This is the end of my little glassware research report. I encourage you to do the same with your equipment. Probably you will discover that a Loch Dhu smells better from a cognac bowl than a Black Bowmore from a Riedel malt glass.
In my next report I will describe the influence of the colour of the wallpaper on the taste of a malt.
I have already orderd several buckets of paint.

Klaus Everding - malt@dr-everding.de

(Click HERE for a printable version of the article)
 

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E-pistle #04/03 - Whisky Hill Dram Jam 2002
by Michael Wade, USA

Sorry, no reports covering July - September 2002.
Instead, a report on the 'Whisky Hill Dram Jam' (May 3rd - May 5th, 2002).

May 3d, 2002

I met Sir Dave at his abode in Arlington around 2pm, just on time for departure.  Dr. Entropy and FX were in rare form that day, partly because of the late night pre-festivity dramming but more due to the levity of the upcoming event.  In our neck of the woods, any day is an excuse to get together and have some drams…. Halloween, birthdays, hell, even Bastille Day… But when May rolls around - truly it is a special time - for Uisgetom hosts his annual fling, the Whisky Hill Dram Jam near Rochester, NY.  This year it would be even more special, as our west coast friend FX would join us; and in addition Tom had planned a special surprise guest….
So after a quick lunch we set off on our 8 hour drive.

We arrived about 8:30PM or so to be greeted by Tom and our mystery guest… None other than S'Tan himself Marty O'Kari, Ardbeggeddon VIP and PLOWED Spiritual Leader (or Head Spirit Reciever)…  We are all astounded to see Marty and the dramming commences…. After downing oodles of B1, we were handed the ceremonial welcome dram….

Springbank 1965 "Local Barley" (52.4%, OB, Cask 1965/9, bottle #22)
Color: Deep gold
Nose: Chocolate, coconut, candies, cherry
Palate: Sherry zest, rich bitter cocoa, sugar, fried dough
Finish: Long and deeply warming
Score: 92

I could tell this was going to be a Springbank kind of night, but first we needed to get some food in us.  Tom threw in the 3" Buffalo pizzas.  Pepperoncini peppers covered every inch of this pizza, famous in Tom's area.  I could tell it was going to be a great weekend, but moving on we had to participate in the official PLOWED ceremony as Lipping the Local Barley. Proudly we raised the bottle to our lips to commemorate a gathering of good friends and good malts. We listened to some great local music and shared stories; highly anticipating our coming trip to Scotland. (See my Feis Ile Report 2002.)

Springbank 31yo 1967 (46%, Murray McDavid, Fresh Bourbon)
Color: Light gold
Nose: Cookie dough, chocolate, vanilla and pralines
Palate: Milk chocolate, cookie crumbs, but a bit strung too thin
Finish: Medium and hazy
Score: 85

At the insistence of our resident Glenfarclas lover, FX, I was invited to try something.
I am not much of a Glenfarclas nut, I've had many bottlings that were pleasant, but also many which were uneventful and boring.  Often times it is too overwhelmed by sherry and not integrated well.  As far as big Speysiders go it does not round the top of my list.  However I must mention that at Sir Dave's Glenfarclas tasting I did discover some wonderful examples of the distillery's capabilities. This one was rather pleasant but dominated by sherry sweetness which masked some of the complexity. An average dram.

Glenfarclas 17yo 1977 (53.2%, Glenhaven)
Color: Deep gold
Nose: Sherry, cherries, herbal, a little alcohol prickle
Palate: Sherry moving to herbal esters, leafy and raw dough.  Dry, wet grass.
Finish: Short but vehement
Score: 75

And now back to the task at hand…. Springbank!

Springbank 12yo "Wood Expressions" Rum Cask (54.6%, OB)
Color: Pale Straw
Nose: Butterscotch, vanilla, some distillery characters emerge with a warm hand and some water but are held in restraint by the caramel butterscotch notes
Palate: Vanilla, pepper, slightly bitter.  The distillery character seems underdeveloped, or perhaps to put it in a better light, developing well, not having realized it's full potential.
Finish: Long and strong
Score: 89

I guess I could not stay focused on the task at hand…
Every time I reached for one of the many alluring gems from Campbeltown something else beckoned me… This time it was going to be Compass Box's latest offering at the time, a vatted malt called "Eleuthera", a vatting of Caol Ila and Clynelish.

Compass Box Eleuthera (46%, vatted malt)
Color: White wine
Nose: Burning chocolate, smoke and burnt caramel
Palate: Smoke, peat, a leafy fern fire
Finish: Warm and long
Score: N/A

Time for another Springbank…. And again a vatted malt this one called Moidart… a 25 year old vatted malt… Very interesting.  (As an aside I was able to obtain some of this for myself on my trip to Scotland, it is wonderful and really exemplifies that older, distinct Springbank character now nearly vanished from the current bottlings).

Moidart 25yo (46%, vatted malt)
Color: Dark gold
Nose: Coconut, chocolate and smoke, very oily
Palate: Smoky briny coconut, slight medicinal peat integrated very well
Finish: Long and warming, and deep in the stomach
Score: N/A

Ok, so it wouldn't be long at all before I strayed again from the Springbank fold.
I was tempted by what my cohorts were calling a "Raspberry Monster".
Hmmm… And a Tomatin no less? My only experiences with this distillery have been upsetting.

Tomatin 18yo 1979/1997 (60.8%, Cadenhead's, distilled July 1979, bottled September 1997)
Color: Light gold
Nose: Vanilla extract, cookie dough, alcohol prickle, candied fruits
Palate: Fried dough, whipped cream, skim milk, very unique
Finish: Long and hot
Score: 89
Comments: This one stands out as a very fruity example of malt whisky.
High marks for originality and uniqueness.

By this time it was only 11:30 but it was a long hectic day of driving so I decided to call it a night.
My nightcap, a Springbank of course!  8 Drams under my belt. 
Not bad but I would have to do better to keep up with the likes of these folk.

Springbank 29yo 1965/1994 (53.4%, Milroy's)
Color: Brown chestnut gold
Nose: Waxy, coconut oil, chocolate cream and banana
Palate: Pepper, sherry and chocolate.
Finish: Hot hot hot
Score: 93
Comments:  A damn fine example of a post closure sherried Springbank.
I have never had a bad Milroy's bottling.
 

May 4th, 2002

Ahhh….. The morning skalk; a celtic tradition, served to you preferably before you step out of bed.  In my case, I was partying with a bunch of hooligans and I would have to make do with getting my arse off the inflatable mattress and getting it my damn self.  To reward my journey to the Whisky Hill Shrine, my morning skalk was of course a Springbank, just about as good as the nightcap I had the night before.

Springbank 1965/1999 (46%, Murray McDavid, Fresh Sherry Cask MM580)
Color: Rich golden brown
Nose: Sherry dominates, velvety milk chocolate, raisins and fruit
Palate: Oily coconut , fruit, peach and apricot
Finish: Warm and zesty
Score: 90

Now that I was sufficiently lubricated, we sat down and enjoyed a full breakfast of scrambled eggs with wild leeks, fried potatoes and venison loin steak.  Simply amazing and a great start to the day.  Before I could even officially begin I got hounded again about Glenfarclas…. Fine, another go at it….

Glenfarclas 35yo (52.6%, Whyte & Whyte, Single Cask Sherry)
Color: Chestnut Brown
Nose: Brown sugar, treacle, cinnamon, sherry and sulphur
Palate: Strung out, bitter, past it's prime, burnt butter and sherry, over ripe dates
Finish: Bitter and whimpering
Score: 60

Moving on it was time to taste a couple of Glen Garioch whiskies.
I have always loved this distilleries output especially when heavily sherried and older.

Glen Garioch 16yo 1985 'Individual Cask' (51.9%, OB, Sherry Butt #1585)
Color: Deep mahogany
Nose: Rich sugared almonds, sherry peat fires and restrained smoke
Palate: Smoked nuts, a peaty chocolate kiss and a smoky oily backpalate
Finish: Long
Score: 88

Glen Garioch 29yo 1968 'Individual Cask' (55.9%, OB, Sherry Hogshead #618)
Color: Deep blood brownish red
Nose: Cocoa, molasses, sugared fruits, mint, oil
Palate: Smooth and waxy, pepper, burnt fruit, caramel, peat smoke in  the finish
Finish: Warm and soft but held in length.
Score: ??

At this time I needed a break so I took a walk around Whisky Hill checking out the views out into the valley.  Quite a brisk May day it was and I could surely see my breath in the early afternoon… I checked in on our dinner, smoking in the front yard… Hickory smoked ribs and wings…. It was going to be a grand night.  But it was time to get back to  business….
The guys were doing well, so I needed to catch up…

Springbank 31yo 1966 "Chairman's Stock" (50.5%, Cadenhead's)
Color: Reddish golden brown
Nose: Chocolate, coconut, marzipan, oil, sandy almonds, trail mix
Palate: A classic example of the old distillery character, dry coconut, wood zest, sherry and licorice
Finish: Hot and eternal
Score: 93

It was at this time that our mystery guest of honor, S'Tan unvealed to us the Mystery Dram.
Disguised in a Loch Dhu bottle (an old PLOWED war story), it was very dark and rich with no perceptible peat.
I guessed it to be cask strength and an older Speyside, heavily sherried.
I was right on 2 counts…. And the mystery dram was….

Bowmore 'Black' 1967 (50.0%, OB, Second Release)
Color: Deep brownish black
Nose: Licorice, vanilla, caramel and chocolate moving to herbal notes after a few minutes.
Palate: Hard candy, herbs and cloves, cinnamon and chocolate…  Definitely heavily sherried.
Finish: Slightly hot and long
Score: 92

We adjourned for dinner celebrating our enjoyment of Black Bowmore….
We had our dinner of home hickory smoked ribs and wings with a wonderful seasonal salad with hot bacon dressing, a wonderful pasta salad with mountains of cheese and salami… Dinner was amazing and the conversation with the PLOWED Ringleaders was of course top notch…  After the great dinner, we realized based on the agenda we had a lot of Longrow's to work through before we could even THINK of getting to the Haggis ceremony.

Longrow 1987/1997 (43%, Signatory Vintage)
Color: Straw
Nose: rich caramel, butterscotch, marshmallow all on a backdrop of smoke and burnt grass
Palate: Sweet, marshmallow follow through, light smoke and ferny notes
Finish: Soft but long, like a classical tune on a rainy day to accompany a book
Score: 88

As always with PLOWED our drunken debauchery steered way off course and I was tempted by a couple of Taliskers.  The side trip was well worth the time and palate trashing as you will see…..

Talisker 25yo (59.9%, OB, bottled 2001, bottle #4966/6000)
Color: Dark gold
Nose: Talisker pepper but more restrained, almost muted, held against a backdrop of hard candy and mints
Palate: HOT.  Watered down distillery character comes out, whitewashed seawalls, but it is held restraint against a muted backdrop of more velvety flavors such as oak and chocolate
Finish: Hot
Score: 92

Talisker 12yo (??%, OB, bottled in the early 1990's)
Color: Gold
Nose: Talisker character of pepper and sea spray, brine and chili peppers but it is more defined and brash, and behind a muted veil lie the calmer flavors.  Like an intense wave building up.
Palate:  This is the only way to describe it.  After a few moments a sensation of warming rising from the chest moves to the back of the throat.  One of the most amazing whisky related sensory experiences I have ever had.  Confirmed by others.  The sweetness moves to pepper but the whole taste experience was almost entirely internal and the palate flavors paled in comparison. 
Finish: Warm and ever so long and slow
Comments:  Amazing.  Like a young wave on the horizon, building up for hours into a crescendo and then after the crash, the water recedes back slowly into the ocean.  It left me stunned.
Score: 95

After this experience I was ready to get back to the Longrow's.
We took a break, refreshed ourselves with some water and light snacks and watched some movies.  A lot of planning for our upcoming jaunt to Scotland was discussed and then it was on to the task at hand, before moving on… I was getting some serious Brain Drammage at this point, but I had to move on or my cronies would leave me in the dust.

(Added note: despite my best efforts, they did just that. I leave the tasting notes out for the next 2 because I ended up tasting them later during my Scotland trip and notes are provided in that coverage.  I have left the scores here, however, as MM seems to place an emphasis on scoring malts, something we just do not do in the PLOWED culture.  I promise you my scores are most likely arbitrary in nature and only reflect my personal views at that very time under those circumstances….  I am sure I will make many enemies {or friends?} based on my scores and I welcome all feedback to that effect.)

Longrow 10yo Sherry (46%, OB) - 87
Longrow 10yo Bourbon (46%, OB) - 85

Longrow 9 yo 1992 (57.2%, Cadenhead's)
Color: Light gold
Nose: Smoky, milky and chocolate with cherry and mint.  Very appetizing
Palate: Sweet smoke. Hot chocolate with marshmallow, leafy and herbal
Finish: A hot one, no water added
Score: 90

Seeing as now it was well past dinner, and the theme of the evening was Ardbeg night, I decided to warm myself up with a new Bowmore release and then on to the venison Haggis ceremony.

Bowmore 1968 (45.5%, OB)
Color: Light gold
Nose: Candied fruits, light peat smoke and citrus, very rich
Palate: coconut, a smoky backdrop splashed with citrus and fruit moves on to fading oily smoke
Finish: Fruity
Score: 92
Comments: One of the best Bowmore bottlings I have ever tasted. Amazingly fruity.

At this time we had our "Ode to a Haggis".
After properly addressing the haggis and performing our duties thereof, we partook of the haggis.  It was truly wonderful haggis thanks to Tom, and I had mine with a splash of Glenglassaugh.  What a delightful recharge to prepare me for the theme of the night… Ardbeg… And some GOOD Ardbeg's too.  I learned there is no bad whisky on Whisky Hill….

Ardbeg 10yo 'Black Label Celtic A' (40%, OB, bottled +/- 1990)
Color: Palest of pale straw
Nose: Smoke, peat, pungent burnt oily lemon, herbal notes and bbq sauce
Palate: Not as brash as the nose suggests, herbal, smoky, a bit softer and held in restraint against the nose.
Finish: Thin
Score: 92
Comments:  Tasting a legend, thanks to FX's classic Ebay FOAF.
Sure it was only a miniature but it was enough for a good sample and plenty for me.

Ardbeg 1975/2001 (58%, John Milroy Selection)
Color: Yellow Gold
Nose: Sherry, smoke, citrus, creosote
Palate: Sherry, smoke, rich and oily in the mouth, the sherry and the smoke intergrate well
Finish: Sweet and long
Score: 92

Ardbeg 1975 (45.2%, OB, Sherry Cask #4702, Hand Bottled for the French Market)
Nose: Charred oak, pungent reeky liquid smoke, burning canola oil and peat, with citrus notes
Palate: Oily, reeky, smoky ferns, peat, musty oil and creosote.
Finish: Long and soft
Score: 93

Ardbeg 1977 (46%, OB)
Color: Straw
Nose: Peat, not as reeky as other Ardbegs of this age, smoke and wet wool
Palate: Smoky burning peat, kick in the face wood zest, a very pungent but distinctly bourbon flavor emerges in the end.
Finish: Long
Score: 90

Ardbeg  29yo 1972/2001 "The Ardbeggeddon" (48.4%, PLOWED private bottling)
Color: Pale
Nose: Sherry, peat smoke, lemon, driftwood fires
Palate: Kick you in the teeth oil, sherry, peat and tar.  Lemon citrus soot and grease.
Finish: Ouch, that hurt.
Score: 91
Comments: A monster; the fiercest Ardbeg ever.

I decided to make this dram my nightcap.
That made 18 drams for the day.  I was doing better today, but still not up to par.
It was a good day, and there were some classic moments.  In particular watching S'Tan fall asleep, dram in hand, and the invention of Mouth Vatting.  This was a sign of things to come, and a very positive shadow was cast on the Scotland trip…  I drifted off to sleep, images of the CalMac ferry and Ardbeg distillery swirling in my head, like a giddy child on the night before Christmas, knowing that the Scotland trip was only weeks away, but not knowing what was in store for me when I got there….
 

May 5th, 2002

The next morning I stumbled out to the skalk of the morning… chosen by Sir Dave….and called the Char Skalk.
What is the Gaelic definition of a Sherry Monster skalk taken before breakfast?

Longmorn 1973 (58.5%, Blackadder Raw Cask)
Color: Dark mahogany
Nose: Velvety chocolate sherry and fruit
Palate: Easy on the front palate, hot on the back.  Syrupy, oily.  Maple syrup. 
Fnish: Sweet and long
Score: 90
Comments: A sherry monster.

We were served a breakfast of home made blueberry pancakes, venison sausage and venison haggis.  An amazing experience as always… We all packed our things up and shared a few drams off the record…. Talking of days past and the days to come…. Whisky Hill Dram Jam is not to be missed!  As I stepped outside in the cold afternoon air I thought to myself "Only 364 days to go until next time!"

Dr. Entropy's coverage and pictures of the 3rd Annual Whisky Hill Dram Jam can be seen at
http://www.smwhisky.com/WHDJ-3.htm

Michael Wade
 

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E-pistle #04/04 - Summertime Blues
by Serge Valentin, France

Summer can be very hot in Alsace. Stuck between the Vosges mountains and the German Black Forrest, far from the sea, we often get more than 35°C between June and August. Too hot to sip whisky? Time to switch to pastis, cold beer or even trendy absinth?
Of course not! Time for Lowlands! I can hear you from here: "Lowlanders? Are you masochistic?"

Yes, I know that most of you disregard these "supposed-to-be-lighter" whiskies.
But I can tell you one thing: you're wrong, providing you choose your bottles with much cognizance.
So, after having had a lot of sexy Macallans during Johannes' Amsterdam Midsummernight, I decided to organise a serious Lowland tasting session at home, on Thursday, June 27th. As I knew this topic would not be extremely appealing to the average-epicurian, I decided to call three very skilled tasters for some help:

• Olivier, very famous and succesfull winemaker / Master of Wine.
  He's been elected "World's best whitewinemaker of the year" two times - or perhaps three times.
  Strange: he's mad about whisky as well. (See the interview for more.)
• His wife Margaret "nothing but Laph' 30", who's got many skills.
  Amongst them: she's an excellent taster, and she's born Scottish.
• Christophe, who's one of the greatest French grain and cereals brokers.
  Notwithstanding, he still loves whisky!

That's all, folks.
For the moment!

Bon courage,

Serge
 

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E-pistle #04/05 - A Short Note on Indian Single Malt
by Krishna Nukala, India

The only so called Indian Single Malt available is "Mcdowell's Single Malt Whisky" (MSMW). I've tasted the stuff a few times. The first time I tasted it was somewhere in 1993, the last time was a month back. Although it is better in taste and acceptable as a whisky (more than any of the other so called Indian whiskies), I reserve my right to call it a single malt.

For a beginner or un-initiated it may seem to be a single malt. But at this stage I feel I am enough experienced at least to recognize a good whisky. The first drawback about MSMW is non specification of any age. Alcohol strength is a standard 43% abv. The color: a golden yellow. A swirl of the liquid does not show any oily character. The nose is fairly oakish and appears as any genuine imported scotch. Initial palate gives a faint mint like taste with considerable amount of wood. A little sweetish taste can also be detected. More than this I cannot detect any other characterstic about the whisky. The 3rd or 4th dram reveals the true character. I can distinctly feel the burnt rubber synthetic taste that is associated with all the standard molasses based whiskies of India. That gives me a doubt that the whisky is made out of standard non-grain based alcohol laced with some imported Scottish malts. It could be possible that the "blend" has been aged for some time in oak casks to give a feel of woody character.

I am aware that I am raising doubts about a whisky that is claimed to be a single malt (the stuff is produced by the largest liquor company in India - Mcdowell India Ltd). In his 'Malt Whisky Companion' (4th edition, page 327-329), Michael Jackson lists the malts produced outside Scotland. According to him even Pakistan produces a single malt. There is no mention of India. Here in lies my malt experience. Here in lies the reputation of a fellow Malt Maniac. To prove whether I am right or wrong I have to visit the distillery. The distillery is situated at Goa, a beautiful seaside resort on the Arabian sea. Presently I am too tied up with my official and personal problems to make a trip which takes about 5-7 days. But I shall do it soon. I shall be happy to prove myself wrong so that I can proudly claim that India too can produce a single malt.

(Why don't I try sending a sample of the stuff to fellow malsters for their opinion? I think I should do that!)

Krishna
 

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E-pistle #04/06 - Malt Whisky & Value For Money
by Craig Daniels, Australia

In the decade that I have been a serious malt devotee, there has always been something that has bothered me about scoring systems for malts. And this annoyance persists regardless of whether the scoring lists are put together by gifted amateurs or industry mouthpieces of varying degrees of independence; no-one ever mentions the price of the whiskies they score so you can't really determine "value for money" or a Quality Price Ratio (QPR).

I have attempted to do this so that anyone in any market in the world can plug the data in and come up with a number that equates price to score and allows maltsters to compare whiskies in different countries, of different alcoholic strengths and bottle size. I am about as far from a statistician or mathematician as you could imagine so if any people with such expertise can recommend refinements, I'd be pleased.

Before I tell you my formula and my best value for money whiskies I have to make a few comments. I have tasted lots and lots of great whiskies, but I won't score or recommend a whisky that I haven't bought for my shelves. In my system money matters; that is I am not a 'price is no object' kind of a guy. I'd rather spend my money on two bottles that I rate 85 than on one that I rate 89.
I can't and won't evaluate malt whiskies independent of their cost. This is because I wouldn't feel right recommending someone to buy a whisky that I didn't immediately go out and buy myself.
Of course this also means that some stellar malts can't be rated because my 'parsimony meter' kicks in at around AUD$ 150 and I wouldn't spend more than that on any whisky not scoring at least 90 on the Malt Madness Matrix. Of course it doesn't preclude someone else who has bought a Macallan 25yo or a Macallan 1874 from plugging their price and score into the formula and coming up with a QPR. I also know that my formula disadvantages very expensive whiskies, as technically the maximum a 700ml whisky at 40% that costs US$ 100 and scores 100 points could score is .89. But for me the QPR only delivers truly meaningful data with MMM scores below 90 as the 'parsimony factor' is discarded above 90MMM points.

Secondly I won't recommend whiskies that score below 75 on the Malt Madness Matrix to a third party on any basis, let alone that of value for money. As I said money matters, but quality matters more. Thus me recommending you to spend your money on a whisky that scores less than 75 is unacceptable on two grounds; one I wouldn't buy the stuff myself and two you no longer have that money to put towards a bottle that does score 75 or more. My formula also doesn't allow for the 'pride of ownership' factor, which while undeniable, is even more in the eye of the beholder than most other things about whisky.

OK, here's my formula: QPR = (50/USD per 700ml) x (alc%by volume/40) X (MMMscore/75) 2 X (MMMscore/100)2

I use US dollars for convenience and because most maltsters all over the world can't avoid knowing the US dollar exchange rate with their own currencies. You could use any currency really and obviously while currency exchange rates do fluctuate and thus the raw scores would change, the relativities within of your own personal QPR list would not. For me using US dollars means that a QPR below 1 is a 'not recommended' signal and a QPR over 1.25 is a 'buy' signal. Feel free to play around with it as you see fit. Plug in a whisky that scores 95 at 46% and costs US$ 100 and see whether it's a better value for money whisky than a whisky that scores 88 at 40% and costs US$ 52. Following are some of my personal favourites with acceptable to great QPRs;

Aberlour a'bunadh QPR = (50/32) x (59.9/40) x (85/75) 2 x (85/100)2 = (1.5625 x 1.4975 x 1.2844 x .7225) = 2.17
Lagavulin 16yo QPR = (50/32) x (43/40) x (88/75) 2 x (88/100)2 = (1.667 x 1.075 x 1.377 x .7744) = 1.91
Laphroaig 10yo QPR = (50/33) x (43/40) x (85/75) 2 x (85/100)2 = (1.5151 x 1.075 x 1.284 x .7225) = 1.51
Laphroaig 15yo QPR = (50/55) x (43/40) x (93/75) 2 x (93/100)2 = (.9091 x 1.075 x 1.5376 x .8649) = 1.30
Macallan 12yo QPR = (50/32) x (43/40) x (84/75) 2 x (84/100)2 = (1.5625 x 1.075 x 1.2544 x .7056) = 1.49

And finally everyone's benchmark malt:
Glenlivet 12yo QPR = (50/20) x (40/40) x (76/75) 2 x (76/100)2 = (2.5 x 1.00 x 1.027 x .5776) = 1.48

Anyway, that's it. Have fun.

Slainte

Craig
 

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E-pistle #04/07 - The Magic Price Point
by Louis Perlman, USA

Value, typically means getting the most for one's money.

So that means the cheapest whisky, right?
Or maybe the one with the best price/rating ratio, if someone could ever come up with a formula that is understandable to non-Nobel prize winners. I'd like to propose therefore, that value as it applies to the world of single malt scotch whisky depends on each individual's level of involvement, along with the amount of disposable income at the moment. So then, value is that magic price point that will maximize the enjoyment of one's purchase, while minimizing the detrimental effect on other acquisitions.

It seems to me that there are four stages of the life cycle of involvement in any hobby. The first is discovery, just finding out what all the fuss is about. The second is branching out, figuring out what the 'universe' of the hobby or interest is made up up. The third stage is avid enthusiasm, otherwise know as sheer lunacy. This is the point where pretty much anything goes. And finally comes retrenchment, settling down after the wild abandon of the previous stage.

So by examining the appropriate level of expenditure at each level, I believe that sort of value system will emerge. For SMS beginners, the obvious candidates for purchase are the standards, the Classic Malts, Highland Park, Macallan, etc. Now, spending $30-40 on a bottle of whisky may seem like quite a lot of money, considering that the popular 12 year old blends such as Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker Black Label typically go for around $25. And there certainly inexpensive single malts, Dalmore 12 for $20 and Speyburn 10 and Glen Garrioch 8 both going for a mere $15. But while these are surprisingly good at first sip, they are fairly simple malts, and not likely to be satisfying over the long term. Best idea, if on a tight budget, use the savings from the budget bottles towards the better ones.

Moving up to the next step, we can assume that the older (15-18 year) expressions are within reach. At this point, some of the private bottlings come into the picture as well. So it is possible to assemble a nice rotation without going broke. It's also starting to be tempting to move up the ladder and try something even more expensive. Here is where I would advise caution. While many expensive bottles are well worth the money, some only represent a small improvement over the $50 18 year old expression. Best advice is to get opinion of someone who's judgment you trust, be it someone you know in person or thru the internet. In any event, two to three medium price bottles probably represent more value here than one expensive one, unless it's to celebrate something like a significant birthday or anniversary.

But at stage three, all the stops come out. Anything goes now.
The biggest change from the previous two stages is that pride of ownership becomes a factor. And how can anybody state definitively what the value of that is. So it's up to each whisky lover to make that decision. Obviously, an Islay lover wouldn't pay a premium for a specific vintage Macallan, and a Speyside afficianado won't be doing backflips for a 1974 or earlier Ardbeg. And you'll have to decide for yourself what the value quotient is for something long since discontinued, or from a silent or dismantled distillery.

But after having a lot of fun, it's time to settle down a bit. The cabinet is full, and there are several cases in various closets. Things are starting to fall of the car. Or maybe your spouse or significant other wants to know why they shouldn't be be buying any more shoes or sweaters, while your whisky acquisitions outnumber bottles consumed by a 3 to 1 factor. At this point, it's possible to look at something and say 'that's nice' instead of 'I've got to have it'. Value now means making each bottle really special.

And now, two related thoughts. As I mentioned above, it can be a good idea to purchase bottles at different price points, to maximize value. This is what the investment world calls dollar cost averaging, and what airlines call yield management (how the dirt cheap non-refundable 30 day advance purchaser sits next to the mega-price ticket business traveler). You really don't want to be drinking your most expensive stuff all the time, so save that for special occasions. You also don't want to waste the 'good stuff' on blend loving guests, so the standards are fine for them. And keep an eye open for budget sleepers. One budget stretching trick that I've mentioned before is to drink something cask strength from the same distillery 'shotgun' with a more expensive bottle. That way, the alcohol from the cask strength kicks in before I put away too much of the expensive stuff.

And now for my closing point. It pains me to see someone say that $50-60 is way too much to pay for a 10 or 12 year old whisky, typically in reference to Springbank or Glen Rothes. Well, in my formative years, I passed on the Glen Rothes 1979 at $42.95, and the Sprinbank 12/100 at $49.95. So I ended up missing out on the former, and paying an average of $65 for each of my bottles of the latter. The just discontinued but still available Springbank 12 year old gives me more enjoyment than most of the bottles in my collection. Whatever your budget is, drinking by the label isn't really a good idea.

Louis
 

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E-pistle #04/08 - Malts for Nothing, Peat for Free
by Klaus Everding, Germany

You want to have excellent malts but you want to pay as little a possible.
In other words, you want to know the malts with good value for money relation.
OK, maybe I can help you. But before I give my recommendations I will have to tell you something about my preferences, the situation in Hamburg/Germany from the malty point of view and the money which I am willing to spend for malts.

- Preferences:

I like the Islay malts. Heavy and peaty malts. That's the kind of stuff I prefer.
Lowland malts are not my cup of tea. Speysiders - well some of them are excellent, but many of them taste more or less the same.

- Hamburg/Germany:
It seems that I live somewhere near paradise.
I have a shop with more than 500 malts available ranging from 13 Euro (Glen Grant n.a.s.) to 1500 Euro (Bowmore 1957) just 20 minutes away with public transportation. I really like to explore the shelves. The prices are reasonable and the shop assistants are competent. Liquors are taxed on the amount of alcohol. Nice - booze or single malts are taxed the same.

- Budget:
Last year I had no job and that meant not too much money available for malts.
I had to keep the price in mind always. 50 Euro was personal my limit. Everything above that had to be really great.  Now I have a job but less time to enjoy malts. It could be that  my point of view might change. Anyway I don't think it is reasonalble to spend large amounts of money on malts when there are so many nice malts below the 50 Euro limit. You can explore these expensive regions when you are ambitious to become a malt master.

And now here are my recommendations - only 10.
No complicated formulars, although I could enjoy it (I am a physicist you know).
I will not prentend to be objective.

My three true loves (excellent malts which are widely available):

01 - Laphroaig 10yo - 32 Euro for this heavy peated malt (1 litre bottle) - my score 95
02 - Macallan 12yo - 36 Euro for one of the best Speyside malts (1 litre bottle, 43%) - my score 92
03 - Highland Park 12yo - 30 Euro for the this wonderful malt (0.7 litre bottle) - my score 90

For the small purse:

04 - Glenfarclas 10yo - almost as good as the Mac 12y but only 21 Euro (0.7 l bottle) - my score 84

Also good value for money:

05 - Glenmorangie 10yo - 28 Euro for the 0.7 litre bottle - my score 85
06 - Lagavulin 16yo - the symphony in peat for only 31 Euro (0.7 litre bottle) - my score 84
07 - Bowmore 12yo - 35 Euro  for 1 litre of Bowmore, nice - my score 84
08 - Dalmore 12yo - 31 Euro  for the 1 litre bottle of this nice malt - my score 79
09 - Balvenie 12yo Double wood - don't spend your money on the Founder's Reserve; the few bucks more for the DW are worth it - my score 83
10 - Ardbeg 17yo - almost at my limit with 48 Euro for the 0.7 litre bottle but I really enjoy it - my score 92

The prices I mentioned are based on the latest pricelist of my shop www.weinquelle.com.
They deliver everywhere in the world, but the fools haven't built an international website yet.

Klaus
 

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E-pistle #04/09 - If I Were A Rich Man...
by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland

So far, I haven't actively contributed to most of the 'topical' discussions on Malt Maniacs.
That's because I often had already written some words about that topic in my Liquid Log or my Little Black Book.
When the maniacs discussed their Top 10 lists for MM#1 I had a look at my own Top 10 in Log Entry 50 and noticed it hadn't changed that much over the years. Besides, my Hit List offers a full best-to-worst overview of my current favourites anyway I decided writing an E-pistle about them would be a bit much. In MM#2 the maniacs tackled the age issue but at the time I didn't feel like I had much to add to the stuff I wrote about maturation in chapter 5 of the mAlmanac . I would have liked to chime in on the discussion about independent bottlings in MM#3 but I just didn't have the time to write something comprehensive about them.

But now we have this 'value' topic.
Of course, there's the 'Bang-For-Your-Buck' list in Chapter 7 of the mAlmanac but this is a subject I could write about for weeks on end. I'm Dutch, remember? If I were a rich man, I would simply try to buy at least 1 bottle from every single malt that is bottled, making sure that I wouldn't miss out on all the good stuff that is bottled. But I'm not a rich man so every time I visit one of the local malt mongers I have to make some difficult choices. I'm always trying to calculate how to extract as much fun as possible out of every euro I spend. In that respect, I have to say I find the formula Craig describes in E-pistle #04/06 a little complicated for everyday use.
When we still used the Dutch guilder as our local currency I could use a far simpler formula.
The guilder was worth a little under 0.50 Euro's or Dollars. Most 'standard' malts used to cost between 50 and 100 guilders and that conveniently fit the upper half of my rating scale. 100 guilders used to be my price ceiling as well, so all I had to do was divide the score of a malt by its price to find the QPR for that malt. Basically, anything that scored higher than 1.00 was good value and everything with a score below 1.00 wasn't. The higher the QPR score, the better.
As long as a malt scored higher than the price in guilders I smiled upon it.
Simple, eh?

Maybe just a little too simple...
This calculation conveniently ignores two important factors Craig does takes into account: alcohol percentage and bottle size. I'm a big fan of cask strength malts. For one thing, you can dilute them in various stages and enjoy different 'faces' of a malt before it reaches the 'standard' 40%. Besides - you simply get more alcohol for your money. As for bottle size: 700ml bottles are standard here in Europe. The one litre (1000ml) bottles are subject to availability, but contain over 40% more whisky than your average 700 ml bottle and 30% more than the 750ml bottles used in Canada and the USA. That's a couple of stiff extra drams!
But how to work these factors into the calculation?

Here's how it used to work.
Let's say I'm prepared to pay 40 Euro's for a bottle (40%, 0.7 litre) of good single malt whisky.
Using this as my 'Fair Price Anchor', I can take the initial quality score of a malt, and add or subtract 1 point for every Euro price difference. Then I look at the alcohol percentage. Every 3% alcohol over 40% adds another point to the QPR score. Every litre bottling that is readily available here in Holland (like Laphroaig 10yo or Longmorn 15yo) receives a 'Volume Bonus' of 5 points.
Sounds complicated, you say? Not at all. Let me give you some examples.
When we look at Glen Ord 12, the friendly price of 27 Euro's adds a cool (40-27=) 13 points to the original 80 quality points and pushes it to 93 value points. It's a 0.7 litre, 40% bottling so that's the final value rating. Another example; Glenfarclas 105 costs only 36 Euro's, even though it's a litre bottle at 60%. The quality rating of 80 points translates into (80+4+7+5=) 96 value points.
This method worked reasonably well and produced this list of personal 'Bang-For-Your-Buck' favourites on March 1, 2001:

97   Laphroaig 10yo  (86pts/35C/43.0%/1.00)
96   Talisker 10yo  (92pts/38C/45.8%/0.70)
96   Lagavulin 16yo  (95pts/40C/43.0%/0.70)
96   Glenfarclas NAS 105  (80pts/36C/60.0%/1.00)
96   Highland Park 12yo  (85pts/35C/43.0%/1.00)
95   Macallan 12yo  (86pts/37C/43.0%/1.00)
95   Dalmore 12yo  (80pts/31C/43.0%/1.00)
94   Old Fettercairn 10yo  (77pts/28C/40.0%/1.00)
94   Glenmorangie 10yo  (81pts/33C/43.0%/1.00)
93   Dufftown 10yo  (76pts/24C/43.0%/0.70)
93   Glen Ord 12yo  (80pts/27C/40.0%/0.70)
92   Longmorn 15yo  (82pts/37C/45.0%/1.00)
92   Balvenie 12yo DW  (85pts/33C/40.0%/0.70)
91   Balvenie 10yo  (81pts/30C/40.0%/0.70)
91   Glenlivet 12yo  (76pts/25C/40.0%/0.70)
90   Bunnahabhain 12yo  (81pts/31C/40.0%/0.70)
90   Glenfarclas 10yo  (79pts/29C/40.0%/0.70)
90   Bowmore 12yo  (80pts/36C/43.0%/1.00)

But that was then, this is now.
I've sampled over 150 new single malts since then, Lagavulin 16yo has dropped from its pole position, we've had the introduction of the Euro, prices are rising and next year the taxes will be raised even further here in Holland. Most importantly: the introduction of the spectacular new Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength proved to me that my personal BFYB formula wasn't perfected yet. Originally scoring 93 points it received a penalty of 7 points for the 'high' price of 47 Euro's putting it at 86 points. But the litre volume bonus cranks it up to 91 and when we take the alcohol percentage of 57.3% into account it receives 6 more points, putting it at 97 points on my 'Bang-for-your-Buck' list. That's the same score as the 'standard' 10yo Laphroaig (40%) that used to reign supreme!

That's amazing. Unfortunately, it doesn't accurately reflect my shopping behaviour.
It's pretty close, but given the choice I would cough up the extra tenner for the cask strength Laphroaig without hesitation. This doesn't mean my original formula is completely obsolete but it seems I'll have to start working on an alternative, more refined calculation. I guess I could use Craig's formula but I don't feel like thinking too hard when I visit my liquorist. Usually, I need all my mental faculties to restrain myself when I'm in front of shelves filled with bottles of whisky. I could do without distracting complex calculations.

So, I need to try and find myself a new 'Bang-For-Your-Buck' formula - preferably a simple one.
The factors I will have to incorporate in this formula are the price I have to pay (the cheaper the better), the alcohol percentage (the stronger the better), the bottle size (the bigger the better) and the score (the higher the better). Louis suggested that including discretionary income as a factor would be a good idea and I completely agree. When projects and money were plentiful spending hundreds of Euro's a month on malts didn't make me think twice but these days I'm back to my penny-pinching self. And since the malt maniacs are an international collective I guess I should try to find a way to exclude the influence of local price differences.

Working 'discretionary income' and 'local price level' into the calculation in a statistically correct manner would be an interesting exercise. We could develop some kind of 'local dram index', based on the prices of the 25 best selling single malts or something. This would allow us to compare not only differences in price levels between different markets, but also track price development over time. But that's a bit complicated right now, not to mention rather boring. So, I need an alternative way of working these factors into my formula. How about using these factors to help me define the cornerstones of my new formula?

'The Standard Single Malt' & 'The Perfect Single Malt'.

That standard single malt doesn't really exist, and neither does the perfect single malt.
Both are imaginary whiskies I made up for the purpose of my new formula. I used to use a real live single malt (Lagavulin 16yo) as the cornerstone of my old system but after my suspicions about batch variation were confirmed that 'cornerstone' turned out to be founded on quicksand. The biggest advantage of imaginary malts is that they don't suffer from batch variation. So I decided to base my revised system on two 'dream' whiskies; a 'standard' malt (minimum price/average performance) and a 'perfect' malt (maximum price/maximum performance).

More to the point: That standard malt is a bottle of 'decent' single malt whisky (40%, 70cl) that costs as little as locally possible. Performance isn't something I'm willing to compromise on, so the whisky has to confirm to certain 'minimum' standards. For me, that's a score of 75 points. With so many good malts around there's no need to buy anything that scores 'below average' on my Hit List. The minimum price for such a malt here in Holland is about 20 Euro's right now. At the other end of the scale we have the perfect malt. The maximum price tied to that perfect malt reflects the influence of disposible income I mentioned before. I'm determined to spend no more that 50 Euro's on a bottle of whisky next year, so that's my price ceiling for now. I'm not unreasonable, so I would be happy with any malt that scored 90 points (or more) at that price. The Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength and (some batches of) the Lagavulin 16yo prove that it is possible to market an exceptional whisky for less than 50 Euro's a bottle.

So, at the base of the system we have the standard malt; an imaginary whisky with a decent score (75 points) and an attractive price (20 Euro's). I'm willing to pay more than 20 Euro's for a bottle of whisky, provided: A) I like it better, B) it has a higher alcohol percentage or C) it's a bigger bottle. Ignoring alcohol percentage and bottle size for a moment, the crucial question is: how much more am I willing to pay for an extra point. Well, in my situation 2 Euro's per point seems reasonable.
Here's a general stratification of the performance I feel I can expect in return for my investment;

20 Euro's - 75 points
30 Euro's - 80 points
40 Euro's - 85 points
50 Euro's - 90 points

This means that I have a slightly different look on the 'magic price point' Louis mentioned in E-pistle 04/07.
For me there's a 'bandwidth' of fair prices. The price I'm willing to pay for a bottle depends on how much I like it.
With the imaginary 'standard' and 'perfect' malts as my anchors I tried to compose a formula that incorporates these 4 P factors;

• Performance (score on a 1-100 scale)
• Price (in Euro's)
• Percentage (alcohol percentage in volume %)
• Pours (the number of drams in the bottle - i.e. bottle size in ml)

Sweet drams,

Johannes
 

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E-pistle #04/10 - Paris Whisky Festival Report
by Serge Valentin, USA

Is the 'auld alliance' between the Scots and the French still alive?
One can guess so, as more than 1,000 French guys and girls gathered on September 23rd, 2002 at the former Distillery Clacquessin in Malakoff/Paris, to celebrate the 'water of life'. The event had been organised - beautifully - by famous shop/importer La Maison du Whisky. Everybody was wearing formal suits and dresses, which may prove that the attendees did come directly from their offices. And I felt naked with no tie! At the very beginning (19:00), the atmosphere wasn't that friendly, nothing to do with the relaxed atmosphere of the Scottish festivals. But some heavy general dramming was to make all the event much friendlier over time... The ties were to be put into the pockets, and the neck buttons opened from 10:00 on.

I must say that one could taste a lot of different new expressions at the distilleries' stands, plus some waiters did walk into the crowd, carrying some huge trays loaded with dozens of copitas. Yes, dram management was the evening's key word. And it was even more important, because there was very little food available, despite the fact that the event was said to include a dinner. This was a serious flaw, but after all, we were there to taste some whisky and meet some nice people, not to guzzle. But drammin' with an empty stomach's always quite difficult.

Yes, some serious dram management was necessary. Of course, I didn't succeed.
 

Retrouvailles chez Bruichladdich

I've been most happy to be accompanied by friends Margaret and Olivier Humbrecht, from Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, and we had some wonderful time together. As soon as we entered the place, guess whom we met? Yes, our friend Mark 'Bruichladdich' Reynier, who appeared to be in a very good shape - which may prove that his new bottlings are very successful. Jim McEwan appeared very soon 'Jim, look who's here!' said Mark... let's have a dram! We had a load of different Laddies at the speed of light, that's why I couldn't write down more that two serious notes - the other whiskies being only rated.
I'll include all the prices I know in this report.
Please note these are 'French' prices.

Ok, first, we had a new Bruichladdich 1970 Vintage (44.5%, OB). Wow, what a start, but sorry, no personal notes. We were that happy to meet again with Mark, that we couldn't do anything but chat a lot. The official LMW notes say "Nose: salted butter caramel, melon, peach, apricot, pear, banana, marzipan, honey and oak. Mouth: rich, creamy, exotic fruit, coconut, hazelnut, and sea notes developing over time".
Price at LMW: 180 euros. (my rating: 92 pts)

Then, we had the new Bruichladdich XVII (46%, OB), that's replacing the 20yo which is sold out. Still no notes from mine, but here're the LMW ones: "The nose is slightly smoky, with sweet cereals notes and ripe fruit. Mouth: nervous and elegant, flowery, dry grass, green malt and fruity, citrus. The finish is woody/smoky, with a nice malted barley development."
Price at LMW: 95 euros. (my rating: 87 pts)

The gang had brought a full bourbon cask to the festival, so that everybody could get his own special self-filled bottle. It was a Bruichladdich 1989/2002 for the Paris Whisky Festival (58,5%, OB). Here're my notes, considering both the nose and the mouth: crème brulée, mollein flowers, pecan pie, quite spirity (pear drops), Irish coffee, and some heavy sour notes, Japanese sake alike. Very good, indeed.
Price at the festival for a 70cl bottle: 40 euros. Yes, cheap! (88 pts).

Time to taste the new range's gem: the Bruichladdich 36yo 1966/2002 Legacy (42.2%, OB, Cask Strength). Nose: fantastic, showing some very elegant oaky notes. Extremely fresh for such an old malt, the typical 'coastal' notes are well here. Some very nice fruity notes as well (melon, apricot, mountain flowers honey). Olivier says it's a 'wine malt', which is a great compliment in his mouth. Yes, definitely a malt that could convert a wine aficionado. Mouth: creamy, very fine wood, sultanas. Slightly dry finish. Very, very elegant, well done Jim! Price at LMW: 250 euros. (92 pts).

Like Jim always said: 'I'm a cooper'. That's why these cask selections are so good, I guess. And I can't wait to see the results of Jim's help as a 'cask selector' for Murray McDavid. I'm sure it'll be fabulous. By the way, Olivier just shipped two empty casks of Alsacian 'Selection de Grains Nobles' to Jim, so that he can see how Bruichladdich (or will it be Port Charlotte?) behaves in such great casks. Ok, after a long chat with Mark about an old house on Islay my friends and myself had our eyes on (it appears to be haunted!), it was time to walk a little further down the alley, to meet again Iain 'Laphroaig' Henderson.
 

La folie chez Laphroaig

Iain just tasted Olivier's Rangen de Thann, and he was thrilled.
No wonder, the Rangen may be the only wine in the world that shows some peat smell and taste! If you ever put your hands on one bottle, buy it. It's not cheap, but it's fabulous (Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Rangen de Thann). I told Iain about my bottles that had been stolen while transiting through Heathrow, and he showed some real compassion. He told me about the 'Glug Club', which is kind of a gang that works at the British post office or at shippers'. These guys, when they suspect a parcel may contain some whisky, just shake it to check if they can hear a 'glug' sound. And then, they just steal the parcel.
I'm afraid the Glug Club is active at Heathrow as well.
You tell me we live in some developed countries!
It makes me think about Richard Joynson of Loch Fyne's, who just told me, when I said I would recommend his speedy service to friends: (quote) "Thanks for the recommendation. Please advise people that we are having trouble sending single bottles through the post, they seem to disappear in France. Multiple despatched get through okay."

Anyway, time for a dram with Iain. I'm afraid the one we had will never reach the shelves, as it was a tremendous cask sample: Laphroaig 19yo (57.8%, single European cask, WIP). Nobody at Laphroaig did know where the cask did come from, the only thing they knew was that it was an European cask! In fact, Iain told me that a lot of casks aren't 'trackable' (I'm sure this isn't English, is it?) Anyway, here're my few notes. Nose: very peaty and very enjoyable. No pungency at all. Extremely smoky as well, absolutely beautiful. Mouth: smoke and peat, but very smooth. Fa-bu-lous. A shame it's off-commerce (95 pts)
We tasted the Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength (57.3%, OB) as well.
This must be a new batch, because it appeared to be even better than the older versions I tasted.
Price at LMW: 50 euros. Sorry, no notes, only a rating. (93 pts).

Wait, let me check on my shelves... Oh, my 'old' bottle has got a completely different label.
Here are the differences:

Old bottle (92 pts):
- 3 bold green stripes on creme paper.
- Under 'years 10 old', it states 'Straight from the wood'

New bottle (93 pts):
- The new bottle: no green stripe anymore.
Almost same labelling as the regular 10yo, a red stripe under '10 years old', stating 'original cask strength'.

Now, we could have stayed a long time with Iain, chatting about this and that.
But we had to go a little further. Why not give the new Arran bottlings a try?
 

Chez Arran, ça ne s'arrange pas...

Arran did bring a whole bunch of cask samples to Paris, but we didn't want to try more than one. Yes, dram management. We went for an Arran 1997/2002 (56.7%, sherry cask #934, 804 bottles). Nose: extremely pungent, violent, sour, in one word: horrible. Mouth: vinegar and caramel... (50 pts). If the old gentleman wasn't so charming (and looking at us), we would have got rid of the malt without trying to drink it. But hum, we're well-bred people...
I went back at Bruichladdich's and spat it out into a jug discretely. Well I'm not sure I was that discrete, because I think I saw Mark frowning and laughing at the same time. I'm sure this was an accident, and we should have given a try to some other Arran bottlings. But there were many other great bottlings to taste...
 

Classic Malts, mais prix extravagants

Time to shift to UDV's. They were presenting a lot of new bottlings.
New, yes, and very expensive as well! No distillery manager that I could see, no stillman, no Scot.
Only a bunch of young French hostesses who didn't know anything about malt. Sure, they were more sexy than Iain, although the latter did wear a magnificent kilt 'just above the knee'. I guess they had been briefed about whisky one hour before the event.
Anyway, here're the bottles I could see on the table, or on some catalog:

- Oban DE 1987 (43%, 50 euros)
- Dalwhinnie 36yo Limited Edition Friends of Classic malts (46.9%, 1,500 bottles, 475 euros - must be a joke, ha-ha-ha!)
- Cragganmore DE 1988 (40% only, 43 euros)
- Talisker 20yo Limited Edition (62%, 9,000 bottles - limited, indeed - 135 euros)
- Lagavulin 12yo Special Release - not limited apparently (58%, 139 euros)
- Glenkinchie 12yo Limited Edition (58.7%, 5,010 bottles - yes, a joke again I guess - 109 euros)
- Brora 30yo Limited Bottling (52.4%, 3,000 bottles, 239 euros)

The Brora and the Lagavulin weren't there in 'real life', alas.
So we decided to taste only one of these, which was, of course...
The Talisker 20yo 1981/2002 (62%, OB). Please note it's not yet available in the shops. Nose: a fabulous range of different wood smokes, and some very fine wood character. Some orange as well, and some dark chocolate and iodine. Mouth: very nice and elegant. Smoke, spices, iodine. Extremely pure. Brilliant! Run and buy it as soon as you see it, despite the heavy price.
It's definitely worth the bucks! (95 pts)

I know, we said we would only taste one of these new UDV bottlings.
But I couldn't refrain from trying the Glenkinchie 12yo 'Friends of Classic Malts' (58,7%, OB).
I don't know why one can find this in the regular shops (same with the former Cragganmore 14yo). Aren't they supposed to be reserved to the 'FOTCM'? Maybe they just didn't want it. Anyway, I forgot to take some notes, I've only got a rating: 78 pts. Which is 4 points more than the Glenkinchie 10yo - which 4 times cheaper. Definitely not a must.

Now, I wonder why all these new UDV bottlings are so ridiculously priced.
Perhaps they want us to have a good laugh, which is very kind!
Or perhaps these were prices in 'old' French Francs, not converted into euros yet.
Anyway, here're some brand new potential dust-gatherers!

Ok, time to check what's cooking up at Macallan's...
 

Chez Macallan ça cale

An old French saying affirms 'Le ridicule ne tue pas' (Being ridiculous doesn't kill oneself). In Macallan's case, it's so true! Imagine, they had the complete series of the Vintage Bottlings on one table. Yes, 37 different bottles, from the 19th Century to 1972. Splendid! Just a little strange that they showed approximately the same colour. And we asked:
"Are these for tasting purpose?
- Not, only for display. They're too expensive...
- How strange! But aren't you afraid somebody will steal one or two of these?
- No, we aren't. There's no malt in there, only tea..."

Suddenly, we were convulsed with laughter! But we went on:
"What should we taste, then?
- Did you ever try the Grand Reserva?
- Hum, yes... Which vintage do you have?
- The 1981. Would you like to taste it?
- Sure!"

Please note that we weren't trying to act like spongers.
We actually paid to participate to the event, and the fee did include all the tastings.
A girl poured a very wee dram of The Macallan 1981 Gran Reserva (40%, OB) into our copitas. Ok, I know it's expensive, but still... Feeling honoured by this rare privilege, we put our noses deep into the glass, to try to catch some aromas. Here it goes. Nose: extremely sherried, almost like if we were nosing a glass of sherry. Is there any whisky in here? Weak and highly disappointing. Mouth: weak, lack of power. Some alcohol and some sherry, that doesn't mix well. And no smoothness, no roundness, no fruit. Finish: very short. Yes, very disappointing. But perhaps the fact that we had a lot of cask strength whiskies prior to this one was the problem. I said perhaps. Anyway, here's my rating: 75 pts. Ouch, the myth falls apart! I can see why more and more aficionados say we should buy all the Macs from the seventies before they are gone...

Anyway, let's go and see what the independent bottlers have to show us now.
 

Gordon & Macphail: du bon et du moins bon

Our next stop has been at Gordon & Macphail's. Mr. Urquart was there, very polite and friendly with all the people who were asaulting his table. G&M was presenting four different malts. A Dailuane CC 1974, a Bladnoch Cask Strength 1988, and two Benromachs: a 18yo and a 19yo portwood finish. We tasted all four, starting with the Benromach 19yo (45%, OB, Port wood finish). Strange, there's no further indication on the label about the year of distilling or bottling. The bottle is packaged in a red velvet tubes. Hum, tastes and colours! Mr Urquart said they've been bottling only 2,000 of these, after the malt had been finished for 3 years in some port casks. Benromach is G&M's own distillery, so I guess this one should be the company's flagship.
Nose: nice, a little winey of course. The port gave some red fruit notes to the whisky, but it's not overly impressive. A little weak. Mouth: winey again, and a little rough. Like in the Gran Reserva, the port and the whisky don't mix well. We feel it's like if you'd mixed some new make whisky, some red wine and some candy sugar.
Disappointing, especially when you consider the price tag: 76 euros at LMW. (71 pts)

This new experience just let us think that this new concept of 'wood finishing' almost never works.
To be honest, I've never been impressed by a 'wine' or 'Espirit' finishing, that may never be able to compete with a genuine full maturing. The Caol Ila's, Imperials or Glenmorangies that invaded our shelves recently are by no means on the same level as their full bourbon counterparts. And I can't wait to taste the new Port Ellen Signatory Port wood finish.
But we're still at G&M's, so let's go for another dram: Benromach 18yo (40%, OB).
This is a brand new expression, I guess. The nose is nicely balanced, showing great and nice various aromas. Alas, the mouth is weak, and 4O% is just not enough for that kind of whisky. I'm not a heavy alcohol level freak usually, and many G&M CCs are very good at 40%. But this time, it doesn't work I think. The main aromas are pear drops, and various nice fruit. Not bad at all, in fact, it's a pity it hasn't been bottled at 45 or 46%. (77 pts)

Let's taste the new Bladnoch 1988 Cask Selection (58.8%, G&M) now. The Connoisseur's Choice from the same vintage is quite enjoyable, so I can¹t wait. Nose: very smoky, as it happens very often with some cask strength Lowlanders  (St. Magdalene RM, Bladnoch RM, Rosebank RMŠ) Heavy celery aromas, plus the usual citrus zest. Nice hints of ginger. Mouth: a lot of power due to the heavy alcohol level. Pungent and spirity, pear and turpentine. This one may have needed a splash of water. But I must say my poor dram management made the things getting more and more chaotic. Anyway, here¹s my rating: (80 pts).

Let's finish this little visit at G&M's with the Dailuane 1974/2000 (40%, Connoisseur's Choice).
I like Dailuane since Johannes let me taste the Flora and Fauna. And this one was quite good as well.
Nose: nice elegant sherry, spices (clove, cinnamon), and a little peat at first.
Some fruity notes appear later, such as orange and lemon zests.
Mouth: hay, fruit again, cooked apple and pear. The finish is a little dry. (85 pts)

Now, while we're in Speyside, why not have a look at Glenfiddich/Balvenie's range?
We asked the guy for one single dram, because it was time to slow down.
He advised we should taste a Balvenie 1974/2002 (no alcohol prcentage indicated on the bottle, cask strentgh, work in progress). Nose: spectacular, very, very fresh. It's always a thrill to nose an old malt which is complex and fresh at the same time. Cedar wood, oak, liquorice, dried pears, hints of mint and eucalyptus. Yes, very nice.
Alas, the mouth isn't that spectacular. A little vulgar and too round, with no vivacity. Honey, apple pie, nutty. Please note this was only a sample, and may be this cask wouldn't have made it as a 'single cask' bottling. But very interesting, still. (79 pts).

At this point, more and more waiters appeared with big trays full of whisky. We did taste a few of these. Some bourbon like Blanton's Single Barrel, Van Winkle 12yo or George T. Stagg 67.65% (yes). But I'm no bourbon aficionado, although I know I should learn more about these. So, sorry, no notes. No notes either about the few Irish or Japanese whiskies we had.
Now, let's go to Signatory's tables. I really can't wait to taste the new Port Ellen Port wood.
 

Les théories de Signatory

Both Symington brothers were there, and they were very friendly.
We felt they were quite anxious to learn about what the aficionados like us thought about their latest acquisition, Edradour distillery. I said some bottles were very good, some others very bad. They didn't claim anything to the contrary, and just answered something like 'Thanks for letting us know'. Yes, very polite, indeed. I would have answered 'Then why not go to hell?' But I guess they're used to chat with half-drunk so-called connoisseurs ;-)
Anyway, I learnt something very interesting about Edradour: next year, Signatory will be able to sell 84,000 bottles all over the world, including the distillery's shop. And do you know how many people visit the distillery every year? 85,000!

Anyway, time for a few dram from Signatory Vintage. Why not start with the Port Ellen 1978/2002 (58.1%, Signatory Vintage, Port wood finish, Edition 1). Andrew Symington told us they did finish the whisky in some Port casks during six months, in their own warehouse. I couldn't refrain from thinking it should not have been some very good Port Ellen to deserve such an odd treatment. But only the tastebuds will tell. Nose: some smoke of course, and some winey notes that do not mix well, again. It isn't ugly, but it's not very enjoyable. You could either think 'nice winey notes, it's a shame there's so much smoke' or think the contrary. Mouth: peat and smoke and wine wood that, again, stay appart. This is interesting only because it's original. But considering the price (180 euros at LMW), I'm afraid this expression of Port Ellen won't join my collection on my shelves. (78 pts)

Now, I'm really wondering if all these new portomadeirossherry finishings sell!
Ok, now, Signatory presented some very good whisky as well. We had a young Rosebank 1992/2002 (55 to 60%, Signatory Vintage, straight from the cask, work in progress) that was powerful, very smoky (again, a very good C/S Lowlander), with a lot of dried fruit and citrus. Bravo! (86 pts). The third whisky we had with the Symingtons was a Glenlivet 25yo 1976/2002 (56.5%, Signatory Vintage) that was most enjoyable, if not the best Glenlivet I ever had (82 pts).
 

Bonne nuit les petits

The last malt I'll comment on was an Aberlour 31yo 1970/2002 (56.1%, OB) that was very powerful for such a venerable whisky. As often, the nose was better than the mouth, that was suffering from the high alcohol level. Still a very enjoyable dram, though. (85 pts). But it was already very late in the evening when we had this one, and my notes became unreadable.
Going any further wouldn't be serious, even though I've got a lot of other hieroglyphs in my notebook.
.

I can read I had some new Compass Box, a few other drams at Bruichladdich's (the Legacy 1966 again ­ wow, wow, wow!) Just to show you how 'saturated' I was (who said drunk?), I'll just tell you this: at the very end of the evening, we had a dram at Glenfiddich's table. Olivier poured the malt into my glass, without telling me what it was. I nosed it, tasted it, and I declared it was a nice whisky, matured in some rum cask.
Guess what? It was pure rum!

Now, after having chatted again with Mark, Iain and Jim (see the picture? Yes I was destroyed), we left the place in a little shuttle that had been organised by La Maison du Whisky. Good idea, indeed! We headed to a Chinese Restaurant in Paris' 13th arrondissement, just because we were very, very hungry. And we had to SPONGE all the malt we had during this fabulous evening. But as we were waiting for the dishes, we couldn't help opening a Laddie Valinch.
Just to keep the magic going...

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E-pistle #04/11 - A Look Back
by Patrick Whaley, USA

I remember when I first joined the Malt Maniacs.

I was very new to the scene and tried a handful of malts. I recently broke the 50 malt barrier and now I want to take a little look back at what has transpired. I thought it would take a long time to get to 50, and it sure seemed like it did. One hundred malts seems even further away. Some of the other maniacs are rather lucky, as they have the opportunity to meet with others and consume new malts at an astonishing pace. Fifty plus malts down and lots more to go!

Starting out was very exciting. I didn't have much to go on except what I read on the net (including Malt Madness of course). I remember reading about Islay malts and how they are so big and powerful. These were malts not for everyone, not advised for beginners. That's all I needed. Lagavulin and the Laphroaigs were among my first malts. I remember my first experience with Lagavulin, I could smell it before the cork was all the way out. I knew I was in for a treat. My first taste of Laphroaig was just how I read about it, it tasted like gauze and a medicine cabinet, excellent. Some of my other first encounters were with Glenlivet 12yo and Glenkinchie 10yo. I always welcome Glenlivet 12yo with open arms, there's just something comforting about it. Glenkinchie really didn't sit well with me. I didn't care for it and I haven't had it since.

I think it's also interesting how your tastes evolve. I remember my first run in with Macallan, the 12yo. All I could find about this distillery was nothing but praise, people respect this distillery immensely. Upon my first and subsequent experiences with my first bottle of the 12yo, it left a differing impression upon me. It wasn't what I was hoping for, perhaps my expectations were too high. My next Macallan was the 18yo 1979 and it was stunning. I remember it being full of fruits and sweetness, and extraordinarily silky. I steered clear of the 12yo until the Macallan JOLT. I was totally surprised, I loved it. The bottle disappeard awfully fast. I don't know exactly what happened, but I attribute it to a change in taste. Maybe after drinking so many sherried malts I have become accustomed to it.

Looking back, I feel guilty that I have not had and old favorite since the beginnin of my journey into single malts, Talisker 10yo. I was blown away by this malt: the power, the intensity, the big flavors. It reminds me of those Islay malts that I oh so love. I can't say for certain why I haven't opened another bottle. It's probably just because there are so many other malts out there to try. Winter is on the way and I should open a bottle to see if it tastes like I remember. Another reason to do so is to see if it still deserves the rating I gave it.

There has also been some not so memorable moments. Glenkinchie, as mentioned earlier, seemed to blah and weak for me. I couldn't even finish the whole bottle. It makes me want to steer clear of the Lowlands. But since it has been so long, and because I am a maniac, I will return to investigate the matter (why we maniacs put ourselves through such punishment is beyond me). I know Johannes and others speak very highly of St. Magdelene, but I would want to sample some first before making a purchase.

Campbeltown is a very beloved whisky region, but I have had quite a few Campbeltown experiences that did not meet my expectations. First, there was the Signatory Vinatge Campbeltown 8yo. That stuff was horrible, unpleasant aromas and a taste of sawdust. That stuff was hard to take down. SOmetimes I had to prepare myself mentally in order to ingest it. After that was a mini Glen Scotia that did not have an age statement. It was along the lines of the Signaotry Vintage Campbeltown but more bearable. More recently, I had a mini Springbank 12yo. This little bottle was strange because it did not look like the 750ml bottle I have. The 750 is obviously sherried, but this mini had the color of the new 10yo. I wasn't very impressed. I couldn't find the coconut and the finish was weak. It definitely left something to be desired.

It's always hard to decide what to sample next. I always want to try something new. On the other hand I want to go back and rediscover some malts like Talisker, or give a malt a second chance (like the Balvenie Doublewood, which I didn't care for when I had it a few years ago). I have been hit by the Malt Madness bug a few times and now it's sometimes hard to buy new malts. I have more than enough malts to keep me occupied for years so I really shouldn't buy anything. Of course there are exceptions, like limited edition bottles and new expressions. I am now on my way to 100 malts and I am looking forward to many great experiences. Two encounters that I am eagerly awaiting are Port Ellen and Caol Ila.  I hope the eperiences are as good as I envision them. Unfortuanately, Port Ellen will soon disappear, drink up while you can, right?
I am happy to see that Caol Ila now has official bottlings, hopefully they will get the push they deserve from their owners. And speaking! of Islay distilleries coming and going, it's great that Ardbeg has been resurrected. There was a time when I thought I wouldn't be able to sample this malt, and I do so love the 10yo. It made me wonder, how could a distilery with such a great whisky go under in the first place? Lifting a dram to many great tasting experiences to all.

Patrick Whaley
 

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E-pistle #04/12 - Springbank JOLT Transcript
by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland

Most of the previous JOLTs covered one single night of dramming. Because the malt maniacs are spread across the face of the earth the dramming activities usually follow dusk as it travels from east to west. After the European maniacs started the JOLT (usually around 22:00 GMT) the maniacs from the American continent could join in a few hours later. This worked reasonably well, but to accomodate Craig and Krishna who live in the far corners of the earth we decided to try and spread the Springbank JOLTing over several days. As it turned out this worked pretty well; we got to sample over twenty different Campbeltown malts.

Check out the JOLT Transcript for details on these single malts;

Glen Scotia NAS (40%, OB, 233/97, 5cl miniature)
Glen Scotia 9yo 1991/2001 (43%, Signatory Vintage)
Glen Scotia 14yo (40%, OB, L4/034/02, bottled 2002)
Longrow 10yo Bourbon Wood (46%, OB)
Springbank 11yo 1989/2000 (43%, Ultimate)
Springbank 10yo (46%, OB, 00/164, bottled 2000)
Springbank 10yo (46%, OB, 00/257, bottled 2000)
Springbank 10yo (46%, OB, no code, 50ml miniature)
Springbank 12yo (46%, OB, 95/237, bottled 1995)
Springbank 12yo (46%, OB, no code, Red leaves)
Springbank 12yo (46%, OB, no code, Green leaves)
Springbank 12yo (43%, OB, no code, black crock)
Springbank 12yo Rum Wood Finish (54.6%, OB)
Springbank 12yo 1989/2001 Private bottling (58.1%)
Springbank 15yo (46%, OB, 94/271, bottled 1994)
Springbank 15yo (46%, OB, no code, bottled 2002)
Springbank 21yo (46%, OB, 00/199, bottled 2000)
Springbank 21yo (46%, OB, no code, 5cl miniature)
Springbank 25yo (46%, OB, 95/311 , bottled 1995)
Springbank 1966/1998 'Local Barley' (54.4%, OB)
Vintage Campbeltown 8yo (40%, bastard malt)
Vintage Campbeltown 10yo (40%, bastard malt)

CLICK HERE to read the transcript of the proceedings.

Johannes
 

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