yo) are all cheaper, this bottling (batch of 318 bottles) offers a very different perspective on one of the great Islay distilleries.

The story with the Talisker 10yo (45.8%, OB) and Ardbeg 17yo (40%, OB) at #7 and #8 number is similar to that of Lagavulin. Absolutely wonderful bottlings; love at first sight and all that stuff. And yet, after sampling several different batches the scores start to drop. That's not too surprising when you think about it. Official bottlings like these are vatted from different casks every production run so there is bound to be some variation between different batches. A malt that scores very high sets very high standards for the next bottle I open. Disappointment lurks around the corner, especially because after a while a malt can lose that important 'element of surprise'. At the same time, the chances that I will try another bottle from an underachieving malt are slim. If I did, I might discover that it was much better than my previous one.
That being said, most batches of Talisker 10 and Ardbeg 17 scored in the nineties so far.

Since this Top 10 deals with the period 1991-2001 I'll include the Macallan 10yo '100 Proof' (57%, OB) at #9.
These days, this bottling isn't available anymore. It has been replaced by a Macallan 10yo 'Cask Strength' (58.8%) but I haven't tried that one yet. In case it turns out to be not as good as the 100 Proof I've already found a suitable replacement in the form of the Aberlour A'bunadh. I haven't quite figured out my rating for that one yet, so for now I'll put the Caol Ila 21yo 1975/1997 (61.3%, UDRM) at nuber 10. A big and bold malt; one of the best from the UDRM's I tried.

Here are my latest tasting notes on the single malts in my Top 10 on 01/01/2002.
(Check out the Hit List in my Big Black Book for a 'Top 10' list that's frequently updated.)
All the malts in my Top 10 scored at least 90 points.

1 - Saint Magdalene 19yo 1979/1998 (63.8%, UD Rare Malts)
Nose: This malt just has it all. Powerful and a little flowery at first. Complex and harmonious, with fruit (apricot, cherry and citrus), wood (oak) and a hint of smoke. An adventure in your glass! Memories of ketjap and soy sauce. Then liquorice and sweet root notes emerge. Even more fruits later on, with more smoke. With a little water it became nuttier with menthol. Sour sweets. One of the richest bouquets I've ever encountered.
Taste: Drank straight, it's sweet and round with a big malty burn. Liquorice. Some sherry. Toffee sweetness. Smoke and peat. Drier after 10 minutes, with notably less sherry. With some water, it showed more fruit and wood tones with menthol in the finish. After a little more water, it became very toffee-like. Smooth and sweet. A real mouth warmer. This is a really exceptional malt.
Score: 95 points - leaning towards 96. Analysis: In Arcadia Ego. A roller coaster ride for your nose.

2 - Laphroaig 10yo 'Cask Strength' (57.3%, OB)
Nose: Surprisingly fruity! Smoke and tar. Iodine in the background, growing stronger. Laphroaig power with a fruity bonus. Licorice. Wonderful complexity. It becomes friendlier with some water; nuttier with more organic notes.
Taste: Ooomp! Iodine! Peppery. Smoky smoothness. Lots of peat in the finish. Really wonderful stuff.
 Sweeter and more complex after adding some water, but still very powerful. Highly recommended!
Score: 93 points. Analysis: A gunpowder cocktail.

3 - Lagavulin 16yo 'White Horse' (43%, OB, bottled 1999 or before!)
Nose: Overwhelming. Heavy smoke & peat. It's very powerful, but balanced at the same time.
There are just so many captivating nuances.
Taste: Peaty; extremely round and full. Iodine, pleasantly dry, salty. Most impressive. A real tonsil-teaser...
Score: 92 points - but beware of batch variations. I've had this malt at number 1 for over ten years, consistently scoring in the mid-nineties. More recent ('Port Ellen') batches don't seem to be up to the old standards.
Analysis: Peaty power, barely contained by subtle yet sensible sherry elements.

4 - Lagavulin 1979 DE Double Matured (43%, OB)
Nose: Very round and complex. A lot of smoke and a little peat; a lot sweeter than the 16yo from the start.
After a while even sweeter; more apparent sherry in the nose; almost a bit like Macallan in the end.
Taste: Smooth. Warm, salt and sweet with a dry finish. Smoked eel? Very balanced but just a tad too sherried for my taste. It hasn't lost the Lagavulin 'punch', though.
Score: 91 points. Analysis: Polished peaty power.

5 - Macallan 18yo 1976/1995 (43%, OB)
Nose: Overwhelming sweetness. Oaky with hints of currants. Just enough sherry. The aroma grows even sweeter after a while. Wonderful! Strangeley enough, its character is more like the 10yo 100 Proof than the 12yo 43%.
Taste: A perfect palate, round and well balanced. Powerful smoothness and real "body". The very long aftertaste starts with a somewhat bitter arpeggio and slowly grows into the sweetest adagio.
Score: 91 points. Analysis: Sherry. Wood. Fruits. Perfection.

6 - Laphroaig 15yo 1985/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask)
Nose:  Is this a Laphroaig? Hardly any iodine in the nose at first. Yeast? Sour cream? Musty? Quity spirity, numbing the nose.  Briny. Grappa? Oily like Tobermory or Isle of Jura. After a few minutes, the iodine becomes more obvious. Takes some getting used to.
Taste: Rather sweet in the start, growing into a peaty burn. Smooth & gritty. Iodine. Salt and smoke. Brine. Very powerful after a few minutes. Good stuff!
Score: 91 points. Analysis: A fresh perspective on Laphroaig.

7 - Talisker 10yo (45.8%, OB)
Nose: Very full, robust smokiness. Peat and an overwhelming salty sea-bouquet.
Taste: Pepper! Virtually explodes on your tongue and the smoky pepper keeps hanging around in the back of your throat long after your last guzzle. Extremely complex for a malt so relatively young.
Score: 90 points. Another 'classic malt' that's on a slippery slope. Analysis: Hot & Heavy.

8 - Ardbeg 17yo (40%, OB)
Nose: One of the best bouquets I ever experienced. Some peat, balanced with some sourness and an almost speyside-like sweetness. Hints of oak and salt. Brine. Complex; even more so after some breathing and adding some water.
Taste: Starts off quite soft, but after the trademark 'delay' it fully reveals its Islay character. Peppery finish. In the end, there was some of the bitterness also found in the 1974 and 1972, but more balanced. This malt is one that improves after opening the bottle, so make sure to take your time.
Score: 90 points. Analysis: A time bomb.

9 - Macallan 10yo '100 Proof' (57%, OB, replaced by Mac 10 'Cask Strength')
Nose: A lot of it. The bouquet really "opens up" when you add some water. Deep sherry. Nuts? A bit dry, toffee-ish and very sweet. And you can KEEP adding water! Every drop reveals more layers. After a while the sherry becomes more pronounced.
Taste: Very easy on the tongue, athough the finish isn't as balanced as the 12yo.
It's a bit strong to drink neat, but with a few drops of water it's great.
Score: 90 points. Analysis: Multiple malts in one bottle.

10 - Caol Ila 21yo 1975/1997 (61.3%, UD Rare Malts, April 1997, Bottle #0519)
Nose: Wow! - Smoke first, then peat, quickly followed by sweeter fragrances.
Very rich and complex. A malt with a lot of different faces. Very versatile.
Taste: Very sweet. A lot of power, just about drinkable at cask strength.
With water: Drier and saltier, but it keeps on burning - burning....
Score: 90 points. Analysis: A victory for versatility.

That concludes my first E-pistle. Check out my Liquid Log for more reports on my alcoholic adventures.

Johannes van den Heuvel
Certified Malt Maniac
 

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E-pistle #01/03  -  Seven Steps to Malt Mania
by Serge Valentin, France

Hi, fellow malt aficionado,

This is my very first E-pistle, so, I ask for leniency. Please note that English is a foreign language to me.
Thanks in advance. Now, let me explain two or three things about my maltmadness, and about how it hatched.
In fact there has been seven different phases. Seven steps to heaven...

Phase I: The 'So-there-is-something-else-than-Cognac!' phase

Back to 1982. On the French shelves, one could find many different Pastis, many different Cognacs, many different Armagnacs, more than five Vodkas (Eristoff, Smirnoff, Stolichnaya, Moskovskaia, Wyborowa, Zubrovska…), many different blended Scotch Whiskies (Label 5, Johnny W, Cutty S., J&B, Black and White and so on). Few of them ended their lives in anything else than Coke or Pepsi. Then you had Chivas Regal. That was the "Grand Cru". Pouring anything else in it than some more Chivas Regal was considered as a crime. But let's admit it: we were all used to drown it with ice. Then, an extra-terrestrial kind of bottle reached our shelves: Glennfiddich. Wow, 8 years old! And that deer, sooooo cute! And that famous word: pure! We were so impressed that we instantly decided to drive to Scotland, with our old Peugeot 204…

Phase II:  The crash-landing phase

Summer of 1982 - that was no summer of love...
Cold wind, rain, midges, left-side driving, sheep everywhere, mainly on the middle of the road. And my fiancee dreaming about the Costa Brava's sun… Finally, we reached one of our friend's father's place, in Aberdeen. A very courteous man. A real Scotsman, wearing Harris Tweed, "hand-woven in the Outer-Hebrides". He instantly decided to offer us a drink. We asked for whisky. "So, you want the real thing!", the man said. We couldn't wait. Surely, the quest for the Holy Grail was over. The man opened a wardrobe, and went back with a bottle of… Glenfiddich. Then, he brought glasses. Very tall, bohemian-crystal-style glasses. He poured the liquid gold in them. Let's say "two fingers". Then he went to the kitchen, and came back with a bottle of… ginger tonic. He opened it. The "pchitttttt" still sounds in my ears. You can guess what happened next: he generously filled the glasses with that odd beverage. The dream was over. We ended that trip to Scotland visiting castles rather than distilleries, drinking Tennent's or McEwans beer rather than whiskies, and listening to Joe Jackson rather than Harry Lauder. Yes, such a waste of time! But that was twenty years ago…

Phase III:  The blind-man's phase

Pretty much the rest of the 1980's.
Bar 'l'Echauguette' in Dijon, Burgundy.
What we called an "American Bar". Strathisla, Cardhu, Knockandhu (not dho)… Never ending evenings. Almost every evening. Drank a lot of what we called "pure malts", indistinctly, just because it was highly fashionable. The real "single malt" concept was still unknown to me. In the shops, always the same blended whiskies. And Glenfiddich. And American whiskeys. I couldn't make any difference between Wild Grouse and Famous Turkey ;-) Those phase lasted eight years. And I wasn't married at that time: no wonder why!

Phase IV:  The revelation phase

London, 1989. (or was it 1990?)
The end of the roaring eighties: Warhol everywhere, Damien Hirst at the Saatchi Gallery, Turner at the Tate… Buying old Bordeaux at Sotheby's… Meeting Serena Sutcliffe…Dining at the Bombay Brasserie… And standing one hour long in front of Harrods whisky shelves. Wow! Soooo many different whiskies do exist! On the next day, my beloved old friend Paul told me: "Let's visit one of my friends this afternoon. He runs a wine shop in London…" The guy was very friendly. "Hi, Paul, hi, Serge. Would you like to taste some whisky?" Of course! He drove us to the cellar, and then, he aligned six or eight sherry copitas on an old wooden table, in front of each of us. Then he took several whisky bottles. All of them had big "S" on the labels. Most were vintages from the fifties, the sixties or the seventies. He generously poured a different whisky into each glass. Then, he added a few drops of water. "Does this guy know what he's doing?" That's what I asked to Paul. I was so ignorant at that time! Then, we tasted the whiskies. I felt like if I was Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, or Dr. Linvingstone discovering the Victoria Falls. A stunning illumination. And yes, dear reader, I had never heard of Springbank before!

After this fantastic tasting session, Paul and myself went for some pub crawling with the guy.
And after having visited four or five different pubs, we…  But that's another story.

By the way, the man's first name was Mark. A few years later, he founded Murray McDavid with some friends. Then, they bought Bruichladdich… This man is a genius (thanks to his French ancestors ;-) and I regret that I never met him again since that amazing Springbank & pub crawling experience.

Phase V:  The total-exposure phase

New York City, Hotel Le Pierre, January 16th, 1991.
On that very evening, I was having diner at my hotel. The day had been excellent. I was working as a publisher, at that time, and I had signed an excellent contract with an American writer during the afternoon. I decided to celebrate, and I ordered a bottle of Yquem. I don't remember the vintage, but I'm sure it wasn't 1967. Plus, it wasn't that expensive. Plus, I wasn't alone. Anyway, suddenly, an "Old-Europe-styled" waiter rushed into the dining room, and switched a tiny TV set on. Nobody in the room had noticed that incongruous piece of modernity before. The screen showed green dazzles glowing on a grey-black background. Intermittently, one could see kind of a panel, claiming "War in the Gulf". Of course, we all knew this would happen. But we all felt like if this was going to be the end of the world. Or the night before Austerlitz.

We drank the Yquem as if it were Bud Light. Then we asked for the "Menu des Digestifs". We tasted every single kind of malt they had. And they had many of them. I remember that we had several Macallans. That was a very strange moment, and I'm sure that my maltmania has been intricately woven into my subconciousness during that very particular evening.
Same year, back to France: the Classic Malts had invaded our shop's shelves. I bought them all.
The mania was really on.

Phase VI:  The back-to-Scotland phase

Alright, this is more recent history...
It's Saturday, 6:00 PM. I'm listening to Sarah Vaughan. She sings 'Misty'. I'm sipping my best malt: a  Macallan 1974/1994 from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (thanks again, Christophe). On my shelves, ten to twenty quite ordinary malts are looking at me sadly. Mostly original bottling : 10 yr., 12 yr., 14 yr., 16 yr. etc… The telephone is ringing. A good friend of mine is on the line. He's a winemaker, and he has been elected "best white wine maker of the year" several times, just to mention it. Plus, his wife is Scottish. "Hey Serge, why don't you come with us to Scotland, in November! We fly to Kinnaird, we've got some room left for two people…"  Refuse that? No way!

OK, let's push the "fast forward" button now.
November, Pitlochry, at Robertson's whisky shop. It's really chilly outside.
My friend and myself are surrounded by thousands (OK, hundreds) of different bottles. "Mr. Robertson" is very friendly. He knows a lot about whisky. Rare whisky. So does my friend. They chat a lot. 'Have you got this-have you got that-have you tried this-have you tried that etc.' This ends with an overwhelming number of bottles to carry out, and an astronomical amount of pounds to pay. Well, I may exaggerate a little.

While leaving this Ali Baba's cavern, I could notice an enigmatic kind of smile on my friend's face. You know, like Mona Lisa's, at Le Louvre. (By the way, do you know why she got this strange smile? Because she was pregnant while good old Leonardo was portraying her!) Back to my friend. He really seems to be as happy as a man can be. At that time, I remember that I said to myself: "Hey, I'd like to taste that kind of drug too."

Phase VII:  The how-will-that-end? phase

Now, I'm hooked on buying whisky - and hooked on drinking it (yes, Klaus!)
I've visited any single wine or liquor shop in my neighborhood, which means at least three hundreds kilometers around. I've spent hours browsing the web (as you do). I've discovered many fantastic whiskies, and I know this is not the end.
A Maltmaniac, moi?  Are you kidding?

Now, just to thank you for having read all those old and boring stories, here's the bonus:
(Hey, you didn't scroll down, did you?)

Seven Special Samplings

Alright, for this very first Maltmadness-oriented tasting session, I asked myself several questions:
Which whiskies should I choose from my shelves?
Seven SMs from the same distillery? Or from the same bottler?
Or from the same region? Or from the same vintage?

I was just wondering, when my youngest daughter, Ariane, entered the room.
I asked for help: "Please, choose seven different bottles for me to sample". That's what she did.
You'll notice that most of the bottles she selected have funny shapes, or funny labels, or funny cases…
No wonder why!

What kind of writing? As I mentioned before, my English is not so strong.
Plus, I didn't want to use exclusively official-whisky-tasting-words. So, I decided to write quite freely.
Beware: this could lead to rather esoteric descriptions. Please forgive me. Any "plus" I could add? Yes, I decided to add three topics, in the Chinese Portrait style. These are: "If this whisky were a person", "If this whisky were a wine", and "If this whisky were a car". The results will be highly questionable, of course. But that's even more fun! What about the rating? I don't want to be too innovative at this point. I'll discuss this with the other Maltmaniacs later. For the moment, I'll simply rate from 50 to 100 points. Last thing I wanted to say: whisky is not, and will never be a serious matter. It's just about having fun! But you're right, having fun is part of life, and life is short…  All right, let's go.

Ariane started the session by selecting a bottle of Glenrothes 1985/1997 (43%, OB).
The bulky shape must have caught her eyes. She said "What a small label for such a fat bottle".
Yeah! The colour was light amber and it almost seemed like a Cognac in the nose. Hot caramel. Very ripe fresh prune. The mouth showed liquorice, bourbon (the island) vanilla, toffee, and tarte tatin. Elegant and subtle, yet quite powerful. Finish: a hint of peat, oolong tea, some salt. Five minutes later: black toffee.

Score = 83 points.
A person: Sigourney Weaver in "Working Girl"
A wine: La Mission Haut-Brion from an average quality vintage
A car: a Jaguar E-type second series (not the best one, not the worst)

Then, Ariane considered a very nice blue velvet covered box.
That was a SV bottle, of course; the Bunahabhain 20yo 1979/1999 (56.7%, Signatory Vintage, oak cask #3184). The colour was light straw, the nose was herbal, freshly cut williams pear, freshly opened box of varnish, pungent. Mouth: acetate, cooked green apple, chamomile, alcohol, power; finish: strong alcohol, vodka. Five minutes later: some bitterness remains - that's all folks! Another tasting, with a few drops of water (Highland Fionnar Spring - oui monsieur): no further development. Maybe a hint of burnt wood.

Score = 65 points.
A person: Woody Harrelson in "Natural Born Killers"
A wine: Any industrial American Chardonnay (arrrgh!)
A car: a Ram Charger

Then, I said to Ariane: "Please, don't select only fancy looking bottles!" That's what she did. She selected the most common looking kind of bottle one could find: a Rosebank 1989/1999 (40%, Connoisseur's Choice) from Gordon and MacPhail's… Colour: light gold; nose: nosegay, ripe gooseberry, sweet, very charming. The mouth was smooth and delicate, with apple juice. Less interesting than the bouquet. The finish had apple sauce and vanilla fudge. (Hey, remember that band?)
Five minutes later: as fresh as a baby's mouth.

Score = 79 points.
A person: Gwyneth Paltrow in her early movies.
A wine: A white Mercurey, a Montagny or a Givry
A car: a Volvo P1800 (remember The Saint?)

At this stage, my daughter decided to have fun.
She carefully browsed the shelves. Suddenly, she saw a flashy green label, carrying kind of a "Knight of the Round Table" on it. And yes, she chose the…. Aaaaargh… Glen Fergus NAS Single Malt (40%, 'Bastard' malt, probably Glen Scotia).
Colour: light orange; nose: whisky. Ordinary scotch whisky. Hint of wood, vanilla, and malt. Mouth: poor, one-dimensional, alcohol, caramel, wood; finish: caramel. Five minutes later: well, when was the last time I had a dram? Can't remember.

Score = 50 points.
A person: Horst Tappert (inspector Derrick)
A wine: Buzbag no age statement (Turkish wine)
A car: Opel (Vauxhall) Astra from the eighties

Having seen that I was not very happy with her last pick, Ariane decided to choose a bottle that was almost empty. "Dad, if it's empty, that should mean that it's good!"  Very logical, but let's check if she was right about the Glen Keith 10yo (43%, OB). The colour was light gold, the nose showed peaches, dill, and anise. Quite original and attractive, even quaint.
Mouth: round, light liquorice, fudge, what we call here "creme anglaise". I wonder how the British people call that.
Very charming and elegant whisky. The finish was smooth and very enjoyable. Five minutes later: fresh vanilla.

Score = 79 points.
A person: Carole King singing "You've got a friend"
A wine: a Château Grillet (Rhone Valley)
A car: an old Lancia Aurelia cabriolet

At this point, Ariane decided that this game was no fun anymore.
She became angry, and declared that she would select only one more bottle.
Since I was complaining about that, she grew even angrier.
So, she chose a bottle that was almost full. And it went black…
She had selected the Loch Dhu 10yo (40%, OB, distilled at the Mannochmore Distillery, a.k.a. Glen WhydidIbuythis?). It had the colour of pipe juice. Nose: old rotten blackcurrant cream, burnt wood, stale Guinness. Mouth: cheap black toffee, overcooked caramel, burnt English coffee, Bailey's, sugar. It sticks to the tongue. Try to say "The cat that catch the rat that catch the mouse etc." after having had a sip of that swill, and you'll see what I mean.
Finish: overcooked caramel. Five minutes later: bitterness.
How to judge such a disabled beverage? I'll give 5 more points just because it's a touching whisky. (Well, is it a whisky?)

Score = 55 points.
A person: Eric the Red.
A wine: the cheapest port wine (no, I will not mention any brand).
A car: a Peugeot 404 Diesel.

O.K., one more whisky to sample. Lovely Ariane having escaped, I had to select it by myself. And that would be no random choice. I decided to reward myself for having sipped Glen Fergus and Loch Dhu during the same session, and for being still alive. So, I grabbed my bottle of…  Port Ellen 22yo 1978/2000 (60.5%, UD Rare Malts).
Color: pure gold, nose: a lot of peat, rubber (a brand new Michelin tire), the belly of a hare having ran under the rain. On Islay, of course. This is a noble race! Mouth: power peat, but with balance (OK, Laga fans?) Rubber. Bitter orange marmalade. Undoubtedly male. This is an excellent example of perfect nose-mouth cohesiveness.
Finish: same direction. Lasts very long. A feeling of wellness.
Five minutes later: same direction. Lasts very long. A feeling of wellness.
Twenty minutes later: same direction. Lasts very long. A feeling of wellness.
Forty minutes later: same direction. Lasts very long. A feeling of… Hey, was just kidding.

Score = 93 points.
A person: Harrison Ford
A wine: a Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen Selection de Grains Nobles
A car: Juan-Manuel Fangio's Mercedes Grand Prix

That's all for the moment. This was my first e-pistle, and I'm glad I went through it.
I think I never wrote so much English in my entire life...

A votre sante,

Serge
 

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E-pistle #01/04  -  Desert Island Malts
by Davin de Kergommeaux, Canada

The Assignment:  Describe your three favourite commercial malts.
The Rules:  They must be commonly available.
The Constraint:  In most of Canada (Alberta is the exception) almost nothing is commonly available, except the mainstream malts.

The Context:  Ottawa, the capital of Canada, sits on the south side of the Ottawa River. The river forms part of the boundary between Canada's two largest provinces, Ontario and Quebec.  In Canada, the ten provinces have jurisdiction over liquor sales, and in all provinces except Alberta the government operates the liquor stores as a monopoly.  The lack of competition creates no incentive for them to cater to the malt market, and in Ontario, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario concentrates most of its efforts on wine.  Quebec's SAQ does only slightly better.  LCBO stores are large and spacious, but in a new 17,600 square foot store in downtown Ottawa, less than 100 square feet is given over to Scotch and Irish whiskey, malts and blends included.

The Malts:

Talisker 10yo (45.8%, OB, 750ml)
May 2000 - Ottawa price Can $53.75 - $56.95

While many lament the loss of Talisker 12yo, which I'm told is still the heart of Johnnie Walker Black, a relative newcomer to the ranks of the malt-mad can sip his 10yo blissfully unaware of what he's missing. Still, if Johnnie can get his hands on it, there is always hope some independent will bottle a few casks to help expand the range.  Right now there appear to be only two Talisker expressions commonly available: the 10yo and the amoroso sherrywood, double matured version they call the Distiller's Edition. Jackson rates them both at 90.  In my mouth though, the double matured is Talisker, only less so, scoring at least 4 Jackson points fewer than the sophisticated abrasion from which it sprang.  The trouble with Jackson's scale though, is that he never seems to use the numbers below 60 or above 95 when rating single malts.  On my nascent scale I've tried to use the whole 100 points, which leaves the Talisker 10yo in at 90 points, but moves the Distillers Edition to a still braggable 78.

Although it's bottled at 45.8%, for a long time I hesitated to add water.  This due to a rather unfortunate incident while visiting Cadenheads in London.  A pastel-tartaned, close-shaved clerk, who had been interrupted by my visit asked gruffly what malt I preferred.  When I told him Talisker he returned with a dram of a 19yo, which he promptly drowned before allowing even a whiff. Did it taste like Talisker?  Well, more like water with Talisker in it.
Needless to say: No Sale.

Talisker 10 begins with a rich creamy and slightly malty nose  There's some phenol in there, and a warm smokiness.  It's rich and almost smells sweet. In the right circumstances (such as just after drinking Glenmorangie Port Wood Finish) I can detect a hint of purple crystalline iodine. The oft-cited salt does not yet appear in my nose, but as time goes on, I am discovering more and more complex aromas in many malts. Some marketing man once cleverly described Talisker as exploding on the tongue, and since then, many have had the same experience.  In my mouth however, it's big, but happens more slowly.  On first tasting, a syrupy cereal sweetness is quickly overtaken by  spicy burn on the whole tongue.  Jackson calls this pepper, but to me it's like the burn of cinnamon, without the cinnamon flavour.  The smoke remains and the iodine lurks in the background, but the flavour is dominated by the burn, and it's an unusual burn, seemingly unrelated to the alcohol.

A very pleasant experience comes with swallowing most of a good sip, then bringing the tongue up towards the roof of the mouth while breathing out.  The iodine, and carbolic acid concentrate in the sinuses finally bringing some sense to the maudlin phrase:  waiting to exhale. The cinnamon feel was predictive, for the finish fades in watery red cinnamon hearts.  Morning after smell of a covered glass is pleasantly medicinal.  Uncovered it leaves a strong and singular reminder of antiseptic, then just a hint of caramel emerges. Talisker 10yo is matured in an assortment of well-used barrels which impart a bright golden sunshine colour.  A wonderful, warming malt, whose strong hints of the sea make it an excellent accompaniment to grilled fish, red or white.  On first discovering Talisker, I thought it was likely the only malt I'd ever need to drink.

Highland Park 12yo (43%, OB, 750ml)
May 2000 - Ottawa price Can $49.95 - $51.00

Originally, Highland Park was just a wonderful malt to drink, but now I know it's a great one for the palate to train on.  Over time many subtleties and nuances emerge.  My first tasting notes said:  "Honey in nose, weetabix, honey, slightly briny with just a hint of iodine; sweet, just a hint of wood, very smooth, long flowery  finish."  What, no smoke??  Well, a year and a half and several bottles later the iodine remains a hint, but a peaty smoke has drifted into the nose and flavour.

Highland Park was one of my earlier malts.  Their on-line tasting was in progress when I first encountered them, and I thought it a very curious process.  I still find many descriptions of smells and flavours a bit abstract and even fanciful, so how could one sensibly vote for any particular barrel without tasting it oneself?  What attracted me though, was their location, in Orkney.  My mother's family, the Wisharts, came to Canada from the Orkneys in the early 1800's, to work for the Hudson's Bay Company.  Other Orcadian ancestors, the Spences, Sutherlands, Inkstaters, Halcros and Honeymans had arrived in Canada earlier, for the same reason.  Whisky was the sad undoing of many of them; probably the reason so many of my family became abstainers, and why I myself drank very little until recently.

Highland Park 12 is dark amber to the eye, reminiscent of sherry wood.
A malty honeyed iodine introduces and persists in the nose along with sweet esters and smoke.  On the palate an initial sweetness can be amplified if one lets the whisky just touch the pursed lips, then sucks a small amount onto the tongue with plenty of air.  A wonderful experience with Highland Park, (even better with a sweet Macallan). Highland Park is a rich and creamy malt that feels good in the mouth. There's wood and smoke and a sweet spiciness that quickly turns to warmth.  A mild initial astringency gives way to an oily feel as the malt becomes thick and syrupy at the top of the throat.  The uncovered morning after glass is sweet and sour caramel to the nose.  I've scored it at 80 points, even though today I prefer it to the higher scoring Laphroaig 10yo or Macallan 12yo.

Laphroaig 10yo (43%, OB, 750ml)
May 2000 - Ottawa price Can $44.95 - $48.75

The bastard get of Islay, Laphroaig and especially the 10yo has probably destroyed more palates than it's seduced.  Not nearly as cute as the truisms used to advertise it, Laphroaig is one of the "Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten" experiences one picks up as a child eating glue.  Prince Charles loves it.  A keg set aside for his 50th birthday has been auctioned off for charity.  But if Laphroaig turns out to be the source of Harrods Islay Malt, one wonders which loyalty will prevail.  Laphroaig does not try to get by on good looks.

It's apple juice complexion is reminiscent of a pasty weakling.  Nor can it trade on its personality, for the first taste is ever so much akin to kicking Grandad's gout-seized toe.  The labels, plain though they be, are awkward too, nearly impossible to remove intact unless the bottle is first filled with near-boiling water.  So why is it so dearly loved?  The pungent rubber that introduces the nose lingers, revealing new complexities as a second and third breath of fresh air flush it out. There's ammonia, not like the cleaning fluid, but almost automotive, like stale ashtrays at the local tire store.  But then you sip and a wonderful sweet tobacco leaps to the back ofyour throat and lingers.

Immediately you swallow, a sweet earthy wave washes forward inyour mouth with smoke so strong and railway ties, not the green ones, but the big black and brown ones.  There's something very male about it. The ammonia returns in the mouth, with a flash of concentrated bleach.  Does it carry me back to laundry days at mother's skirt?  We did have an old tub washer, but it wasn't the first refill ex-bourbon cask used exclusively in making Laphroaig 10.

Blunt and brutal, but strong and dependable it warms and heals like the medicine it was once claimed to be.  The finish lasts until you introduce a new flavour, even if that's not until breakfast.  If you're drinking several malts tonight, make Laphroaig the last.  Empty glass uncovered leaves a dusty ammonia with a suggestion of sweetness way in the back.
Score 85.

Davin
 

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E-pistle #01/05  -  My Three True Loves
by Klaus Everding, Germany

Polygamy and sex with changing partners on the malt madness pages? No chance!
This E-pistle is about how I found my three favourite malts;

– the rough and strong one,
- the delicious and manifold one,
- the garden of flowers and vegetables.

I - The rough and strong one – Laphroaig 10y (43%, OB, price about 33 Euro/litre)
My first contact with this malt was on a party. I already had had several beers. The host handed me a glass  with an amber liquid and asked me: " Do you want to try this whisky from Islay?" "Sure man, I replied", and sniffed at the tumbler. My god! Had somebody emptied an ash try into the glass? And was the colour from tincture of iodine?  I took a sip. Extremely smoky like 40 cigarettes, peaty and salty. "Well, I think this stuff is a little to rough for me. I prefer the more balanced ones and thought at Teachers Highland Cream", I said to the host. (You see, I was no malt fan at this time yet). Anyway I finished the glass and my stomach which was aching a little because I had stuffed myself with all the cold meats, salads and sauces soon calmed.

Years later: I share a passion together with the prince of Wales. I love Laphroaig.  This delicate smokiness makes me think of camp fires on the shore. This is the best stuff for stormy or rainy days ("Hamburger Schmuddelwetter" as we say here). It hardens you for the troubles you will find outside. On the wall just in front of my PC hangs a certificate of a lifetime lease on a square foot of Islay. You will get this certificate when you mail the serial number of a Laphroaig bottle to the distillery. Then you are counted among the "Friends of Laphroaig". All my friends at my whisky tasting society and their girl friends or wives are "Friends of Laphroaig". This makes eight square feet on Islay. If we can convince the distillery manager to put our plots together we could almost build a dogs house there.

II - The delicious and manifold – Highland Park 12yo (43%, OB, price about 36 Euro/litre)
One of my malt friends, Doc Michi, had an interesting looking paste whisky container in his shelves. Black with a beautiful sundown in red orange and yellow. The well rounded half full bottle with three imprinted ears (the grain not the sense organ) looked  even more interesting. The amber liquid sloshed friendly around when I took a closer look a the bottle. "You don't know Highland Park yet?" he asked, "this is a great one!" He  placed two tasting glasses on the table opened the bottle and filled the glasses.
I put my nose deep into the glass. "Excellent! – This should be sold as perfume". I can almost see the barley fields and fens full with heather." Then I couldn't hold back anymore. I took a gulp. The first impression: almost like a Speyside whisky – fresh and fruity. Then there is a big maximum in taste: honey, syrup, malt. This  moment could last forever. Glowing peat fires lead to the finish. A really marvellous aftertaste. You can imagine how the evening ended. No self control. Love is overwhelming us. An empty Highland Park bottle and a visit to my whisky shop the next day. This stuff must always be handy in my shelves.

Orkney, the home of Highland Park, is on the outer Hebrides and compared with the Islay Whiskies (inner Hebrides)  it lies far more to the north. I would have expected a whisky which is stronger an rougher than the Islay malts. But what you get is the best of two worlds,- freshness and fruits like Speyside and smoke and peat in the finish like Islay. And everything is well balanced. Wonderful.

III - The garden of fruit and vegetables – Macallan 12yo (43%, OB, price about 36 Euro/litre).
I am glad that I met the Mac almost at the beginning of my career as malt fan. It was during the first tasting session of HarLeM and it was the first malt which we tasted that evening. Have you ever strolled over a fruit and vegetable market? This is the impression I associate with the fragrance of Macallan 12y. Of course you have to add a little bit of vanilla, honey, sherry and wood to compose the whole complex aroma. The  taste is a liquid poem. There are fruits, many different ones, some malt and a bit of toffees, everything still very reserved. The taste develops: sweetness, sherry, malt, very impressive.
The finish: peat and smoke, glowing wood, lasts very long.

Although the Macallan is a very well known malt whisky I am not ashamed to count them among my three great whisky loves. I think it is definitely the best Speyside and a good whisky for beginners. Should I ever get a considerable amount of money as a present I plan to test the Mac in all the commonly available ages (10, 12, 15 and 18 years) simultanuosly.

Klaus Everding
 

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E-pistle #01/06  -  My Favorite Three Commercial Malts
by Craig Daniels, Australia

Australian maniac Craig reviews 2001 from 'Down Under'. His retrospective includes a review of the best single malts of 2001 and reflections on the major malt events of the past year. By Craig Daniels, Australia

When I was asked to write something about my 3 favourite 'commercial' malts, my first two choices were relatively easy; Bowmore 17 and Laphroaig 15. Both are walk up starts but the third one gives me heartache, because there are a stack of them that sit just below the other two in my rankings of whiskies. I wanted to include Talisker 12, but it isn't really that available, not having been marketed since at least 1988, which definitely puts it into the "museum" class. As much as I like it as a regular tipple, I really couldn't put Talisker 10 in my top three as the quality has been slipping since 1993 when it was worth 85 points, which is where I score the Talisker 12. OK, discarding Talisker 12 leaves a few other possibilities such as Glenfarclas 15 or Dailuaine 1980 Flora & Fauna Cask Strength and Glenmorangie 18. Unfortunately, the Dailuaine 1980 even though a commercial release, was seriously hard to find (even in Edinburgh in 1998), so I'd hate to think how hard it would be to locate now. Out of the other two, if the truth be known if I was given a choice between Glenmorangie 18 and Glenfarclas 15, I'd choose the Glenmorangie 8 times out of 10.

So there are my top three commercial malts:
- Laphroaig 15yo
- Bowmore 17yo
- Glenmorangie 18yo

Now I suppose the first and most obvious & reasonable question is "What sets these apart from the common ruck?" Firstly it's not really great age or expensiveness, because I genuinely believe that the older distillery expressions, as well as being wallet crippling, are not automatically better that younger expressions and often the distillery character is overshadowed by the wood. I think the three I've chosen encapsulate everything these three distilleries are about.

The Laphroaig 15 is, to my taste, one of the best balanced of the big Islays, with a smoothness and mouthcoating quality that sets it apart from the standard 10. I also prefer it to both the standard 16 and Double Matured versions of Lagavulin, although the latter is certainly close to greatness. The Laphroaig has some subtleties that make it more interesting over time than the Lagavulin 16, although by any objective assessment, the Lagavulin is better value for money. I just think the extra depth and smoothness in the Laphroaig 15 are worth the asking price, especially when the floral smokiness of japanese paint stick, smoky bacon crisps and garden bonfires come out in the nose.
Score 89 points.

Bowmore 17 has been a favourite ever since I started drinking malts. I remember Jim McEwan coming to Australia (1995?) and hosting a vertical tasting of Bowmores (and the premiere of Auchentoshan Select). The selection of Bowmores was excellent with the 21, 25 and 30 year old on the table. Even after sampling the older expressions and falling seriously for the 21 yo, I still think the 17 held its own and represents what Bowmore is all about. Jim McEwan agreed with me. The 17 is his favourite too. There's a delicate and lingering balance between floral perfume, tropical fruit, lantana/blackberry vines and hospital corridor carbolic that I find sublime.
Score 88 points.

Glenmorangie 18 is here because to choose another Island/Islay would give an incomplete picture of my range of malt appreciation. Frankly, I don't like the Glenmorangie 10 or wood treatments overly much, thinking the madeira the pick of the ones I've tried and the 10 is a lightweight that falls apart in the glass too quickly. The wood treatment (which Glenmorangie IS about) in the 18 adds to the whole; the hit of sherrywood adds both depth and complexity to the malt and the extra time in wood gives it length in the glass. I find the 18 just about the perfect malt and its availability just about anywhere duty free adds to the attraction. There are plenty of highlands that have a stone fruit/tropical fruitiness supported by lovely green olive and wine grape vine sappiness, but few are as accessible and available as the Glenmorangie 18.
Score 86 points.

Craig
 

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E-pistle #01/07  -  Top 3 Malts
by Louis Perlman, USA

Top 3, let's see now...
Since the assignment says commercial malts, some of my favorites aren't eligible, but that makes sense.
After all, part of the purpose of this excercise is for someone to actually be able to purchase to selected malts.
So that means none of my oddball Macallans, for example. The Glenhaven 16yr 'matured in an oak cask' or the pale yellow Murray McDavid 21 that was matured in a first fill sherry cask (although Gordon Wright did admit to me via e-mail, that while the cask was definitely sherry, it may well have been second fill and/or fino).

One thing I will not apologize for though, is my choice of more expensive bottles. After all, if you are going to take a couple of cases to a desert island, might as well take the good stuff ( I refer here, to the Howell's of Gilligan's island, who seemed to have left nothing behind for only a 3 hour cruise)*  Anyway, there is still plenty of time to away a few of your favorite currency each month, and get your self a nice present by the end of year. So then.....

1) Springbank 21yo. Since this is my overall number 1, it definitely goes at the head of my Top 3 list. If I had tasted it any earlier in my SMS career, I probably wouldn't have botherd with a whole lot of lesser drams. My bottle was purchased in 1/99. It started out very cordial-like, and gently transitioned over to the coconut and brine of the 12/92, with a bunch of other things as well.  By the way, the 12/92 does a vey nice imitation of its older sibling, so if you can't spring (bad pun) for the 21, go for it.
In any event, I am left with more of a feeling a well being after a couple of drams of Springbank, than any other brand in my collection.

2) Longrow 10yo. The yin to Springbank's yang. A very pleasant  malt, sweet notes on a lightly peated underpinning. Seems to work remarkably well in the warmer weather as well.

3) This one is something I actually don't own, but I am listing two candidates, either of which could actually become my overall number one if I ever get my hands on them. The first candidate is the Highland Park 25yo. While my 1977 may have been rated a point higher by Michael  Jackson, I would prefer it at higher proof. The 25 is bottled at cask strength, 53.5%. This ought to be perfect, and I have seen incredible reports about the 25. The other candidate is the Adbeg 1975, not available in the USA. I enjoy the distilley 17 very much, but it is not a reperesentative Ardbeg. Distilled just before the distillery went silent for the eighties, it represents the lighter (dumbed down) whisky that Allied Distillers was aiming for at the time.  I also enjoy the Signatory 8 year old very much. It has a kick like a mule, and takes no prisoners. With a full frontal attack of peat and tar, it is much more representative of what an Ardbeg should be, but I am still holding a spot for the 1975.

* For those not old enough to remember, or anybody who grew up not watching US television in the 60's, Gilligan's Island is about 7 castaways who got shipwrecked on an uncharted desert island, after encountering a storm during what was to be a three hour cruise.

Louis Perlman, New York, USA
 

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E-pistle #01/08  -  Another Day In Paradise
by Klaus Everding, Germany

Johannes is so kind. He invited my friend Michael and me to visit him in Amsterdam. This time my girl friend decided to stay at home. So there was no need for a cultural program. Sampling as many single types of malt as possible was our only aim. We took the northern route from Hamburg to Amsterdam. Rainy weather and some degrees Celsius above zero. While driving through the Netherlands it was obvious that large parts of the country are below sea level. Draining ditches full of water every 20 meters and still a lot of water on the empty fields. Very impressive was the ride on the large dam which shuts the IJsselmeer, a former part of the North Sea, from the real sea.

In Amsterdam we had some difficulties to find Johannes' flat. I remembered that we had to leave the highway at Amsterdam Zuid-Oost but there all houses looked more or less the same. Finally we made it due to Michael's good memory. We opened the trunk and carried the liquid treasures which Johannes had ordered in Hamburg to stock up his malt supplies to his flat. And then we were there - in Amsterdam's famous single malt paradise. I must confess that I dropped my habit to take extensive notes when sampling new whiskies during this visit. Just wanted to have a lot of fun. So my descriptions may be sometimes very sparse. But this was compensated by Johannes who questioned each and everybody and even "forced" us to give our scores in numbers.

Here are the tasting report & the numbers.

First malt. Johannes is an experienced single malt connoisseur. He offered a Macallan 18yo 1982 (43%, OB). Excellent choice! The beautiful Macallan fruit and sherry aroma. The 18yo is a little bit more balanced than the 12yo and the woody notes are stronger. Interesting observation: Usually a malt burns a little when it is the first dram, the Mac 18yo didn't. I would give this Macallan a slightly higher score than the beloved 12yo. But does that little extra justify an almost 90% higher price?

Meanwhile Michael had spotted the Pittyvaich 18yo 1976/1995 (43%, SigVin) on Johannes' bottom shelf. After having tasted the malt I can't say that I am too sad that this distillery which had a very short life (built 1975, mothballed 1994) is no longer among us. The malt is very pale. Nose: pears! And the aroma of this unpleasant new kind of jelly babies which pretend to have an exotic fruits flavour. Altogether very chemical and artificial. In the mouth: sweet and refreshing citrus, light fruits, - interesting, let me think about it.  Hoops, -   it's already over. Meanwhile Arthur, a Dutch friend of Johannes who also runs a single malt site, had arrived. Johannes phoned a Chinese food delivery service so that we had foundation in our stomachs. Very good idea. Our last food was a short breakfast in Hamburg.

With a pleasant feeling in the belly we could now start the real serious tasting.

Malt 3: Dallas Dhu 10yo (40%, G&M), another one from a closed distillery. I remember that I had this malt once during an earlier visit at Johannes. Checked my notes but could find nothing. Must have been late in the evening. The full gold coloured malt has the nose of early fruits, maybe pears. A little bit pungent. In the mouth again pears dominate. Strong memories of Williams Christ spirits. Sweet and fruity with a touch of citrus and caramel. Nice malt but nothing special.

The Highland Park 12yo 1988/2001 (43%, Ultimate) was the next malt. Highland Park is one of my favourite distilleries. It seems that the independent bottlings don't follow the HP house style. My SigVin 1988 unchillfiltrated at home goes into the same direction as the Ultimate. The colour of the malt is pale gold, not the full gold, almost bronze, of the OBs. Could that be a hint for tasting nuances of fruits which appear earlier in the year? I know it's foolish because caramel can change everything. But this time my premonitions became true. Interesting nose: Wood, malt, toffee, vanilla, burnt wood, sherry and bitter chocolate. I like it. The taste doesn't quite catch up with the nose. Difficult to describe. Glaring morning light in early summer. Lots of spice and citrus which means the malt is a little bit sharp. Definitely not the broad late autumn tapestry of the OBs.

The next tasting, a triple head to head of Caol Ila's, was one of the highlights of the evening.
All candidates were distilled 1989. The colour of the malts is rather pale.
This is typical for Caol Ila and an indication that no caramel is added.
Here are the candidates:

Caol Ila 1989/1999 (43%, Mackillops Choice)
Caol Ila 11yo 1989/2001 (46%, Signatory Vintage, refill Sherry Butt)
Caol Ila 12yo 1989/2001 (46%, Signatory Vintage, Bourbon Barrels)

Nose:
The MacKillop's is the most aggressive one of the triple. With all its smoke and tar it cries out: "Hi, I am here. Who wants to challenge me?" I agree with Johannes that the malt from his bottle is indeed a little bit dusty and lacks the grassy and mossy freshness which I find in the bottle I have at home.   The bourbon cask SigVin is more balanced and round, very smoky and some peat but a little bit 1-dimensional. The refill sherry cask has the weakest nose. Some sweetness adds to the smoke and peat.

Taste:
The Mackillop's is sharp, very smoky with tar, dry, with pointed sweetness. Very sustained finish. Bourbon Cask SigVin is the most balanced of the 3 malts. Beautiful symphony of smoke and peat, very round but less sustained finish. The refill sherry cask shows some sweetness and a short flash of violet aroma. Then smoke and peat. But somehow the balance is gone.

Conclusion:
All three malts are more or less in the same price region (slightly below 40 Euro). Which one is the winner? The SigVin refill sherry is out. Nice try from Caol Ila to try maturing in sherry casks. But it ruins the balance. The decision between MacKillop's and SigVin bourbon is rudeness and power against roundness and balance. Usually I go for power but this evening I decided to hand over the winner crown to the SigVin bourbon cask. My explanation: This malt is no weakling. It shows all signs of a heavy peaty and smoky Islay. And if I get balance in addition then my choice is clear and I don't care who shouts out the loudest.

If you are interested in Caol Ila's you should not forget to read Arthur's tasting remarks in Johannes' report.
Arthur is a very big Caol Ila fan. When we had finished the Caol Ila triple Arthur left us. Now we were only three.

Glad that I had verified that Johannes' remarks about dust in the Mackillop's Choice Caol Ila were not sheer nonsense I wanted to taste his Laphroaig 15y 1985/2000 (50%, OMC). His tasting notes and my observations during the Laphroaig JOLT in December last year were totally opposing. Again Johannes was right. His Douglas Laing 'phroaig had nothing in common with the peat monster at home which got the highest score I ever gave to a single malt. In a blind tasting I even might not have identified his malt as a Laphroaig. How can this be? Well, - the explanation is easy. The malts come from different bottlings. I don't know why there is no cask no. on the label. But there are other means to identify the batch. My peat monster is one of 303 botles, distilled in February 1985 and bottled in June 2000. Johannes moderate peated 'phroaig is from a series of 318 bottles distilled in February 1985 and bottled in October 2000. I think it is not a good idea to sell so different malts under the same label. The malt fan goes into the shop and hands his 75 Euros over to get a real peat monster and instead he receives almost fragile Islay malt.
Disappointment is programmed. And so it happened to me.
Almost with tears in my eyes I forgot to take tasting notes.

Michael and I had another plate of Chinese food.
Then we were ready for the next highlight of the evening; Saint Magdalene 19yo 1979/1998 (63.8%, UDRM).
We had tasted that malt on our last visit and everybody got quite excited. Unfortunately I had missed most of the fun because I was handicapped by a bad cold. With almost unbelievable discipline Johannes had kept some drams for a second tasting. He feared that the malt had suffered from oxidation because it had spent almost a year in a more 2/3 empty bottle. Nothing like that. It was a festival. Johannes got so excited that he kicked Lagavulin 16yo from the throne and crowned his new malt queen St. Magdalene.

But let me start where all began.
The bronze coloured St. Magdalene has 63.8 % (!) alcohol strength. Remarkable! What have they done at the distillery to shoo away the angels from the cask? Perhaps their methods were too harsh and St. Magdalene lost the grace of heaven. In 1983 the distillery ceased production. Some of the distillery buildings were used for apartments.
May all the ghosts of malt madness haunt the flats!

The malt was poured into the glasses.  Slowly the nose unfolded.
"There we have it. Oxidation has struck!", Johannes yelled.
But St. Magdalene only needed time to wake from her long slumber. With each drop of water added to the cask strength malt different layers unfolded. Mainly sweet flower bouquets. Perhaps my nose was still numbed by the heavy Islays and the cigarettes I smoked. So I didn't have all the fun. But Johannes and Michael grew quite excited. The taste showed many nuances. A sweet meadow full of all kinds of flowers. Mint, toffee and honey also present.
Very interesting to explore.

The conclusion: I was witness of the historic event that Johannes chose a new malt as his number one.
Speaking for myself I give St. Magdalene 90 points. It is a very good malt although difficult to obtain and a little expensive. It has all attributes of classical beauty. I could compare it with Claudia Schiffer. Really a beauty but no sex appeal that catches me.

It was difficult for the next malt to compete with the St. Magdalene but Johannes did his best.
He served a Springbank 21yo (46%, OB) bottled in August 2001. You must pardon me that my tasting notes after the 10. malt are not so detailed anymore. The first thing which was striking is the strong resemblance of the Springer to the Mac 18 yo. Both malts coloured full amber. Both malts with lots of sherry, late fruits, flowers, wood and honey in the nose. I think the nose of the Springbank is a little bit sweeter than the Macallan. A head to head tasting might be worth the try to work out the differences.
The taste is very very pleasing: Sherry, late fruits, raisins, toffee, wood and a touch of mint. I wish I would have tried this malt earlier on the eve to give it a fair judgement, because I have no Springbanks at home.
Imho they are heavily overpriced, at least here in Germany.

The Port Ellen 18yo 1981/2000 (43%, MacGibbons Provenance, winter distillation) was the last malt for which I wrote down tasting notes. Port Ellen closed its doors in 1983 and now everybody is rushing to get bottles of the sparse remaining supplies. The price rises and rises. The malt is bronze coloured. The nose is full of wood, peat and smoke and clearly speaks of its Islay heritage. The taste: Very interesting, - sweet and crispy, smoke and charcoal. I must insist that there is crackling or some other kind of roasted meat in there. Final comment: really good and interesting malt. To bad that is an out dying species.

The next three malts were full of sherry. First Aberlour A'bunadh (59.6%, OB, no batch number).
Most of my colleagues in the malt maniacs team get quite exited about the a'bunnadh. They even discuss the different batch numbers. I am a minority and rate the malt almost 10 points lower than the rest. My explanation: It is a very good sherried malt, perfect balanced and standing there like a marble statue. It is great but I can't find a way to go to its centre. Beauty without a heart. This evening I was in a generous mood and willing to rate it 4 points higher than usual.

No. 2 and No. 3 of the sherried malts were a head to head tasting of two Glendronachs: Glendronach 12yo 'Traditional' (43%, OB) and Glendronach 15yo '100% Sherry' (40%, OB). The 15yo 'dronach was very good, just like my bottle at home which needed more than half a year to break in. Sweet creamy sherry, direction Macallan but not the depth and variety of this malt. The Traditional was another case. It smelled, - just to be neutral. Johannes said that he liked the exotic oriental perfume aroma; I replied that it stinks like my old socks. Now it's up to you to decide if Orientals smell like old socks or if the sweat from my feet is a wonderful exotic fragrance. Another way out would be that we were both wrong. Apart from the controversy about the nose I want to mention that the sherry in the Traditional tastes different than in the 100% Sherry. It is not so creamy. Since I am not even a novice in sherry tasting I want to cite Johannes who says that it tastes more like the real sherry.

This concludes the official tasting of the evening. But the evening was still young.
Johannes encouraged us to select drams from all open bottles in his collection. I remember that I chose:

Glenmorangie Madeira Wood (43%, OB) - nice malt, I tried it during at the last visit, but then I was handicapped by a bad cold. The Madeira wood finish is interesting because the influence of the cask takes effect in the aftertaste, a whiney chew. All other finishes that I know (rum, port, sherry) spend their powder in the beginning and then the main character of the malt takes over the command.
Glen Rothes 8yo (40%, Gordon & MacPhail) - a really nice young Glen Rothes, probably better than the 1989 11yo OB, but after so many different malts I dare not to give a final score.
Dailuaine 16yo (43%, Flora & Fauna) and
Royal Brackla 20yo 1978 (59.8%, UDRM) didn't seem to impress me very much.
I have only vague memories of it. Possibly they fall into the category "hmm, - nice stuff".
Talisker 10yo (45.8%, OB) is a malt I always have problems with. Many people talk of the huge peppery explosion and declare them Islay by honour. I always think it has some flowery, honey speysidish character with a medium pepper impact.
Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength (57.3%, OB).  My c/s at home is more or less the standard 10yo with higher alcohol content. Johannes was quite enthusiastic about the c/s in his tasting notes from the Laphroaig JOLT in December.
OK, - I agree with him. The content of his bottle is much richer.
Damned! Why do even different batches of official bottlings differ?

Somewhere during the free tasting my friend Michael introduced Johannes to a new computer game. It was the online version of  "Diablo 2 - Lord of Destruction". On rare occasions you might find his mad single malt slurping druid (account: maltmadness) together with Michaels characters (account: docmichis) or my figures (account: ckloy) infesting mayhem and destruction.

After a long slumber with sweet dreams about the wonderful drams enjoyed last night we woke up late in the morning on Sunday. We went into the city of Amsterdam to have a nice breakfast. Then it was time to say goodbye. But this time not for long. Johannes invited us for May when the malt mad Israeli Roman will come for a visit.
Maybe even Serge, the new team member from France could join us...

Jippie!

Klaus Everding

(Click HERE for the perspective of Johannes on this tasting in Log Entry #102.)
 

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E-pistle #01/09  -  A Perfect 10
by Krishna Nukalala, Germany

10 - Whenever this number comes along, I'm reminded of Bo Derek.
As a 'minion' among the Master Malt Maniacs (or the dirty dozen) I have been contemplating for a long time to take stock of my malt experiences. Now Johannes has sent me an ultimatum - to spell out my best 10. Let me declare the drams I had downed so far and my trysts with the spirits of the most sublime kind.

January 1993 - Glenfiddich

It was a Treasury Dealer's Conference at Ooty (a hill station in South India) where I was representing my bank. Only thing I remember is that the whisky looked very pale. Almost like water. I cannot remember the taste or the nose except that it was much smother than any of the Indian whiskies I used to have. In India it is a standard practice that a peg of 50 ml of whisky is added with at least 200 ml of water or soda. I think I did the same with the stuff as a result its true character could never be found out nor was I looking for it. I had never had it afterwards.

February 1994 - Glen Moray 21yo

A bottle bought in Dubai duty free shop to be given as a present to my brother in USA.
I asked the store girl to show me the most expensive whisky available there. She fished out a 21yo Glen Moray which put my purse back by USD 111. Since the packing was so very attractive (made of oak wood) I bought it without any second thought. I had no knowledge of any single malts. In Connecticut we all had the stuff more as a celebration drink (like champagne) and I do not remember any thing of it at all except that it had fantastic smell and went down the gullet very smoothly (without water).

May 1996 - Macallan 12yo

A peg costing USD 20 at a bar in lower  Manhattan. The stuff really moved me. I realized that there is something different about single malts and decided to explore them. I was waiting for chances to explore. But none came by for two years.

September 1998 - Lagavulin 16yo (& others)

This is the year in which my initiation into Malts really started taking shape. After a training on "Derivatives & Swaps" at Euromoney, Surrey I decided to make an adventure in the world of Single Malts. And where else to start but in Scotland? I headed straight to Islay and the rest is history. Visited Lagavulin, Bowmore  distilleries. Experienced  malts like Ardbeg, Laphroig, and Bowmore. Became an instant fan of Lagavulin Bought Jim Murray's " Complete Guide to Whisky" - my first whisky book.

June 1999 - Highland Park

The first Whisky JM writes about in his book is Highland Park. If somebody has read it - he would notice that he has given "Outstanding" rating to it. I am so carried away that I took an oath - " My next pilgrimage in Scotland would be to Orkney"
The whisky is a wonderful combination of sherry and heather. Truly "an Orcadian delight".

September 2000 - Springbank 21yo (& others)

Based at Inverness for about 4 days. Visited Highland Park, Clynelish and Glenmorangie distilleries. Freaked out on Highland Park 12 & 18, Laphroig 10, Aberlour 15, Glenmorangie12 , Lagavulin16 , Macallan 12&18, Springbank 12 & 21, Clynelish 12,  Glenlivet 12 and Cragganmore 12. Had more of the same than venturing into different kinds. Inexperience.  Bought MJ's "Malt Whisky Companion". The malts which stood out outstanding - Springbank 21 and Laphroig 10.

So, how many different Single Malts have I tasted so far?
Maybe 16 if the yard stick is by brands, maybe 25 if the yardstick is by different ages.
I do not know how the yardstick is defined by Malt Maniacs.

So my fellow malsters, I think the job is very easy to pick up my best 10 out of 16 or 25 I had tasted so far;

No 1 -  Springbank 21yo
No 2 -  Laphroig  10yo
No 3 -  Macallan  18yo
No 4 -  Lagavulin 16yo
No 5 -  Highland Park 12yo

I would restrict my self to only 5 since I find no meaning ranking 10 out of 15 or 25 I have tasted so far. Presently I have a 12 y.o Rosebank and a 10 y.o Springbank unopened and as my exploration in the world of malts continues I am sure the above list would constantly change. AFTER ALL, ARE WE MANIACS NOT LOOKING FOR THE ULTIMATE DRAM?

Krishna

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E-pistle #01/10  -  My Top 10 Explained
by Louis Perlman, USA 

Writing about my Top 10 is a lot of fun. If we schedule a JOLT for, lets say, Mac This, by the time it actually takes place, I'd rather be drinking Glen That. Or maybe the new Ben Whatever has just arrived, and I'd REALLY rather be enjoying a dram or three. But the Top 10 is like a blank canvas, where I can write about the stuff that I really like without having to incur the wrath of The Editor for submitting something 30 seconds before the deadline.

Only one small problem though.
MM compositions are supposed to give you the readers, useful information. If I listed a whole bunch of fantastic drams that are no longer available, it wouldn't help you buy anything, and it might well look like I was just showing off. With that in mind, I've come up with a different approach. For each of the top 5, I'm going to put the general description, and note which bottlings are out there.

You'll have to do the leg work yourself for specifics though, as there isn't too much of any of them out there, and I don't want the worlds supply to get cleaned out just because I mentioned something on MM. The 6-10, the nominations are regular, off the shelf, distillery offerings. So without any further ado...

1) Older Springbank, 25-30+ years old.
Springbank is the best stuff ever put in a bottle, and it's in it's full glory at in this age range. The previous distillery versions were carefully vatted with both sherry and bourbon casks, while independents are almost always single casks. The distillery is all sold out of the old stuff, so you'll have to look to the independents. With a little bit of smart shopping, you might still be able keep the tab under $200. In the US, there are a couple of Murray McDavids that fit the bill, and I've seen some Signatories on several European sites. OMC's are out there too. If there is one bottle worth spending big bucks on, this is it. For US MM readers, it might actually be worth it to swallow the obscene shipping prices and purchase from one of the European shops.

2) Older Ardbeg, 1975 or earlier.
These are the ones from before the distillery was nearly destroyed by Allied. There was no production during the eighties, so it's going to be another 10 years until there will be 20 year old Ardbeg again. Right now, there are quite a few OMC's, so buy while they are still around. As with all Islay's, the older bottles will be a somewhat mellow, so you can save a few dollars by not getting the oldest ones available. The distillery Very Old Ardbeg is too mellow to be included here.

3) Older Glenfarclas, 20 to 30 years old.
Having covered Campbeltown and Islay, Speyside gets it's turn, being that I am not a purist snob.
A nice rich Speyside is perfect for aholiday-type occasion. Once you get into the 20's age-wise, it's easy to wallow in the richness of the dram, and forget about being a critic for a while. Macallan's don't make the grade here, since the distillery bottles the 25 at only 43% and priced at $200 or so, which is too expensive to make the cut. Instead, I'm going for a Glenfarclas Christmas or Family Reserve bottling. Not inexpensive and only available in Europe, but worth tracking down.
Also recommnded is The Bottlers 1965/35 years old. If you can't find a cooperative mule, and don't want to trust trans-Atlantic shipping, there are a possible alternatives. Blackadder is currently selling two Blairfindy's, said to be Glenfarclas. They are 20 and 24 years old, and priced at $120 and $140 respectively. There are also various Cadenhead and Signatory Macallans floating around, and Murray McDavid also seems to always have a worthwhile 20-something Macallan in their range. You could also substitute an older Longmorn, there are Scott's Selelctions and Vintage Hallmark of St. James bottling currently available in the $120-150 range.

4) Longrow 25yo 1974 (46%, OB).
OK, this one is a ringer, since it costs $500 or so. So why exactly is it here? Let me explain. While I have been up and down about the standard 10 year Longrow, I've actually sampled the 25, and it is awesome. Now, here's why I list it. Longrow has been distilled every year since 1990. In Michael Jackson's 1993 edition, he mentions that Longrow will be bottled as a 14 year old beginning in 2004. Now we naturally can't hold the distillery to this, but you can be pretty sure that there will be some older Longrow released in another couple of years. Also, the Malt Advocate spoke highly of an older 18 year old Cadenhead bottling. Keeping in mind that Longrow is a peated Springbank and peated whiskies start to fade a bit when they hit middle age, so the prospect of a 14-18 year Longrow is quite appealing!!

5) Brora.
The one's from the 70's have acquired a large cult following, having been distilled as a heavily peated Clynelish intended to be a Lagavulin substitute for blending. There are still plenty of Rare Malts and OMC's to choose from. The OMC 1971/28 is absolutely splendid, but the 1981/18 was right behind. One warning, the 1981/18yr I tried in Las Vegas was a bourbon cask, the 1981/19 sherry cask OMC that was imported to the US is really a Clynelish taste-wise, albeit quite an excellent one. Stick with bourbon casks, unless you have specific knowledge of the bottle you are purchasing.

6) Younger Springbanks.
For a couple of years, I enjoyed the 12 year 46% so much, that I didn't seen much need to hit my 21 very often. The 12 is gone now, and the 10 year old that replaced it is in its second release. The first was more honest than the 12, but most Springbank lovers, myself included, felt that it lacked the magic touch. The second release has a bit more sherry casked whisky vatted in, and is a big improvment. It's still a bit young, but the importer is holding the line on price, and for $40 or so, a fine value.
About to hit the shores over here is the new 15. My arithmetic tells me that the 15 is the 12 that I loved so much, with an extra 3 years in the cask. There may also be some vatting involved, which should satisfy the critics who felt that the 12 went over the top. If you keep a bottle of both the 10 and 15 in your supply, your bottle of older Springbank listed above will last a long time. I would also look for a cask strength independent bottling to serve the same purpose.

7) Lagavulin 16yo (43%, OB).
Johannes got me onto this stuff back in the 'old days' (1997), and I've gone thru more bottles of it than of any other whisky. Although my consumption of the Big L has slacked off in the last few years, I am reminded of how great it is every time I have a dram. My stock dates back a few years, but if the current versions has indeed gone downhill, it is very sad for the whisky world.

8) Highland Park 18yo (43%, OB).
The HP 12 was my second 'real' SMS, and it totally bowled me over. The perfect balance of smoke, heather, and honey, with a finish that can only be described as orgasmic (I can't take credit for this verbiage though, it was mentioned on the Plowed page). The 18 is clearly a step up over the 12, the 50% age difference being well worth the 50% price increase. As Craig once pointed out, the independents rarely capture the distillery profile, so you don't have to scour the world for the perfect bottle. And the HP is one dram that you can offer to your non-initiated company and get a positive reaction every time. I wouldn't lose sleep about not being able to afford the 1977 22 year old Bicentennial, as it isn't worth double the price. For what it's worth, the 25 at $175 to $200 IS worth the ticket, I'm told by those lucky enough to have tried it.

9) Bowmore 15yo Mariner.
The Bowmore 12 was my first 'real' SMS, and therefore, my first Islay. The 15 takes to 12 a step farther, with a 'let it all hang out' character. Bowmore seems to peak in intensity at 15 years, as the 17 has mellowed a bit. This is one of my contrarian selections, as I prefer the 15, even though the 17 may have more complexity.

10) Glenmorangie Cellar 12 (43%, OB) and Traditional 100 Proof (57.2%, OB).
And my last selection represents the lighter side of the single malt universe.
The C13 is a definite improvment over the 10, more robust, with a delightful underpinning on pineapple. A worthwhile upgrade is the Traditional 100 Proof, actually 57.2% ABV, and not chill filtered. And here is the best part, at least for US readers. While the Cellar 13 and Traditional are not imported over here, they are both sold in the duty free shops in England. So just have your relative, friend, or coworker grab a bottle for you on their way home, and reimburse them upon receipt. The duty free price is for the Cellar 13 about the same as the 10 over here with the Traditional just a bit higher, so you do really well here.

Louis
 

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E-pistle #01/11  -  Shorthand Highlights of 2001
by Craig Daniels, Australia

Best Malts of 2001 - Malt, Date & Score:

1 - Glengoyne 1972 (55.9%, Lang Bros, Cask #583) - 22/08/2001 - 8.41
2 - Macallan 18yo 1982 (43%, OB) - 02/05/2001 - 8.32
3 - Bowmore 14yo Darkest (43%, OB) - 02/05/2001 - 8.26
4 - Highland Park 18yo (43%, OB) - 02/05/2001 - 8.23
5 - Aberlour A'bunadh Batch #6 (59.9%, OB) - 28/02/2001 - 8.14

NB: The club records show that the Glengoyne is the second highest scoring malt of all time (after Black Bowmore).  I acknowledge that this might seem slightly incongruous and slightly inflated, reflecting more generous markers than in the past, but I, for one, wouldn't quibble about the quality or relative merits of the Top 5, nor the order in which they finished.  The Glengoyne was evidently delightful - soft and smooth and very creme caramel, but without any of the salty game meat that spoils most 'fudgy' noses. Nosing it was like sinking into a soft doona after 30 hours without sleep. Ahhhhhhh!!!  Those five would make a great start to a worthy top shelf for any licensed establishment with pretensions to catering to the most demanding of aficionados.

Millennium Malt Convocation - 9 May 2001

Why?

Good Question.  The original idea was to get the Earls to have a Club function at Martinha's Training Restaurant at Adelaide TAFE and it was floated over (lots of) malts by Rodger Thomas and Craig Morton at the Earls' Christmas Show in November 2000.  One thing I knew at the outset was that the Earls couldn't muster the 80-90 needed to secure sole occupancy of the restaurant.  I saw an opportunity (and a fitting occasion) to get the disparate Adelaide malt communities together for a celebration and maybe recruit some new members for the Club at the same time.  Viscerally, I knew we'd need the other clubs to contribute critical mass, so I approached the other 'public' malt clubs in Adelaide to gauge the level of interest.  We needed a minimum of 85 diners but couldn't cater for 85 maltsters so we needed some non-malt drinkers in the party. 
I desperately wanted to set up a Management Committee to spread the load, but Steve Matthews and others were far too smart to fall for that one.  While a committee of sorts eventuated and worked to some extent, I guess I ended up being the prime mover, a bit of a reluctant custodian and ended up carrying more responsibility than I was comfortable about.  While the confidence of the progenitors never wavered (and as it turned out they were right), I sided mostly with the pessimists who thought that we'd never get the numbers.  This made me very nervous (as the Earls ended up underwriting any possible losses) and up until I'd paid the restaurant their money at around 11.15pm on 9 May 2001, I was an anxiety attack waiting to happen.

Who?

Despite Geoff Holden's kind words (although I'm still not sure that being described as a 'loose cannon' is any kind of compliment), there are people that I must thank and acknowledge, because in all honesty it was a long, long way from a one-man band.  Firstly, it wasn't my idea, although I was happy to run with it once it had life breathed in to it.  I want to acknowledge co-operation from all fellow boosters who rounded up the faithful and managed to attract quite a few fresh faces.  I also want to thank the MC, Geoff Holden and all the speakers: Bob Perry, Steve Matthews and Bronte Milde and a very big and especial thanks must go to Graham Wright of Baily and Baily Liquor Stores (our sponsor) for providing the raffle prizes.  The restaurant staff also did a great job, through negotiations over numbers, pricing & menus through to delivery on the night.

What?

The name was all my own work.  Please forgive me my trespasses as it was a bit of an esoteric private joke. (You can decide whether it displays erudition or is just plain wank).  Firstly, I'm firmly in the camp that believes that you start counting at 1 and not zero, therefore the 'true' millennium was 2001 and all those that turned 2000 into a big deal are just a bunch of premature celebrators.  And forgive me my fascination with words, but Convocation seemed perfect as it's a word that evokes and describes both the clerical and academic worlds, and seemed most apposite for a studied veneration of the malt. The Malt selection and the final menu were consensus committee decisions and I thought the whole concept worked well.

Where to now?

Someone else can have a try if they want and I'd be happy to offer advice to anyone planning another event of similar magnitude.  I have nothing but good things to say about the malt suppliers, our sponsors, the restaurant, the function management, the service and the food, but as far as I'm concerned it was a one-off and I wouldn't be keen to try to repeat the exercise.  I learned a lot and I'd do very few things differently, but it was a lot of work and angst for a meagre surplus when all is said and done and after all it's a long time between Millenniums.

National Malt Tasting Competition - 24 June 2001

I can't resist revisiting this again.  It was the second clean sweep for the Earls (the first was in 1995) and the Earls carried off all the prize money and all the trophies, but getting the first three in the individual competition (with Bronte coming third) was a first.  This was the most successful team effort in the history of the Club.  I guess that must mean we know something about scotch? Who'd credit that??

"The Glenfiddich"  Australian Malt Taster of the Year - 2001 - Paul Rasmussen
"The Glenfiddich"  Australian Malt Taster of the Year - 2001 - Runner Up - Craig Daniels
BAKER YOUNG Team Trophy - Australian Malt Whisky Tasters Championship - Paul Rasmussen and Craig Daniels

While Paul and I did exceptionally well, I would also like to acknowledge the other members of the Earls who helped make it possible.  The camaraderie and the revolving practice sessions at both Martin's and Bob's houses and the willing contributions of others (such as an absent friend in Bob Reid) in the preparation of blind (masked) line-ups requiring advanced levels of discrimination helped mightily in the preparation and hardening of the mettle.  I'm sure that we're the only Club that tries this hard to replicate competition conditions during training.

Paul has expressed a desire to defend his title and to guard against a Premiership hangover we'll probably be cranking up the Earls of Zetland/Clan Drummond Malt Academy sometime late in March 2002.  However, Paul may be destined for career advancement overseas in 2002, so I might be searching for a new training partner.  Enrolments will be accepted from any Earls member willing to supply training material and keen to train hard.  After initial selection trials & other negotiations, provision of drams of 4 malts from the competition practice list (and an occasional venue) for training sessions is essential.  Given that Paul managed to win from the 'death seat' last year, (an effort of which I remain in complete awe), I'm desperate to move the odds in our favour, so I'll be making supplicatory offerings to the Malt Gods beseeching a better competition table number in 2002.

The 2001 Christmas Show

Despite predictions, the Christmas Challenge ended up proving far too tricky as nobody managed to get them all right.  I think that result reflects the advanced level of knavish duplicity of the perpetrators that chose the malts, but it also shows that some whiskies can be remarkably similar.  An honourable mention goes to those that came closest, so warmest congratulations to John Rasmussen, Allan May, Bernie Glover, Paul Henderson & Geoff Jarrett.  I confess that I thought Lagavulin 16 was Laphroaig 10 and plenty of others thought Glenmorangie 10 was Tobermory 10.  At first thought, that seems incongruous, but when I think about it, maybe it's not so strange; both are (as near as) unpeated, both are (almost assuredly) 100% bourbon wood and both come from distilleries adjacent to the sea.  I got orange blossom and cream on toast, so I never thought it was Tobermory, but I was in the significant minority.  However, most weren't fooled into thinking Old Pulteney 12 was Oban 14 or that Scapa 12 was Bruichladdich 15, but the choice between Bunnahabhain and Talisker was split almost 50/50.  As you'd probably expect the scores got better as the whiskies got more intense and Lagavulin and Talisker scored well yet again, regardless of what tasters actually thought they were.  All in all a remarkably worthwhile experiment and a great way to cap off an eventful and successful year for (and by) the Earls.

The Big Malt Auction - 28 November 2001

While the Club managed to accumulate a nice collection of malts in 2001 this was augmented in a serious way in November 2001.  As a result we start 2002 with 30 malts in the kitty and in debt to a few members who came to the rescue of the profligate Treasurer, who managed to exhaust the club's fiscal reserves and then some at the auction.  Mea culpa, but there are some truly stellar whiskies amongst them and some exciting museum pieces that will provide irreplaceable snapshots of style on malts bottled in the 70's, 80's and 90's as well as providing material for lots of "Old versus New" experiments.  We'll try to swap some multiple stock with other clubs to widen our range and we will start reducing the inventory immediately, but we'll have a few remaining for 2003 and beyond.

2002 - The Malt Adventure Continues…. at a glance

January 23rd - Arran / Isle of Jura 10 / Highland Park 18
February 27th - Inchmurrin 10 / Glen Garioch 15 / Ardbeg 10 (US 750ml)
March 27th - Macallan 25 1975 / Macallan 1975 25 CS 54% / Mystery Macallan Malt
April 24th - Old Pulteney 8 (c1976) / Balblair 10 (c1980) / Dalmore 12 (c1994)
May 22nd - Blinds Galore (4 Malts from the Competition List / A Competition Practice Night)
June 26th - Bowmore Legend / Bowmore 17 / Bowmore 1965
July 24th - Benrinnes 21 UDRM / Aberlour a'bunadh / Glenury Royal 23 UDRM
August 28th - Ardbeg 10 / Caol Ila 1984 / Laphroaig 15
September 25th - POT LUCK (Trade Goods & Interclub Swaps)
October 23rd - Glenrothes 8 / Glenrothes 1989 11 / Glenrothes 1973 26
November 27th - Christmas Show (5 Premium Malts)

Craig Daniels
 

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E-pistle #01/12 - Laphroaig JOLT Transcript
by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland

On December 22, 2001 (the first day of winter in the Northern hemisphere), malt maniacs around the world joined each other in cyberspace for the very first official Malt Maniacs JOLT (Joint On-Line Tasting) - and we had a blast. We concentrated our tasting efforts on single malts produced by the ultimate 'antifreeze' distillery; Laphroaig on the isle of islay.
Most of the maniacs are Islay lovers so it seemed appropriate to make our first JOLT a peaty one.
CLICK HERE to read the transcript of the proceedings - trust me, it's worth it.

Johannes

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