Malt Maniacs #3
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E-pistle #03/01 - An interview with Raymond 'Bladnoch' Armstrong The number of active Lowland distilleries has dropped at an alarming rate over the last decades. For a while, it seemed like Bladnoch would share the fate of Saint
Magdalene and Ladyburn, forever lost to Lowland lovers around the world. Fortunately, Irishman Raymond Armstrong came to the rescue. We thought we'd ask him a few questions about his adventures in the whisky industry.
The interview is published on a seperate page; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - E-pistle #03/02 - Aqua Dolce Vita Italy isn't very far from my place. Colmar, Basel, Luzern, the Gotthard tunnel, Como... And you arrive in Lombardy. A four hours drive, to swap our Renish humanistic Alsace for
Milan's Italian madness. Pasta, scooters, the wonders of the Renaissance, Ferrari, Ducati, Chianti and... Scotch whiskies. Uh-oh! Scotch whiskies? You mean Grappa! No sir. I was really talking about Scotch whisky. Being a malt
aficionado, I guess you've already heard of Sestante, Corsini, Donato, Moon Import... All those companies are (or were) genuinely Italian, and their Ardbegs, Port Ellens, Laphroaigs, Lagavulins and other heavy-hitters are amongst
the most sought after malts in the world. Plus, everybody knows The Macallan 7 yrs, "exclusiva per il mercato Italiano". Having read this, you'll easily understand why my "spring whisky-hunting trip", this year,
took me to the realm of Botticelli, Michelangelo, Dante... and Samaroli. First stage of the journey: Milan A place called "Bar Metro", Piazza de Angeli. Man, if you ever have the opportunity to visit
Giorgio d'Ambrosio's cellar, jump at it! Bottles everywhere. Thousands of bottles. I start to gaze at the shelves, and I dare to say to Mr. d'Ambrosio: " have you got some Port Ellens? " This must have been the stupidest
question Giorgio had ever heard. He points a finger: " yes, look there! " Gosh! As you may guess, this leads me to an even more intense state of MaltMania. But what to buy?
There're so many interesting bottles! You know, the kind of bottles you can see on the Internet, while browsing McTear's site, or some collector's sites - but you never see them in real life. In one word: dream bottles. Suddenly, I
think about Murray McDavid's Lochside 1981. It was so good when I tasted it with Mark Reynier, last month ! Mark hadn't any left for sale, but Giorgio had one. I bought it, of course. Dear reader, I won't
explain why I bought also a Glenlossie Sestante 20 yrs (yes, the shield label), or the Mortlach G&M 21 yrs (yes, the old one, with the funny piper on the label), or the Strathisla-Glenlivet G&M 15 yrs (yes, the old white
label stating 26 2/3 FL. OZS), or the Macallan-Glenlivet Murray, McDavid (I put the comma on purpose) 1974-1995... That would be too long. But let me tell you the following: As I had my camera in my pocket, I asked Mr. d'Ambrosio
if I could take some pictures of his collection. He said : " No problem, but how many pictures have you left in your camera? "Oh putain!" Yes, that's what I said at this very moment. I know this is awful, but I couldn't
refrain from saying it. If you don't read French... well, don't count on me. Anyway, this second cellar was full of even more stunning bottles. Thousands of bottles. That was Mr. d'Ambrosio's own private collection. I didn't ask
whether some bottles were for sale. First, because I felt that asking would have been a sacrilege, and secondly, because I didn't see any bottle worth less than, let's say 1,000 Euros! But what should I say about those bottles?
Well, hundreds (I guess) of Macallans, hundreds of bottles from distilleries that are no longer active since... 1900, hundreds of Springbanks, Ardbegs, Laphroaigs... Suddenly, I tried to be smart. " Have you got some... Black
Bowmore? " I couldn't think about any other collector's bottle. My brain was so confused ! He answered : I don't know why I tried to be even smarter, at this point. I said : " hey, have you got one of the 120 bottles of Glenfarclas 25 yrs
Jim Clark? ", while thinking: " perhaps he hasn't got any. I've got one bottle, so, if he hasn't got one, I sort of win! " Stupid, uh? (I know what you think, Craig and Klaus). Anyway, he answered : " Wait, I'll
show you something ". And he came back with a Bowmore Jim Clark... Limited edition... Bottle Nr. 1 of... 1! As you can guess, Giorgio d'Ambrosio showed me many other fantastic bottles. Hand cut crystal decanters, signed
bottles (Jim McEwan, George Urquart etc.), a Port Ellen from the 19th Century... Now, you may ask: " did you have a dram with the man? " Yes sir, and it was one of the best drams I ever had. It was a Glen Avon 1953, and
it was amazing, I can tell you! Well, I feel I should conclude now. So, please, if you ever happen to go to Milan (O.K. Roman?), go to Barmetro, and ask for Giorgio d'Ambrosio. That will make your day! Second stage: Bologna
Bologna is a very, very nice old city. The food is excellent... And there are two very famous whisky shops (well, that's what one would call " going straight to the point "). The Antica Trattoria da Sandro al
Navile, via San Donato, is very far from the city center, and quite difficult to find. It's a restaurant, but there's a wine and spirit shop next to it. I arrived there at 10 a.m., but the shop was closed. I asked for Sandro, and
he came quite quickly from the restaurant. Hum, I felt that I was disturbing him. He opened the door, and we entered a small shop overloaded with thousands of bottles. Wine, rum, whiskies... More than 3,500 bottles of whisky are
sleeping there, plus a 1954 Moto Guzzi Falcone 500. Such a superb motorbike surrounded by thousands of marvelous malts... That could have been a vision of paradise. But Mr. " Sandro " seems to be in a real hurry. He's
glancing at his watches every 30 seconds, while spouting a long speech about the quantities of different Macallans, different Yquems, different Dom Perignons, Different Petrus, different this, different that... I tried my
all-famous " Have you got some Port Ellen? " He answered : " Yes ". I asked " Would you sell some? " He answered " Yes ". But he started to look at his watches more and more intensely. The
message was as clear as fresh (Highland) water : " Please go away, I've no time for you ". That's what I did. Hey, more money left for the next shop! Back to Bologna's center. Well, not exactly the center, but not far
from it. The place is called " Kik Bar - The Whisky House ". It's not on Route 66, where you get your " kicks ", but via San Donato. O.K., that's not funny. Anyway, the place is quite chic. As every liquor shop
in Italy, they also sell other goods. Pastry, pasta, olive oil, cookies etc. Some elegant Italian men and women are standing at the counter, drinking coffee (ristretto!) or red wine. I ask for the owner... The man comes right away.
I ask " Parlez-vous Fran¨ais? Do you speak English? " The man smiles embarrassedly. Well, I should learn Italian ! (What ? I'd better improve my English?) Anyway, " whisky " is an international word. So, I
say " whisky ". The man's smile's getting wider, and he goes directly to the cellar. I understand that I should follow him... And that was a good idea. What a nice, clean place! Hundreds of bottles, all standing in shiny
glass cases. The range is less impressive than Giorgio's or Sandro's, no really old bottles, but still very interesting. Now, guess was my first question? Yes, I asked : " Port Ellen? " (this is the expurgated version).
The man showed me different bottlings, especially some from his own brand, The Whisky House , imported through the " Taverna degli Artisti ", which is famous among the PE collectors. I bought an 11 yrs 1983-1994, and a 17
yrs 1980-1997. Then, I asked several other questions, using our very poor, but understandable common vocabulary : This ended with a reasonable
number of bottles to carry out, the only OB being Royal Brackla 8 years, which I bought because it was very cheap (18 Euros or so). The man kindly gave me a very nice " The Whisky House " bar-mirror for free, and I
decided to hit the road again, in the direction of Firenze (Florence). Third stage: Florence No need to say that Florence is one of the most beautiful cities of the world. And you'll understand that I preferred to spend
some time visiting the Galleria degli Offizzi, the Batistero, the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, The Palazzo Medici etc., rather than doing some whisky archeology in some old dusty shop. Botticelli's Birth of Venus rather than an Ardbeg
Samaroli? Donatello's David rather than Laphroaig? Of course, I'm not that maniac! But having said that, I found some time to visit an Italian supermarket, and a little wine shop as well. Nothing really special in the
" Essalunga " supermarket, except the famous Macallan 7 yrs (for 14,50 Euros only) and an intriguing Bowmore 8 yrs for 18 Euros. Please, if you've got any piece of information about this Bowmore 8 yrs, please drop me an
email. Is it another labeling for Bowmore Legend?
Fourth - and last - stage: Sienna What a marvelous city as well! But well, I must be a natural-born whisky hunter! Guess what? While I was wandering in the little streets, I noticed a street called " via del Paradiso ".
Charming name, isn't it? So, I decided to go up the via del Paradiso... until I saw a little wine shop, the " Enoteca San Domenico ". I entered the shop, just to browse the shelves. Chianti Classico, Brunello, Barolo
(hmmm, Angelo Gaja), Asti Spumante, Barbera, grappas, lemon liquors, olive oils, dried ceps, multicolored pastas, macaroons, sweets... ... Suddenly, I noticed a very little shelf, carrying five or six bottles of whisky.
Lagavulin, blabla, Laphroaig, blabla, Cragganmore, blabla... and... no, it's not possible!... A bottle of Port Ellen Cooper's Choice Cask Strength 1983-1999! A divine discovery, indeed. So, never forget this new and genuine
MaltManiac's maxim: "Small place, big whisky." ;-) Now, back to our hotel in Florence (Pensione Bencista in Fiesole - very good address). A lot of work to load all the bottles plus the luggage aboard my car... The,
driving north... Milan again, Como, the Swiss border... O.K., the customs didn't ask for anything... ouf, as we say in France... the Gottardo, surprise meeting with Carla Bley and Steve Swallow, two famous jazz players, at a Swiss
filling-station... nice chat with them... then Luzern, Basel, Colmar. Serge Valentin - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - E-pistle #03/03 - Feis Ile 2002, May 25th - June 1st, 2002 The Isle of Islay is a malt lover's paradise. Whether you are a newcomer to the world of single malt Scotch whisky, or
a seasoned veteran, you will probably have seen a bottle of Islay single malt on the shelves of your local haunt- and at one point or another scratched your head in amazement or confusion. Situated off the west coast of
Scotland, Islay has seven working distilleries; and produce whiskies which are often as challenging to pronounce as they are to the palate. From the lightly peated Bunnahabhain and Bruichladdich, to the hefty Caol Ila and Bowmore,
then south to the infamous Kildalton distilleries- who produce some of the most heavily peated whisky available- Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig, you will no doubt find a whisky that suits your palate among them. Many find
the smoky, medicinal flavors of the more assertive malts to be unappealing and shun them. Others enjoy the flavor so enthusiastically the whiskies achieve a cult status and are virtually worshipped. Either way, there is
something special about the island and it's whiskies- and it is no doubt deserving of the title "The Queen of the Hebrides". I was fortunate enough to make my way to Islay for Feis Ile 2002- the festival of whisky and
music. There, every year the distilleries open up their doors and bottles for all to experience and celebrate the fierce independence and rugged beauty of the island, its people and its whisky. May 24th, 2002 - Campbeltown, Mull of Kintyre, Argyll After a long day of exploring the town for lost
distilleries, visiting Springbank, foafing Eaglesome and a trek out to Davaar Island in the miserable weather, I settled down to dinner at the Ardshiel. The appetizer was smoked salmon, the main course was local scallops and
desert was a brandy basket. "While in Rome do as the Romans do" they say- so the theme of the night was Campbeltown malts, although it was a short night, having to get up early next morning for the ferry. I
sat down and resigned myself to taste the two previous Longrow official bottlings head to head and have a serious go at the Glen Scotia. Longrow 10yo 1990 'Sherry' (46%, no neck label) Longrow 10yo 1990 'Bourbon' (46%, no neck label) Glen Scotia 12yo (43%, OB, predecessor of the current 14yo release) May 25th, 2002 - Campbeltown to Kennacraig to Port Ellen Embarkation was after an early breakfast of oatcakes, fruit and cheese overlooking Campbeltown Loch. I DO wish it were whisky! Driving through the
miserable rain, we arrived at Kennacraig ferry and were off! The 2 hour journey rolled by, and before I knew it images of the Kildalton distillery warehouses loomed before me on the shore, appearing like apparitions from the
heavens. It dawned on me - I was finally on Islay! Of course with my luck, the gentleman in front of me on the ferry had his car die on him, blocking my way out. After a few minutes they managed to get him going
with a good push, only for him to stall out again right in front of me (nearly causing my first accident on Islay in less than a minute on shore!). From Port Ellen it was a race up to Ardbeg to snatch my Feis Ile and Committee
bottlings. Who do I bump into at the gift shop but our own Malt Maniac The highlight of the tour itself was being able to taste the wash straight from the
washback. It was like nothing else I've ever tasted - like a warm, peaty beer. Excellent stuff, but no time to stand around and stare - I've a tasting to attend, hosted by Donald Renwick, the manager. After being
ushered through the hallowed halls of the distillery, we came to rest in a quaint and rustic room tastefully decorated with plenty of natural light - the perfect setting for a wee tasting. Port Ellen 22yo 1979 (52.5%, WIP) Lagavulin 12yo 1990 Cask Strength
(55.7%, WIP) Lagavulin 25yo 1977 (57.2%, WIP) Talisker 20yo 1982 (62%, WIP)
Wow! That last Talisker was amazing, although it had no house character whatsoever. After unpacking at Claggan, I headed off to do some shopping at the Co-op in Bowmore. Of course a visit to the whisky shops and Lochside Inn bar were in
order. Not much time here either, because upon my return I was delighted to find Dave had arranged a vertical tasting of all the Springbank Limited Edition bottlings…. Springbank 25yo LE
(46%, OB) Springbank 30yo LE (46%, OB) Springbank 35yo LE (46%, OB) Springbank 40yo LE (40.1%, OB) Springbank 45yo LE (40.1%, OB) Springbank 50yo LE (40.5%, OB) May 25th, 2002 - Bruichladdich The drive from Bridgend to Bruichladdich follows scenic coastal roads hugging Loch Indaal. After spending some time on the beach before the distillery woke up
for it's big day, I made my way in. Bruichladdich was built in 1847, and what set it apart from it's counterparts on Islay is that it was built for the specific purpose of a distillery as opposed to a converted
farmstead or smugglers squatting ground. Walking into the distillery courtyard- you can see that although there is a haunting beauty here it was certainly designed for function. Everything is centrally located from the
courtyard, from the malt hatches all the way to the main office. It's obvious this place has been well cared for recently, sporting fresh whitewash and some TLC work on the buildings. This is a stark contrast to only 2
years ago, when the distillery sat behind a chained rusty gate, in decay. To say Bruichladdich is traditional would be an understatement. Bruichladdich 15yo (46%, OB, current release) Bruichladdich 32yo 1970/2002 (45.8%, OB, First fill bourbon cask) Bruichladdich 18yo 1986 (52.5%, WIP, Fresh sherry cask) One of the best parts of the class was a presentation for a gentleman who had worked at the distillery since
time out of memory and had actually distilled the 32yo tasted above. His family was in attendance, sitting behind me, and beaming with pride. The presentation was given to Robin Laing's "Coast of Heaven"- I
was not the only one with a tear in my eye. It was both exciting and moving to be at Bruichladdich. I could spend pages mentioning the other wonders, such as the Pipe Band marching through town, for the first time in
years; the dancing, the hospitality, the wonderful food and best yet- the people. But as many of those people did, I threw down my notebook, tossed aside my pen and camera and got lost in the magic of it all. Monday May 27th 2002 - Caol Ila/Port Ellen Maltings Caol Ila is tucked away in a cove near Port Askaig, on the north of the island. After the tour it was on to the warehouse for a
coopering demonstration and a tasting of the new malts lineup. A limited amount of coopering is done onsite, with the major work being done on the mainland by company coopers. Caol Ila 12yo (43%, OB, new release) Caol Ila NAS Cask Strength (55%, OB, new release) Caol Ila 18yo (43%, OB, new release) After some wrangling to get out of my parking spot (with the help of some clever Germans we figured a way around someone who had
boxed me in) it was off to the Port Ellen Maltings for a tour. After the tour, which brought us through all aspects of malting - from selecting barley to the malting itself (in giant drums), to the delivery to the distillers
themselves, we were treated to venison smoked burgers and a malt tasting, with a "chance" to win a bitof the new Port Ellen 1979 OB… Of course I "won" a stiff dram. I had already had some of this (see
previous notes) from my own bottle bought in Edinburgh, but who was I to refuse? Another great aspect of the Maltings tour was being able to taste the barley in different stages of production - and at different peating
levels. In addition, all Islay malts were presented later for nosing, with the aged product, the clearic and the source water. The difference among the Islay distilleries in terms of water quality is amazing! In
addition I found certain clearic to be very palatable as opposed to other new make spirit which was just frightening. I won't name any names, but let it be known there is a difference in the clear spirit that runs from the
stills - a staggering difference. I tasted some wonderful, exciting spirit that was drinkable now as opposed to some real stinkwater. After the tour, it was back to Claggan for more Freestyle Marathon Dramming…
Old Pulteney 26yo 1974 (46%, Highland Selection) Ardbeg 25yo 'Lord of the Isles' (46%, OB) Ardbeg 10yo 1991 (60.3%, Cadenhead's Bond Reserve) Caol Ila 7yo (60.2%, SMWS 53.52)
Bunnahabhain 31yo 1967 'Rare & Old' (40%, Gordon & MacPhail) Tuesday, May 28th, 2002 - Laphroaig This morning we headed over to
Laphroaig for the supertour with Iain Henderson - a true gentleman and a lover of all things Islay. This was my first chance to see a working distillery with maltings - it was a rare treat. We were treated like royalty
as we were escorted through the sacred halls of the distillery, like acolytes following the head druid in a glorious ceremony. In the end, Iain stayed on to sign my "rent" dram, and show me around the back rooms of
the distillery, to Bessie's office and the corporate entertainment area, then to the café for a wonderful light lunch. The distillery was founded in 1815 on farmland used by illicit distillers - but the current buildings date from
much sooner. There is an air here of dignity and respect- something that shows through in all the employees- that they are part of something so much larger…After a long day touring the Kildalton countryside and seascapes, and
visiting the obligatory Kildalton Cross and Chapel it was home to have some Laphroaig, of course! Laphroaig 13yo 1984 (59.8%, Cadenhead's) Laphroaig 10yo 'Cask Strength' (57.3%, OB) Laphroaig 15yo 'Red' (45%, OB, Old bottling; bottled early 1990's) Bunnahabhain 1968 'Family Silver' (40%, OB) Isle of Jura 21yo (40%, OB) Wednesday, May 29th, 2002 - Bruichladdich Mega Private Cask Tasting with Jim McEwan Today was the big day we had all been waiting for - our private cask tasting
with Jim to try and select the next bottling of the "Arbeggeddon". Although today was supposed to be Bowmore's big day, it had to be sacrificed for the greater good. It was time for us to go feast at the altar
of the Malt Gods - The Bruichladdich Warehouse. We arrived at the onsite warehouse and went right to town. Later, it was in the van and over to Port Charlotte to taste some older stuff.
Needless to say I was tasting and not nosing, and becoming fuzzier by the minute. Bruichladdich 32yo 1967 (48%, Signatory Vintage) Bruichladdich 10yo
(46%, current release) Bruichladdich 20yo (46%, current release) Thursday, May 30th, 2002 - Ardbeg It was another early morning; if by chance you hear of the "enthusiasts" who
lined up in Ardbeg's car park at 8 am, well you wouldn't be surprised to know it was me and a few other brave souls. After a poke around the scenic grounds, nestled on the southeast coast of Islay, up the road from Laphroaig
and Lagavulin, I had a glance around the disused maltings building on the other side of the car park. It was like walking in an ancient burial ground; quiet, empty floors, old kilns ripped of their essence and silent pagodas
all now inhabited not by men but by ghosts, and straining against the onslaught of the years. Quietly, I offered a silent toast to those who walked before me in this place, all of whom made Ardbeg what it is today. After a
morning dram of Ardbeg 17yo among the barrels in the courtyard, we were greeted by Jackie Thomson and welcomed into the visitor center. After poking around for a bit in the shop, the first group of maniacs (let's be honest
here) were ushered into the filling store for a most solemn ritual we had all been waiting for - personal cask filling. When Ardbeg had announced that we were going to be able to personally roll, fill, label and seal a cask
of new make Ardbeg, my group made the pact to not miss it for anything. Standing in line, I was told my cask number (1427 - bourbon barrel) and given a miniature of Ardbeg 17yo as a token. When my time came, I used the
paint roller to stencil the cask, wrote my name and a personal message on the cask, then donned the gloves and rolled it to the filling hose. The filling machine is automated, and after a brief instruction, I pulled the lever
and in less than 30 seconds it was full. I was given the bung and a mallet and sealed the cask and rolled it to the side. It was all over in a few minutes, but I won't forget it - and neither will you one day when you
spot a single cask bottling from my proud barrel! I rushed back for my tour with Stuart Thomson, distillery manager. Ardbeg has definitely seen some hard times, but it is very evident that Glenmorangie have put their all
into it now- ensuring us that it will remain and endure for quite some time. The physical plant of the distillery is in good shape- and well cared for. Much of the plant is old and some is newer- the mill is a Boby and
dates from 1921, the washbacks are split between newer pine and older larch and the mash tun dates from 1961. This goes to show you the eclectic attitude of Ardbeg and its owners- if it works, leave it alone. Tradition
is very much the norm here, and use of modern technology is restricted to areas which will not adversely affect the character of the product (warehouse, shop, filling store…). After our wonderful tour, I resigned to the Old
Kiln Café for a superb lunch of tomato and cheese toasties, Scotch broth and Clootie Dumpling w/ ice cream. Who do I bump into there? None other than Jim Murray! After chatting with him, giving me tips and pointers on
various malty topics, he tells me he would never miss out on Ardbeg's big festival day, for he truly believes that it is the greatest spirit on Earth. I take this comment very seriously, and weigh it for a moment- all the
while taking in my surroundings; breathing in the fresh coastal air, feeling the warmth in my stomach from the dram of Ardbeg 1975 straight out of a fino sherry cask- served to me in the warehouse by Stuart Thomson. Greatest
spirit on Earth? I could not agree more. I shared what was left of my fino Ardbeg with Jim. He seemed genuinely pleased with my offering. Isn't that what it's all about?
Later on, it was time for the special Ardbeg dinner hosted by Martine Nouet and Stuart Thomson.
Appetizer: Tuna, lettuce and lemon served on a buttered oatcake. Spanish olives. First Course: Sweet potato veloute with a cloud of lime, perfumed cream and Islay scallops marinated in Glenmorangie served with an
Ardbeg grist roll.
Second Course: Islay Kildalton Beef Casserole with whisky sauce. Main Desert: Citrus fruit salad with malt tea jelly & Mary's marmalade and Mary's shortbread Final Desert: Coffee, cardamom & whisky chocolate cream Friday, May 31st, 2002 - Bunnahabhain The long, winding road up to the distillery makes for a breathtaking drive, especially on the hill overlook the distillery
itself as you descend into the cove that harbors it; but nothing can prepare you for what awaits you here. Here, more than anywhere else I have been on the island, here is where you can find a classic example of "Island
Time". From distillery manager John MacLellan to the greeters in the office, I was given my fare share of face time and treated like a valued friend; all within the context of a relaxing, slowly paced visit.
Bunnahabhain was built around 1881 - there was a major expansion in 1963 but not much has changed. This distillery has a very functional appearance, looking more like a plant than a tourist destination. I was more apt
to ask for a hard hat than a dram of their very fine 12 year old malt. Aside from the industrial appearance (although I must admit it is situated in the most scenic of locations- on the Sound of Islay overlooking the Paps of
Jura) there is a charm about this distillery. The distillery workers were hard at work in the guest room hand labeling the special Feis Ile bottling of 1966 when I arrived, and the pride and care they took in that simple task
was clearly evident. The men held these bottles in hand as if it were their own newborn child, fresh from the womb. I was impressed. I admit, Bunnahabhain has sometimes been perceived as an underdog in the whisky
circles I frequent. That's not to say I don't like it - far from that actually, I have had quite a few excellent bottlings from this distillery; but sadly, it is too often overlooked. The only way to put it to
words is that I was very pleasantly surprised; not only by the wonderful treatment I received from Manager John MacLellan and the rest of the distillery workers, but by the quality that was evident in the process and the
product. At my post tour dram, I looked at my Bunnahabhain 12 in a new light… Some other items of note were the odd, onion shaped stills, the self-catering flats (in the distillery grounds available for rental), and
lastly, only a five minute walk around the corner the wreck of the Wyre Majestic easily spotted from shore. After our dram, we were invited to a wee seminar on grain whisky and blending. On my way out of the filling
store, I spotted a sherry butt labeled "Bunnahabhain 1966". The bung hole was bung free so I took a whiff- an amazing interplay of sherry sweetness and malty tones with a bit of peat. I was hooked. I
immediately picked up a bottle of the festival special. Results of the dram and grain tasting are below. The 1966 will be opened at Ardbeggedon this January along with my Douglas Laing Platinum Ardbeg and Brora, watch this
space. Bunnahabhain 12yo (40%, OB) Invergordon 10yo (61%, OB, single grain whisky, ex refill casks) North British 7yo (62%, single grain whisky, ex bourbon casks) Strathclyde 5yo (61%, OB, ex refill casks) After this tasting of mostly pathetic young grain whiskies, I needed to wash my mouth out with something better- so it was off to Claggan to
drink until the Manager's Ball started… Springbank 34yo 1967 (40.9%, Hart Brothers)
Aberlour 12yo 'Sherry Matured' (40%, Duty free) Ardmore 23yo 1977 (58.7%, Signatory Vintage) No more time to dram, it was off to the Manager's Ball and auction;
where a good time was had by all at the expense of soon-to-be-retired Iain Henderson of Laphroaig, who was the subject of a constant ribbing all night. There was a charity auction of cask ends, plenty of Bunnahabhain and
Black Bottle and not to mention the music. A good time was had by all, and it was off to bed for me, after about 7 or 8 drams I didn't have time or motivation to record notes for…. Saturday June 1st, 2002 - Port Ellen to Kennacraig I awoke to a beautiful sunshine coming in my window. Ardbeg 33yo 1967
(49%, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask) Bruichladdich 1986 'Malcolm Greenwood Book Special' (53.5%, Oloroso casks) Glenrothes 1989 (43%, OB) I arrived at Port Ellen ferry early, with
enough time to wander, contemplate and realize how enraptured I was with this wild, desolate, yet beautiful place. I toasted to Islay- and to my week spent here- all the people, distilleries and experiences- I was honored to
be a part of it- even if only briefly. I quaffed the Ardbeg 10yo in my flask, as the ferry pulled in to the terminal. A half hour later, I watched the warehouses of Lagavulin, Laphroaig and Ardbeg shrink slowly into the
mists; the same mists I had seen them rise from not a week before- my heart sunk a little lower in my chest, my head bobbed low and I felt as if I had aged a thousand years in one single moment. Now I know what it's like to have
"Islayitis". But I could not look back forever, for there were more adventures waiting, more lands unexplored, and better yet, more bottles to be opened! Tune in next time for my malty adventures on the Isle of
Skye… Michael Wade - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - E-pistle #03/04 - The Islay Festival: Miss & Mess Well, this will be probably the shortest E-pistle you'll ever read... I promised a due report on the Islay Festival, and here it is. OK, enough name-dropping. Heathrow is just a mess, f... them! And the people at Swiss Air are the less effective ones one could find on Earth.
But you could always read
Serge - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - E-pistle #03/05 - Maltmadness in Amsterdam
Can the presence of five malt maniacs rip the fabric of the single malt continuum apart? A. Preamble A. Preamble The 20th of June. Johannes had spoken out invitations and we came from all
over the world. A very exclusive circle of course: Davin de Kergommeaux from Canada, Roman Parparov from Israel, Serge Valentin and his wife from France and Michael Fornalczyk and I from Germany. Was it the single malt elysium
which was waiting for us? No, - just Johannes' flat in the rather desolate suburbs of Amsterdam. As always Michael and I muled a load of single malts from Hamburg to Johannes (worth 400 Euros). It seems that Johannes' hunger for
new bottles has grown even larger because he received and equally large amount from Serge. B. Day 1: Macallan JOLT Roman was already there when Michael and I arrived after 4.5 h in the car from Hamburg. Davin had to work or at least to listen at a conference at Den Haag and Serge was on the road
from Alsace to the Netherlands. Serge and Davin were still missing and this meant it was time for another malt. I had brought a bottle of Glen Moray NAS
(40%, OB, 'mellowed in Chardonnay barrels') with me. Easy to drink and at 20 Euros a good bang for bucks. I was curious what the others would think about it. Medium pleased was the answer. Not bad for a malt in budget region. Meanwhile the Chinese food Johannes had ordered in foresight arrived. It is always good to have a good foundation when you have to face a lot of malts on one evening. And the list of Macallans was really quite impressive. Then Serge and two friends of Johannes (Maaike and Alexander, who were the hosts of Serge's bed&breakfast lodging) dropped in. Only the hard working Davin was missing. While we were all feasting on the Chinese food he appeared. Now we could solve the riddle about the pronunciation of his name. While Serge and I believed that he would keep to his French ancestors Johannes was of the opinion that he had assimilated the anglo/american langue.
21.30 PM - the table laid out with more than a dozen of different Macallans. Time to start with the JOLT. One last word before I get to the malts. JOLT is the abbreviation of
'Joint On-Line Tasting'. But with five maniacs (Johannes, Davin, Roman, Serge, Klaus) assembled together in one place we were so busy with chatting, nosing and tasting that we kind of forgot to keep our e-mail exchange with the
non-Amsterdam maniacs going. The JOLT was organized as a series of H2H-tastings. For the ratings, consult the table later in this report. And please don't scold me because the tasting notes are so sparse. First of all, I didn't
want to bore you with endless repetitions of the Macallan house style, and second of all…well, there were so many malts to finish this evening... Macallan 7yo (40%, OB, International) vs Macallan 10yo (40%, OB)
The Mac 7 is usually only available in Italy. This one here had somehow found its way into a duty free shop. It was a disappointment. Fruity and light with some sherry in the nose but also chemistry with artificial esters. The
taste: sweet, fruity and some bitterness in the finish - not very macallanish. Those of the maniacs who had already tried the Mac 7yo earlier from another bottle agreed that their earlier experience was more pleasant. The Mac 10
gave an impression of the typical house style. Fruity sweetness, with raisins, sherry, toffee and a touch of wood in nose and taste. Nothing to get crazy upon. I have better memories on earlier tasted Mac10s.
Macallan 12yo (40%, OB) vs Macallan 12yo (43%,OB) Our fellow maniac Craig Daniels from Australia had sent alarming emails with the observation that the new 40% Macallan bottling has lost considerably in quality
compared to the old 43%. Time to check this statement. When first poured into the glass the 40% unfolded a very strong aroma but with unpleasant edges. Waiting several minutes smoothed the edges but there was still something which
should not have been there. The 43% Mac 12yo behaved like I know him - the typical aroma, no need to describe it again. The differences in the nose could best be detected in Johannes' big cognac bowls. In the taste the
differences between the two bottles were only marginal. Fruits, sherry, raisins, toffee, chocolate and wood in both. All maniacs present rated the 40% bottle at least 2 points lower than the 43%. This might confirm Craig's warning.
But there is also another possible explanation. The 40% bottle was fresh opened whereas the 43% had some air for several weeks. I never experienced the necessity for breaking in with Macallans but maybe that has changed.
Macallan 15yo 1984 (43%, OB) vs Macallan 18yo 1982 (43%, OB) Now we come to the above standard Macs. Macallan 'Twenties' (40%, OB) vs Macallan 'Thirties'
(40%, OB) Serge had supplied the complete Macallan Travellers Series. Wow! Great! And thanks a lot. All maniacs were rather curious. It is said that Macallan tried to imitate the taste and style of Macs from earlier decades with
these special bottlings. The bottles contain 0.5 litre and look very nice. The price is reasonable too, - 35 Euros here in Germany. Macallan 'Forties' (40%, OB) vs Macallan 'Fifties' (40%, OB) My tasting notes become even more sparse. Nothing about the nose of
Fourties. I guess this means that there were no surprising impressions like gunpowder, blood and steel aroma (remember this malt should resemble the world war 2 decade). But the taste is really special. Lots of peat and some
fruity sweetness. Have they composed it of a medium Islay and a below average Macallan? I don't like it. In the fifties, the house style must have improved. A big c/s like sherry nose in the Travel Fifties and also an above average
amount of sherry in the taste. Summary on the Travel Series: I think we all had expected amazing discoveries and were slightly disappointed. "What have you expected? They can't have chosen excellent malts", said Serge
and pointed at the bottle's price. He is right. And so I will pronounce my harsh judgement: A clever Macallan marketing trick supported by Michael Jackson ratings which are definitely too high. If you like Macallan 10yo/12yo or
older then keep drinking these malts, provided you are able to tame your curiosity. The Travel bottlings will not reach that standard. Macallan 10yo '100 Proof' (57%, OB) vs Macallan 10yo Cask Strength (58,8%, OB)
It was already late at night when we came to the real heavy-weights. Two cask strength Macallan OBs. The Macallan 10yo 100 Proof was a bottle which Johannes had organized for me at my second visit at Amsterdam and I had
been disciplined enough not to consume it all by myself in the month that lay behind. Now it served as a benchmark for the new Macallan c/s. Ratings for Macallans tasted during the JOLT:
07yo (40.0%) SV=59, RP=68, DK=70, KE=70, JH=65 (new, international bottle) Good night. With the
overproof Macallans as a last kick off for our livers, one of the maniacs (I guess it was Serge) came to the conclusion that maybe we should stop here. Wise choice. But that left these independent bottlings unexplored:
- Macallan 1991/2001 'Speymalt' (40%, G&M) Very sad, but it was well past 2:00 AM. Serge headed back to the centre of Amsterdam together with Maaike and Alexander.
Roman was already fast asleep on the old mattress in the kitchen, having missed the c/s Macallans. He had slept only a few hours during the last days, so this is pardonable. Davin prepared for visiting Morpheus' arms as soon as
possible. So there were only Johannes, Michael and I on the balcony. Enjoying one last malt and a cigar. (Click HERE for the full MacJOLT transcript.) C. Day 2: Overproof Extravaganza Spending Day 2 in Amsterdam. Slept medium nice on Johannes' couch. 12:00PM - phone call with Serge. We will meet with him in the city, Rembrandts place. There is a nice café where we can have breakfast with an interesting overview on the streets. We, that means
Johannes, Roman, Michael and I took the subway. We arrived relatively early and that meant we had time to purchase cigars, a good buy when you are in Amsterdam. Up the stairs to the café and waiting for Serge and his wife
Frédérique. He came and it goes on as last evening: chatting, eating, smoking - only the malts are missing. But it was really too early for it. By the way, none of us showed traces of last eves tasting. 13:30PM came near.
It was a national duty for Michael and me to watch the world championship game Germany against the USA in some Amsterdam bar. We had discussed everything with Johannes. While Michael and I watched TV, the others would behave like
the citizens every government wants - they went shopping. The Woods... I think Johannes had
cancelled most of his invitations for his famous midsummer festival because there was a large chance of rain. But the maniacs felt bold with the sun shining on their heads. Why not celebrate the overproof extravaganza at that
mysterious place known as 'the woods'? Heading back to Johannes flat and filling the cars with malts and soft drinks. The woods are approximately 70 kilometres away from Amsterdam and one of the few places in the Netherlands which
will not drown when the dams crash because it is almost 50 meters above sea level. The location is really nice. A small house and then a place with a shed where we sat enjoying the malts. Later we moved into the shed because it
became too cold. The sleeping place lay on a clearing 50 metres into the woods. Here we erected our tents. Short remark about the camp: 1. Johannes had just bought a new tent. He may be a true malt master but his knowledge to
build up tents is very limited. He needed more than 30 minutes for that simple task. 2. I couldn't get the air mattress I had borrowed from my girl friend into any of the tents. Wow! 140 cm width, - that's really large. Did she
want to sleep next to me in spirit? Now I had to decide either to sleep under the open sky or on plain ground in a tent. Two other guests were joining us. No 1 a nice young lady named Esmeralda, the other one Eric dressed in an
RTL overall who just came from a marathon TV-taping session. But now enough babble about the surrounding circumstances. I know what you really want to know about: SINGLE MALTS. We had a lot of them, but I must apologize. I didn't
write down any notes. The tasting conditions were not exemplary with only one glass cleaned by a plash of water after each malt. And worst of all, usually I can drink malt in cask strength quite well but this evening every sip was
burning in my stomach like a lump of phosphorus. These are some of the malts we had transported from Johannes' flat to the woods: Aberfeldy 1978/1996 (59.3%, Scott's Selection, 70cl) There were also two bottles which did not fit into the scope:
McCormick Platte Valley 100% Straight Corn Whiskey (40%, OB, 75cl)
We strengthened ourselves with Chinese food again and then we were ready for the malts. The next heavy weight was the Port Ellen 22yo 1978/2000 (60.5%, UDRM). The Ardbeg 24yo 1975/2000
(50%, OMC) is another bottle which provokes nice memories. When we opened the bottle and poured a dram into our glasses Serge said "Oh boys, - this is exactly how it smells in the distilleries rooms." He had been at the Islay festival a month before and of course visited Ardbeg. But how does Ardbeg smell? Grain, leather, yeast? Damned, I have almost forgotten it. The same is true for the taste. Vague impression of an Islay rowdy who has settled down. Still able to deal out a peaty punch but now with finesse.
Meanwhile it had grown rather cold. And although the whisky warmed us we moved into the shed. I tried Serge's 'grappa'. A mistake because I didn't really like it. Sorry, I am no wine man. But the worst of all, it ruined my dram
of St. Magdalene UDRM. Although I cleaned my glass two times with water the aroma of the Marc de Gewurztraminer was still there. Very sad but since Serge supplied me with a full bottle of this malt I could stand it. The evening
went on and it was time to go for Serge and his wife. Their children were waiting for them in France. A good excuse for a short break. Here some words of thanks for the women of whisky drinking men are appropriate. These flowers
are so brave. The whole evening they have to endure the whisky babble, their men smell like a burned down building when they had some Islays and comes the time the man finally leaves he is at least in a state of slight drunkenness.
A big thanks to these ladies. Before it was time to say goodbye Johannes surprised everybody with a wonderful gift. Two large cognac bowls for each maniac. I think his idea was that this should become the malt maniacs reference
glassware. In addition everybody received an empty black book for writing down tasting notes. It was long past midnight when Johannes proposed a short stroll to a nearby ancient grave hill. I lay stress on the words "short
stroll" and "nearby" because what came next was not exactly to my credit. Johannes wore a kind of helmet with lights on, Serge's marc and the really strange McCormick Platte Valley were our provisions. Then he guided
us on stable paths to a place which looked like a field. He pointed towards the field with his lamp and said: "There lie the graves". I live in the northern part of Germany and I know something about ancient graves. This
was neither a megalithic grave nor a real ancient grave hill (my famous cat Integra is buried under one of them), - just bullshit. What came next was a horror to me. Back to Johannes' place by a 'shortcut' through the wilderness
and the woods. I am not very sportive. In fact I have a considerable belly (pregnant with a sixpack of beer some say) and that means I am not too good on foot. We struggled through thorny bushes, meadows with knee-high grass and
mud sucking on our shoes. Johannes seemed to enjoy it while I was in a terrible mood gasping for air. Only Esmeralda, one of Johannes' Dutch guests, seemed to understand my displeasure with feminine intuition. Hours later for me,
but in fact only about 30 minutes later we arrived at Johannes' place again. Time to have some nice malts again. Discussion about the world, politics and economy. Exactly the right stuff when you have reached a certain state of
drunkenness ;-). Speaking of this state leads me to another interesting observation. Roman tells each and everybody about his Russian lore on the matter of alcohol consumption. Well single malts are not vodka. Some time during our
chat Roman went outside the shed and the typical sounds of a defective pump could be heard. Honi soit qui mal y pense. Maybe 30 minutes later it was really time for the bed. D. Day 3: Working for the matrix Waking up in the woods. Spiders everywhere on the ground. Thank God that I have no arachnophobia. And again thanks that the
boars living in the woods didn't visit us. We felt all dirty because of the lack of a refreshing shower and our mud crusted shoes and trousers. A huge mug of hot coffee would also be welcome - but again no chance. We were now
five persons with only one car. A lot of luggage had to be put into the boot. Splitting the group would not have been a good idea. So the five maniacs squeezed into the car which lay on the road like a battle tank. What to do next?
The city of Amsterdam of course. Unwashed bodies and dirty clothes were no obstacles for a visit at a café and some single malt purchases at Ton Overmars. Now it is time for the truth about Johannes. He was unable to pull a parking
ticket from the automats skirting the streets of Amsterdam. How could this be - the ingenious interface designer for websites was unable to operate his own native machines. But salvation was near. Michael and I can read the
instructions written in the strange German dialect named Dutch and got the ticket from the parking meter. Ton Overmars is a nice little liquorist but he had no malts that challenged me. At home in Hamburg I can select from a
range of over 700 malts, here there were only 100-200. Very interesting was the fact that the new Springbank limited rare bottling 2002 15yo 46% had just arrived at Amsterdam. The shop clerk was full of praise and he used almost
the same words as the guys in Hamburg where the malt arrived one month earlier. This underpins the remark that Serge made when I asked him about this special bottling. He said: "I suspect it is just the new 15yo and they sell
it under the name "limited rare bottling" to catch the attention of collectors." Back at Johannes' place we all took a shower and had a shave. Serge had taken most of the independent bottlers Macallan home but Michael's Macallan 9yo 1990/1999
(43%, Signatory Vintage, sherry cask, natural colour) was still there. Nose: fresh, green apples, raisins, sherry. Taste: toffee, mint, sweet, fruits, not the house style, a transparent mediteranian lightness in the bouquet instead of the dark woods, finish very short. Everybody rated the SigVin Macallan somewhere in the region between 7yo and the 10yo Macallan, with the exception of Michael. Johannes exclaimed: "How strange, this malt doesn't really taste like a Macallan. In a blind test I would have difficulties to identify it." I think this is not strange and Johannes who has far more experience than I will surely know it. Independent bottling are often very different from the official bottlings. And now to the minority votum of Michael. It documents an interesting observation I have made. When you buy a malt and you think that it is an interesting discovery, you often give it a very high rating. Others drink it with a certain ignorance and sometimes vote considerably lower. The effect is increased when the bottle on the rating table is either rather expensive or very difficult to get.
The chapter Macallan was now closed. "Let's work for the matrix", Johannes proposed. "Wow!" Some SciFi-fans might now think, "the maniacs decided to go into cyberspace together." Sorry, we are
not ready for that experience yet. None of us has a data jacket implanted in the head. Working for the matrix means tasting malts which have not been tried by enough maniacs yet to appear in the big malt rating table known as the
matrix. Dailuaine 16yo (43%, Flora & Fauna) Benrinnes 15yo (43%, Flora & Fauna) North Port - Brechin 1981/1998 (40% G&M Connoisseurs Choice)
Balblair NAS 'The Elements' (40%, OB)
Bladnoch 1987/1999 (40%, G&M Connoisseurs Choice) Linkwood 12yo 1989/2002 (43%, Coopers Choice) Glenfarclas 21yo (43%, OB) Bunnahabhain 12yo 1989/2001 Sherry Finish (43%, Chieftains Choice)
This closes the official program of the evening. But Davin and I were in a bold mood and Johannes encouraged us. So, we tried the Loch Dhu 10yo
(40%, OB), the famous black whisky. Sirupy black liquid in the glass with the smell of several overfull ashtrays and some blueberry juice. Although I like smoky whiskies this was far to much. The taste was horrible. First sip, brrr - how disgusting. Then gulping down the liquor as quick as possible to finish the job. Cleaning the glass was the most interesting part of the Loch Dhu experiment. First dash of water into the clean glass and here we have a miracle: it takes the colour of a heavy sherried malt. Second flush - we still have a golden liquid.
Having survived the Loch Dhu I was beginning to feel invincible. Bedtime finally. But how could I sleep with such a horrible taste on the tongue. E. Time to say goodbye The next morning we were in a bit of hurry.
Johannes had to visit a wedding in Antwerp. Davin had one day of recreation in Amsterdam until he met his family for a sightseeing trip in London. Roman, I forgot to mention it, left us last night to visit a friend. Michael and I
chose the Northern road back to Hamburg. There was no café open in the city at ten o'clock. Either the Dutch are very religious or they are notorious late risers. So we had to visit a McDonalds some 20 kilometres away from
Amsterdam. Michael won a salad in a crazy quiz. Nice present for his lady waiting at home ;-). I tried to buy some liquorice at a gas station but they didn't have the real good stuff. The advantage of the northern road is
that you drive over a several kilometres long dam which shuts the IJsselmeer (a former part of the North Sea) from the real North Sea. The Dutch can be really clever. Already in 1932 they created the dam which is counted
among the worlds most famous engineering monuments. Michael and I arrived safe and sound in Hamburg, full of memories of a fantastic whisky event. Thank you, Johannes, for these wonderful days. Klaus Everding - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
E-pistle #03/06 - Private Pleasures Browse thru any comprehensive single malt scotch
inventory list, and you'll see names like Cadenhead, Signatory, and the like appended to many of the entries. Sometimes, there will be abbreviations only, i.e Cad. and Sig. More perplexing, these bottlings will be much more
expensive than the standard offerings for the same age, or conversely, younger bottles for the same price. This is exactly what happened to me for my first year and a half in this hobby. It was then that I discovered the wonderful
world of private bottlings. Why should anybody but the distillery be bottling its whisky anyway? Well, there a couple of reasons. It may come as a big surprise to many SMS lovers, but most of the malt whisky distilled in Scotland
goes for blending. Many distilleries don't even market their whisky as a single, or may do so only on a limited basis. Caol Ila is an excellent example of the latter. Another reason is that of quality control. It is very important
that the bottle of Macallan or Highland Park that you taste at a bar or at a friend's house tastes exactly like the one you go out and purchase the next day. So perfectly good, or even excellent, casks that just fall outside of the
distillery's standards can be sold to private bottlers. And finally, there is the remaining stock of distilleries that have been closed down in the last two decades. Since the distillery itself obviously won't be marketing it, the
private bottlers once again fill an important niche. My first year and a half in the world of SMS was spent in the predictable manner. Surveying the standards, and then venturing upscale a bit with Glenmorangie and Macallan 18's,
and even the G&M 1974 Ardbeg and the Springbank 12/100. Of course I doted on Michael Jackson's ratings, as well as those of the Malt Whisky File. But then I stumbled across some tasting notes of a bunch of Cadenhead's. This was
different. There was a sense of passion that isn't there in the standard ratings. Now we wouldn't expect there to be any in an impartial digest. Quality drams get good ratings, and lesser ones, lower ratings. And then came
The Great Revelation. It doesn't matter if Michaeal Jackson rates the distillery bottling an 86 or 76. It's this particular cask that matters. If it does what the whisky lover likes, then go for it. And so I have.
Since then, private bottlings have made up the overwhelming majority of my purchases. 1) Multiplicity of choices. Take the number of distilleries, and multiply by the number of bottlers. 2) Variety. A bottling that the distillery itself doesn't offer. 3) More variety. By comparing the distillery and private bottlings. 4) Save money. Now I just mentioned in the intro that the private bottlings were pricier than the
distillery offerings. That certainly is true for young and middle age bottles, but as the age increases, the reverse happens. For example, the Macallan 25yr (43%) goes for around $200 here in the US, but the Murray McDavid 1974
that actually bested it in one tasting only costs $140. The Highland Park 25 yr (53%) goes for $175, and an Adelphi 27yr 1972 60% is $135. I guess those wood boxes with the plastic velvet inserts must add 2 or 3 dollars at least.
5) As the old saying goes, "it's not the kill, but the thrill of the chase". It isn't all that difficult to find a 30 year old Sprinbank nowadays, but the real fun is when somebody notifies the web page you hang out on
that a certain bottling is 'something special', and you and all of your virtual drinking buddies all go out and order it right away. 6) Exclusivity. There aren't going to be more than a few casks of many bottlings. So when they
are gone, they're gone. It's a little club with you and just a few hundred other people (this isn't usually going to be the case with distilleries that are still in operation, but typically distill for blending, but you never know).
7) Pride of ownership. Combine any or all of the above, and you get that nice, warm, fuzzy feeling every time you open the door to your liquor cabinet. These are your good friends, and they're right there, waiting patiently for
you without complaining. When you have company, whisky lovers or not, you look around, and pull out just the right bottle. Anyway, private bottlings are going to play a part in your collection, once you acquire enough bottles to
be considered a collection. So look around, shop around, and enjoy. One last point. It always pays to get to know the owner or manager of a quality liquor store. He might have a few interesting bottles hidden 'behind the counter'
for his good customers, and keep you in mind when a limited number of something special comes in. So who are these private bottlers anyway? The best known and largest is Gordon and McPhail. G&M specializes in the
aforementioned malts that would otherwise unavailable to the general public, although they also market some that would be. Most of these are offered at standard strength, although there are exceptions. But most of the 'action' in
the private bottler arena is with smaller bottlers, who bottle mostly at cask strength, and without chill filtering or caramel coloring added. Let the distilleries say what they want about the last two practices, but leaving them
out certainly gives a purer view into the character of the whisky. At the top of the list is William A. Cadenhead, usually referred to by the last name only. They are owned by the parent company of Springbank, and operate
shops in London and Edinburgh, with literally thousands of bottlings available. Cadenheads tend to be a bit pricey. Only the younger bottles can be found in the USA for less than $80, middle age bottles are in the $80-100 range,
and pretty much anything 20+ years old will command a 3 figure price tag. Cadenheads also have a reputation for packing a lot of heat, so keep the water close by. The Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co. LTD
(whew) was formed in 1991. They have a standard series marketed in taller bottles, mostly of defunct distilleries. These are very affordable, and are often quite excellent. Their recent 8yr Ardbeg and 9 & 10 yr Caol Ila are prime examples. But Signatory is best known for the cask strength bottlings, which come in shorter, stout bottles. These are also excellent values, as there is an excellent choice of 20+ year old bottles starting at $70 or so, and rarely going above the $100 point. The angels seem to like the Signatory's, as the ABV in the older bottles often drops down close to the 50% level.
Then there is Murray McDavid, whose principals trace their whisky lineage back to Springbank. Unusually, MMcD bottles all of their offerings at 46% ABV. This is considered by many to be the ideal drinking strength
(including this author). Refinement is the word here, and all but the oldest bottling are in the $50-80 range. Adelphi
is actually a former distillery. You can tell the Adelphis in the shop by their small rectangular labels at the bottom of the bottle, which one retailer bemoaned to me makes them harder to get customers to pay attention to. The young to middle age bottles are affordable in the $60-80 range, but the older ones are quite expensive (and special, of course).
Glenhaven
offers the best values for cask strength bottlings any ware, which often cost less than similarly aged distillery bottles!! I have been advised that Glenhaven is now out of business, so purchase on sight (one caution though, there has been extreme price gouging on Glenhavens in the NYC area). Other private bottlers who's stock is now available are
Hart Brothers and Scott's Selection. Hart Brothers bottles at standard and cask strength, and at various price points. Scott's Selection is the product of Robert Scott, a distiller with 50 years of experience. While a
few of the bottling are affordable, most are older bottles ranging from expensive to very expensive. A few individuals have also tried their hand at bottling. French vintner Michel Couvreur
has a number of selections aged in his own casks, and writer James Macarthur
has a handful of his own bottlings. The latter are VERY hard to find though, and typically go for around $100. A defunct bottler worth keeping a eye out for is the former USA based Whyte and Wyte. Their 1959 35yr
Glenfarclas and 1969 21yr Bunnahabain are legendary among serious whisky lovers. If you you stumble across a bottle, it will likely be in the e-bay or Sothebys price category, but you never know what is gathering dust in the corner
of some little liquor store somewhere. And last but least (dollars, that is) is Coopers Choice. They have a small bunch of standard strength bottlings, all in the $33-40 range (!). Highly recommended are the Dallas Dhu 17
and Millburn 18, both distilleries no longer in operation. A couple of closing notes; Louis Perlman - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
E-pistle #03/07 - Ode To Independent Bottlers Every dedicated and intrepid maltster owes a significant debt of gratitude to the independent bottlers for at least three main reasons. Firstly, the independents are the only
source of malts from distilleries where the proprietor has decided not to market a single. This was especially true in earlier times (around 1981) when less than 60 distilleries had a single on retail shelves. It is also
interesting to note that of the sixty or so that quite a few were not bottled by the proprietors but under license by Gordon & MacPhail. For example "official" bottlings of Balblair, Scapa, Mortlach and Old
Pulteney up until the very recent past were only by G&M. Before United Distillers released the Flora and Fauna series and the Rare Malts Series the only source of single malts from about third of all Scottish malt
distilleries were from independents. While I'm happy about United Distillers' policy change, one wonders whether the change of heart was more due to the realisation that there was demand out there (and profits that they were
missing out on) in a burgeoning niche market. Also, of the half of all distillery owners that even bothered to market a single before around 1988, again well over half only had one official expression, which was less than
satisfactory for those with a thirst for malt adventure. Only a handful catered to the then miniscule band of enthusiasts that were looking for both range and excellence in their malt whisky experience. Just as an aside, this
lack of concern by distilleries for malt lovers probably was a big part of the founding of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society as well as a big part of the reason for the ongoing success of both Gordon & MacPhail and William
Cadenhead. One other reason, which was quite unforeseeable at the time, is that the independents are now almost the only source of malt whiskies from distilleries taken out of production during the recession in the 1980's.
One of the more lamentable occurrences in the industry was when United Distillers shut down 15 distilleries between 1983 and 1986, quite a few with no hope of reprieve. Some of these were probably no great loss, although,
like conservationists and geneticists, a decline in diversity is always to be lamented. However some are a major loss to malt lovers. Those that produced superior whiskies and are now lost number among them great names like
Millburn, Port Ellen, St Magdalene, Lochside and Glenury-Royal and while some official bottlings might be available through auctions etc, if you really want to explore the likes of Glen Mhor, Glen Albyn, Port Ellen, Dallas Dhu and
Rosebank, then the independents are the most accessible, if not the only, source. Another very important issue is range of product available. The last major reason, and it arises precisely because of the aforementioned comparative assessments (and
the real clincher for me) is the excellence of the independent product combined with affordability. It has been my happy experience ever since starting the malt adventure to discover that often the independent product is more
appealing than the official version. I suspect the main reason for this lies in the distilleries' focus on production for blending and even where they market a malt they are trapped by a distillery style which has been shaped
by the demands of blenders rather than malt lovers. In my own pantheon of the best thirty single malt whiskies I have ever tasted 12 of the thirty are from independents, 5 are from Gordon & Macphail, 1 from William
Cadenhead (but the top independent), one from Whyte & Whyte, one from Signatory, one from Murray McDavid, one from James Macarthur, one from Coopers Choice and one private bottling of a Bowmore. Now the really interesting
thing is that apart from the Whyte & Whyte all the independent ones cost less that the best official releases from the distilleries. My experiences with malt from The Glenlivet are a good illustration. In the early days
of my induction into the arcane world of malt appreciation, I kept wondering why over 20 distilleries in Speyside bothered to try and ride on the coat tails of G & JG Smiths' "The Glenlivet" and why history books and even
relatively recent literature made such a big deal about the definite article as I'd always found the Seagram's 12 year old pretty nondescript, insipid and boring. But when I took my first sniff and sip of the Glenlivet 15
from G&M, I started to appreciate why the definite article might have deserved a fabulous reputation. Furthermore, I subsequently had the opportunity to line up a whole stack of proprietary offerings including the French
Oak and the Archive 21, but they were slaughtered on the night by a fabulous 22 Cask strength from Signatory and the Signatory is available in America for around US$80 including tax, while the Archive will set you back closer to
US$90 and it's not in the same league. Of course, because the independents are often bottling limited runs and even single casks, the quality and style can tend to be variable, but sampling a whole stack of also ran malts
makes the odd gem that you run across all the more rewarding, especially when the ones that impress you are genuinely affordable. My experience is that on the value for money scale the independents deliver in style. Craig Daniels - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
E-pistle #03/08 - Whisky or IMFL? I last met Mike Nicholson in 1998. "After US, India has the largest whisky consumers. The consumption is growing @ 20% p.a"
"India promises to be an attractive growing market"
Yes, what is said above is true. Why does
this happen? The answer is simple. Due to astronomical duties and taxes imposed on foreign liquor, the price of an average whisky bottle ultimately costs seven times the landed price. That means a J.W Black Label priced at USD 25
would be ultimately be costing USD 175 and at current exchange rate (1 USD = Rupees 49), the purchaser would have to shell out Rs.8575- which is the average monthly salary of a worker in Bombay. The percentage of those who buy the
stuff at this price is miniscule. Either it is bought through smuggled route (average price Rs.2000) or one has to make do with the spurious stuff (average price Rs.1000 or less). The government imposes such high tariffs for two
reasons - one to bring revenue and the other to protect the domestic liquor industry. It has been estimated that the govt. earnings would be a whopping 4.9 billion US dollars on tariffs alone (customs, excise and state taxes) for
this financial year. However, both the above reasons contradict the WTO regulations and there is a constant conflict between the International Liquor and the Domestic Liquor producers. Tim Jackson represents the European Union's
cause and All India Distillers Association (AIDA) represents the domestic lobby. In fact there is a difference of opinion on the basic issue of definition of whisky in India. According to European Council, any whisky to be called a
whisky has to be grain based and aged at least 3 years with minimum a.b.v of 43%. In India since all whisky is molasses based the EU does not recognise this as whisky and compel the Indian govt. to use a different name. Hence the
origin - IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor). The EU's contention is that the customs and other domestic tariffs (there are 28 states in the country with each state imposing its own taxes) are too high and contravene the WTO
regulations. The AIDA contests that the domestic duty (excise, etc.) on the local liquor is also as high as 800%. Since the cost of local production is so low, the duty imposed on domestic liquor is not truly reflected to the
ultimate consumer. The only point on which both the international and domestic manufacturers agree is the reduction of taxes which would reduce the liquor prices but ultimately widen the tax base and hence more tax collection to
the govt. The finance minister has to do a balancing act this year to address the conflicting views of the international and domestic liquor producers. But why doesn't the Indian whisky manufacturers switch over to grain based
whisky? According to Jim Murray (author of "Complete Guide to Whisky") the Indian barley can offer "the most intensely attractive spirit to taste". (Page 13) I do not know where this barley ends up. One guess
could be that it is be consumed by the breweries that produce beer. Thankfully, India produces beer, some brands of which really match the international standards. Since beer is consumed afresh and the demand is growing at
geometric proportions the breweries stick to conventional ways of production without resorting to short cut methods. Some of the Indian brands like Kingfisher, Taj Mahal and a few others are found both in European and US market.
I do know why all whisky produced in India has a molasses base. India is one of the largest producers of sugar cane in the world and molasses is a cheap bi-product of the sugar industry. The liquor companies purchase this as the
source material for conversion to alcohol and all that they have to do is to add whisky essence and a little colour to market it as whisky. Some of the liquor companies do not even convert the molasses in to alcohol. They simply
purchase the pure spirit. I understand that nowadays they are mixing a little of scotch imported from Scotland to bring it to a more authenticated flavor and taste. The local demand is so high that the liquor companies can not
afford aging and whatever aging take place is the time lag between bottling and casking. The source is same for other liquors like gin, vodka or rum. Only the respective essences are added. But India is not the only country having
molasses based alcohol industry. Many of the S.E Asian, African and South American countries also produce whisky by similar means. The average price of the above whiskies is in the region of Rs.175 to Rs.500 (USD 3.57 to
USD10.20). There are some better varieties available from Rs.300 - Rs.650. Since the local whisky is available at such low prices majority of the masses do not care for real Scotch, which is any way astronomically priced. More so
when the kick is same for whatever whisky it is. Forget about Single Malt Whisky. The majority of the Indian consumers is unaware of these facts. Since the people are uneducated on this issue the government is taking advantage of
the situation and the local liquor barons and the bootleggers are having a ball. However, due to fear of WTO imposing strict penalties, the govt. has realized that it can not continue its policy on imported liquor too long and is
planning to reduce the customs and other tariffs in the coming budget. Also, due to burgeoning elite class in cities like Delhi and Bombay the awareness and demand for deluxe whisky is increasing and already international
companies like Seagram's, UDV are entering the Indian markets. There are representative offices of many of the well-known brands and joint ventures like Scottish & New Castle of Scotland with Indian companies. Some of the big
names I hear of late are Glenlivet, Glenfiddich and a few others vying for a bit of this huge whisky market in India. Maybe I shall see better days ahead for the real whisky lovers in India. Krishna
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E-pistle #03/09 - Seasonal Malts Ah, the weather... While Johannes (see entry #90
in the Liquid Log) and Klaus have already written on this subject, I thought I'd write a piece as well since I have made several references to seasonal malts in past contribs. My selections correspond to what should be expected from the weather in New York City. This does not always happen, witness the 2 1/2 inches of snow we got last winter, after Buffalo (upstate NY) got 7 feet (2M) by the first week of December. So just match the appropriate month of your climate, and you won't end up dramming Lagavulin at the beach if your climate doesn't match mine.
March
- Winter is on the way out, even if we get the last couple inches of snow. Although the temperature is likely to stay above freezing by the middle of the month, it can still be somewhat nasty. So my choice for March is the Bowmore 15 'Mariner'. Bowmore stakes out the middle of the Islay road, between the likes of Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig, and Bruichladdich and Bunnahabain. The Mariner is the most intense (intesist?) Bowmore, as the 17 has mellowed a bit, and is one of my favorite drams.
April - We're pretty much done with winter now, so no more peat. May
- Spring is definitely here, and I like the malty and just slightly sweet Glen Scotia. June
- It's getting good and hot, and the Glenmorangie Cellar 13 (and Traditional if you're in the mood for cask strength) is very pleasant, without any un-needed heat. A favorite from the past is Dalwhinnie, with it's honey and vanilla profile with the faintest touch of peat, and a very long finish.
July
- A nice cold beer or iced tea would seem to be more appropriate, or maybe some lemon sorbet. So that must mean Bladnoch. Michael Jackson hit this one right on the nose, and it really does work in practice, er, make that in the glass.
August
- I'm thinking the end of the summer, late in the afternoon, down at the beach somewhere on Long Island or New England. It;s nice and comfortable, and a nice dram of Bruichladdich is the perfect thing. The new releases are more robust than the previous ones, but that just means that you have to lower the maximum allowable temperature by a few degrees.
September - Summer always seems to have one last kick left. October
- To deal with the chill of the first few autumn evenings, it's time to bring out the peat again. When the temperature drops into the forties (5-10 C), I've found that the other middle-of-the-road Islay, Caol Ila, really does the job. If there isn't too much of a chill in the air, Glen Rothes works very well too.
November
- The last Thursday of the month is Thanksgiving in the US, and that means turkey with stuffing and 'all of the fixings'. To stand up to all of this food, you need a nice robust dram, and Talisker is among the best in this role. It stands up well to steak as well.
December
- Both Johannes and Klaus mentioned the green bottled Ardbeg, but my vote is for the other holiday color, and that means a nice rich Speyside. A nice dram of older Macallan, Glenfarclas or Longmorn is the perfect way to end a holiday meal, and it will stand up to a rich desert as well. In the spirit of political correctness, I'm going to point out that even if you don't celebrate the traditional western holidays, you can still pour yourself a dram while not officially celebrating.
January - Winter's back, time to break out the Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig. February - Winter's still here, see January. Louis
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E-pistle #03/10 - Clouds of Smoke An E-pistle about the pleasure of pipes.
I've been smoking pipes for about four years and in that time I have tried a large variety of pipe tobaccoes. The availability and selection of pipe tobaccoes is quite good
in Israel (unlike that of whiskies), and personal imports are almost not taxed. Until recently the amount of different tobaccoes I tasted exceeded the amount of whiskies. Thanks to intensive traveling during the last one and half
years (and wonderful dramming sessions with fellow malt maniacs), my experience in the whisky field has now surpassed my pipe-smoking one. My preferences in the pipe tobacco field are quite clear. So, I came upon an unusual idea to try and classify the combination of smoking a pipe tobacco while drinking the single malts, to try and see if any conclusions can
be derived and recommendations from my side could be made. The approach I took, was to divide the tobaccoes in primary groups, based on their flavor level and strength, and then play with various whiskies to see which types would
correspond best. The tobaccoes were separated into three main general groups: - European heavily flavored tobaccoes (Borkum Riff Champagne, MacBaren's Ambrosias, W.O. Larsen, Peter Rasmussen, etc.)
I immediately reached two major conclusions: I. European heavily flavored tobaccoes. These are in fact great tobaccoes, my favorites, but - they don't go that well with Single malt
whiskies! Their palette is extremely rich, featuring a full spectre of taste and aroma, from the bitterness of the burn to the sweet-and-sour of the flavor. These ones featured at their bests with lesser whiskies, often erasing the
bad effects of the drink, in my case it was the bitterness of Longmorn 15 and the medicine of Bowmore 12. Other possibility is to enrich the whiskies that seem too plain to you, like for me it where Dalwhinnie 15 or Glenfarclas 12.
Black Ambrosia with its sour taste was the best complement. Fortunately, lately most of my latest tastings were of very tasteful whiskies, except for Aberlour Antique, so the pipe mostly rested. The latest good experience of
pipe-glass combination was Aberlour Antique + Saute Deern Tobacco - a Dan Pipe, excellent Hamburg Tobaccionist. So, my advice, if you ran across the whisky you have a problem of finishing, you can use these rich and powerful
tobaccoes. My preferred method is an almost non-stop smoking of the pipe, sometimes interrupted by getting a sip of the whisky. II. European lightly flavored tobaccoes. Also, a distinguished family of tobaccoes.
Herbs and slight bitterness dominate them and so make them excellent companions to many superb Scotch whiskies. Is it a coincidence, that most of these tobaccoes are done in the UK? Many of suitable whiskies would just have open
slots ready to be filled in by the flavors the tobacco carries. The experience is tremendous then, the taste is incomparable, you being to get smoky and salty notes you usually only get in rare whiskies like St. Magdalene and Port
Ellen, and old Ardbegs etc. The tobacco should not be too dry or strong, like it is with some Dunhill, otherwise you'll immediately notice how the tongue bite just creates the unpleasant sensation of an overkill afterburn. So,
which whiskies would I recommend when smoking a pipe of such a tobacco? The answer is definite - the sweeter, gentler ones. Highland Park and Macallan 12, Springbank 10 and Cragganmore 12 only gain in combination with these
tobaccoes, and so do others of their likeness. The Islays are doing less well, because the herbs, the smokyness and the bitterness are a part of themselves and the interference harms both the smoke and the drink. III. American vanilla-background tobaccoes. A typical tobacco of that group, a Captain Black Gold, is
characterized by extreme mellowness and lack of any bite or spice. I don't like such tobaccoes much, but there is a field where they help - with the intensive, peaty malts. It turned out, that the gentle smoke of such a
tobacco (the favorite being Middleton's Gold & Mild), prepares your mouth greatly for the powerful malts. Lagavulin and Talisker explode when you drink them, reaching even further than usual. The smoke here is not for the sake
of smoking itself, but for the sharpening of the drink! The extreme experience is to combine such a smoke with a cask strength malt! Go for these tobaccoes when tasting a powerful whisky - Islay, but the less iodine ones
(Lagavulin, Ardbeg), Skye, Macallan 15 and so on. Iodine (Laphroaig, Bowmore) somehow doesn't settle well with such tobaccoes. And what about my favorite pipe tobacco - the aforementioned Nat Sherman? A warning - any tobacco spoils the afterburn a bit when you're going to enjoy it. So, is there a winning combination of a tobacco and a whisky? Tobaccombo's: And now let's try to shape the ideas stated above into numbers.
Glenfarclas 12yo (43%, OB) + Peter Rasmussen Blue Label: Aberlour NAS 'Antique' (43%, OB) + Saute Deern Dan Pipe:
Longmorn 15yo (45%, OB) + MacBaren Black Ambrosia: Bowmore 12yo (43%, OB) + Peter Rasmussen Blue Label: Springbank 10yo (46%, OB) + Saute Deern Dan Pipe: Highland Park 12yo (43%, OB) + Balkan Sobranie:
Macallan 12yo (43%, OB) + Three Nuns (flake): Springbank 10yo (46%, OB) + Three Nuns (tablets): Lagavulin 16yo 'White Horse'
(43%, OB) + Middleton's Gold & Mild: Ardbeg 17yo
(40%, OB) + Four Seasons (Summertime): Roman Parparov - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - E-pistle #03/11 - My First E-pistle
Well, this is my very first E-pistle for Malt Maniacs. And because this is the first one, it might be a little disordered. I'm a little nervous right now. Had to have a dram to fix it. Autumn came quickly and there's so much to
do. Collect the fallen leaves from the garden (before it's too late = snow) and chop firewood. And summer holidays are over, you have to go to work. That means less free time, less drams of whisky. My abilities to sample whiskies
has developed during the time, but still there is plenty of things to do when I can give 110% contribution to the work of the malt maniacs. Of course I'm doing my best and progress must go on. Here are few weaknesses I have; bad
English (have to learn more, I can't find the words to describe palette for example) and a narrow product assortment (as mentioned in my brief introduction). Because this still is my first article, I have collected whiskies I have
tasted this year and cut and paste it into one file. There's some text I took off. I have to work on that material a little bit more. Anyway this file don't include every whisky that I have tasted recently. I have made notes only
for few malts I've tasted seriously in four sessions. I'm lazy what comes to writing notes... February 12 & 13, 2002 - Cruise to Stockholm
I was on my trip to Sweden and I decided to sample some whiskies in bar. Second dram was Glendronach 15yo 100% sherry casks
(40%, OB). This whisky is well sherried and medium dry. Colour is almost reddish amber. Nose: I found some nuttiness and nose was not strong but full. Almost felt same like Aberlour's nose. Taste: Some kind of sweetness; liquorice toffee. Buttery, but then turned into dryer way. As I earlier mentioned there's much sherry in it. Body is great. Now that nuttiness seems to come from the wood, it turned oaky. Finish: Soft, lasts long and it gets warmer at the end. Comment: Comparing this malt with Aberlour - both sherried - I think Aberlour has more punch and attack in it, but Glendronach shines with it's maturated smoothness. But there is five years age difference between them. I have one bottle of this in my shelves. I bought it last autumn from the same kind of cruise.
87 points. But it might rise; 'cos this is potential stuff. Next dram to go was Laphroaig 10yo Original Cask Strength
(57.3%, OB). I have unopened litre bottle at home in my shelf, so I didn't bothered to buy this eather from the boat. This was my first impression about this stuff. My expectations were high before I tasted it and I wasn't disappointed when I took the first sip. Hard to wait to open my own bottle. Nose: Phew, say hello to Mr. Islay. Medicinal phenolicity. Tar. Taste: Thick peat and smoke. Herbal and phenolic. Now tar is more easier to discern. Finish: Finish was extremely long and it filled all my mouth. Comment: This is not direct consentrated version about standard 10 yrs. version. Same basic elements, but there are plenty of differences. Love at first dram;
91 points respectively. I decided to sample few drams more and then continue evening with Ale beers (mostly Kentish bitters). I took Glenfiddich 12yo special reserve and 15yo solera reserve
under the microscope. 12yo special reserve was a bit better than it's predecessor Special old reserve n.a.s. Still there was lot of in common between them. 12yo special reserve was soft and light. I found hint of smoke too. Finish was fruity, apples perhaps. 15yo solera reserve was surprise (in a positive way). It was appealing and rounded, smooth and soft. Finish was commendably long. I decided to purchase one of this for further investigation. 12yo special reserve scores
72 points and 15yo solera reserve scores 79 points. Walburgisnacht - April 30, 2002 We had recently a theme on Warburgisnacht to taste weird whiskies (or other weird beverages). For me there's not
many weird stuff around. So maybe my taste is a bit weird. But I guess it's a good thing. If we don't appreciate different products, there wouldn't be that much distilleries in Scotland for example? I went to girlfriend's parents
place to celebrate Walburgisnacht. Remember that computer breakdown earlier. Well I took my computer with me and Jake (girlfriend's brother) came and found some errors from harddisc that have been there as long as I bought this
machine new. He totally fixed this problem (while I was sipping) and now this computer works better than new. I tasted only few whiskies: Auchentoshan 10, Bushmills 1608 12 yrs. Special Reserve and Burke & Barry (blended
stuff). I had a pretty rough sniffle and I desided to continue my Walburgisnacht with a case of (24 bottles) beer. A great hangover followed and I had to continue drinking next day and day after that too. Auchentoshan 10yo. I
have tasted this only few times at wintertime. Last one was about week before Christmas. Pretty weird situation to drink this stuff. This is more like a summermalt to me. Well this bottle was just opened. Light, malty, grassy and
citric nose. Taste was little fuller than last time and I found some spices from it. Smooth but a little bland, still good summermalt for my taste. Score 81 points. Bushmills 1608 12 yrs. Special reserve. I tasted this first time
five years ago when my mum opened this bottle. And this second tasting was kinda joke, there was only a drop left and it was ruined by oxidation during that five years. Nose and taste: Old Spice deodorand for men after being a week
in your armpit. A true body odor. Musty and dungheap notes. I like Bushmills when it is a little fresher than this. Real Walburgisnacht experience ;-). Burke & Barry. Not available here in Finland. Friend brought it abroad
last winter. Well. This must be heavily coloured, chemical tones and sweetness. Still smooth and drinkable. But when it comes to blends, I'll stick to Teachers and JW Black. I can mention few weird whiskies I've tasted. Loch Dhu
10 year-old Black whisky and Drumguish n.a.s. I tasted them once (in bar) and that makes two times (first and the last), just kidding. Still there are few products that are commonly barked that I like. Like Edradour 10yo. (newer
bulky bottle) and Auchentoshan 10yo. Loch Dhu had this artificial taste, motor oil like (havent tasted motor oil before… well now I have, kidding again) mouthfeel and heavily charred ashtringent note to it. When I emptied the
glass, I poured some water from the jug to cleanse my palate. There was this dark brown layer sticked inside of the glass and water get coloured with it. Amazing thing. Not my style.
Drumguish instead wasn't matured yet enough to put it in the bottle (my opinion). MacJOLT - June 20, 2002 Part of Malt Maniacs team was gathered in Amsterdam (Johannes' place) and they almost drown in that amount of
Macallan I suppose. I wasn't there and rest of the team was JOLT:ing via internet at their homes. Macallan was the one of the first malts I've ever tasted, however I have only tasted two variations; 12yo 40% and 43% versions. And I
had only one bottle in my shelves that night (43% opened 11.4.2002). So my dramming stayed quite bland. Anyway let's not get bothered with it. If I have to describe Macallan with one word, it would be autumn. I don't know why,
but there it belongs. It somehow smells and tastes like autumn. Falling leaves and campfires; direct heated stills may have something to do with that latter one. Yes, I have found slight smoke in Macallan's palette. And I found it
MacJOLT night too. Nose revealed dry sherry and that autumnal feeling, Taste showed whif of smoke and dried fruits. Full and smooth. If I have to compare this to competitors then I'd say Aberlour 10yo is a bit sharper (attacks with
spices) and has toffeeish tones. Glendronach 15yo instead is sweeter with oaky tones and toffee. Still they have lot in common. I have all those three sherried malts in my shelves, so I have to take some serious head-to-head
tastings when they're all opened. Then I know more about their differences. Pori Jazz festival - July 17, 2002 Glen Grant n.a.s. Pure malt. I have almost empty bottle of this at home and I emptied that bottle.
Sad that this is not available in Finland anymore. This is so affordable stuff, that I'd might purchase few spare bottles near future. Colour: No added caramel I assume. It's so pale, almost white wine. Muchly American bourbon cask
matured I think. Nose: Herbal? Spirity. Taste: Light, spirity herbal taste. First it's pretty rough, then it became a little smoother. Finish: Well, there's a little bitterness at the end too. Comment: For it's young age lacks
complexity and balance. Needs few more maturation years in cask. But it's affordable malt for starters. Somehow I like this. Big minus is cheap tin cap. Score 68. Cragganmore 12yo tasted in restaurant. This Speysider is
excellent. It's good example that "strongtasting" whisky still can be easy and enjoyable to drink. I don't mean strong like Islay whiskies are, but the taste of Cragganmore is "loud". Louder than you espect from
the nose. Nose: Pleasant, aromatic, smooth-like. Taste: Aromatic, loud, pure (clean), spicy and there's a hint of smoke too. Rounded and good complexity. Finish is long; same level with Aberlour 10 yo. I think. I like this stuff
neat rather than diluted. Heavy diluting can ruin the balance and structure. Comment: Have to have own bottle of this charming "oldschool" whisky. Potential chart climber. Score goes to 89 points. Edradour 10 yo Tasted
in restaurant. Nose: Spices (and maybe some citrus), nuts and a whiff of sherry. Coffeeish. Taste: Soft, oily, creamy. Sweet and sherried. Minty. Finish: After pleasant nose, taste and finish was a little disappointing for me. I
can felt the stuff in my upper gingiva (strong peppermint drop sweets do that same effect), but finish dried quite short; caramel and spicy. Comment: Anyway, this is good malt for nosing. If you have a good noseday, then you'll
like the stuff. Some people are barking this malt crappy, but I like this. It's not that bad at all. For it's young age this is a good stuff: soft and balanced. My score goes to 79 points, mostly for the good nose. Matti - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
E-pistle #03/12 - Macallan JOLT Transcript Malt Maniacs is a mostly virtual collective. Here's a list of the malts we sampled during the Macallan JOLT; Macallan NAS Travellers Edition 'Fifties' (40.0%, OB, 50cl) - - - - - <-- Previous Issue Next Issue -->
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Malt Maniacs #3 - July 1, 2002
Oh boy, last week we achieved critial malt mass during the DrAmsterdam 2002 Maltathon. Davin from Canada, Roman from Israel, Serge from France and Klaus
from Germany joined me in Amsterdam for three days of heavy dramming. This was the very first time that many maniacs gathered in one place. Klaus wrote a full report
.
(You can find my own perspectives in log entry #118.)
For the Macallan JOLT in June some other malt maniacs joined in on the fun. The DrAmsterdam crew alone managed to sample a dozen different Macs, including the recently introduced 'Traveller's Editions'. Our conclusion was: try to get your hands on old batches of the 12yo 43% instead; cheaper and much better.
Then there's Michael Wade's huge report on his Feis Ile 2002 adventure. The Islay Whisky Festival in May was the perfect excuse for some serious 'sampling' in Scotland. The final E-pistle with a 'travel' theme was submitted by Serge. After his trip to the Islay Whisky Festival he was confronted with one of the hazards of international travel: thievery.
While other maniacs were off galivanting through the whisky world our whisky pilgrim Krishna stayed at home to write his 'Whisky or IMFL?' E-pistle. It's a shocking story about the exotic stuff people are prepared to drink to get drunk in some exotic countries.
Actually, this entire third issue of Malt Maniacs is sort of a 'Traveller's Edition', I guess. First of all, Serge wrote a wonderful 'Dolce Aqua Vita' E-pistle about his whisky hunting in Italy - Milan, Bologna, Florence and Sienna.
Let's see, what else? American maniac Louis and Australian maniac Craig wrote a few words about independent bottlings. As Louis points out in his 'Private Pleasures' E-pistle, private bottlings can sometimes be more expensive than the 'official' distillery bottlings. In Holland they very often are. Of course, this goes against my Dutch pennypinching nature. I'm always looking for the maximum 'bang for my buck'. But as Craig explains in his 'Ode to Independent Bottlers' we have plenty of reasons to be thankful to independent bottlers.
The weather
was another topic Louis wanted to discuss.
Usually, we tend to reserve this subject matter for small talk but when it comes to the enjoyment of our daily drams it turns out to be quite significant. Roman Parparov's
'Clouds of Smoke'
E-pistle deals with the pleasures of pipe smoking and some of the best tobacco & single malt combinations. Meanwhile, Matti Jaatininen focuses on more malty matters in his first E-pistle. Check it out if you want to know about stuff like 'love at first dram' and the whisky that tastes like motor oil.
Last, but certainly not least we have the in-depth interview
with Raymond Armstrong; savior and new owner of the Bladnoch distillery. With only two other active Lowland distilleries remaining we felt Raymond's initiative deserved all the attention we could give it. Sweet drams, Johannes van den Heuvel
And that's it as far as MM#4 is concerned. Slainte!
