E-pistle #11/11 - Anoraks Ahoy!
Submitted on 27/10/2004 by Charles MacLean, Scotland
How good to see the Maniacs live up to their name! I have been away for the
The old potato of expanding the malt market by addressing younger drinkers By 1980, production had far outstripped demand.
But then things began to change and the whisky companies realised that there was money to be made from single malts. Just compare
the number of malts listed in Michael Jackson's 'Companion' 1st Edition (1989) and 4th Edition (1999) - I haven't counted, but probably
four times as many. And the number of expressions continues to grow. Look at the number of independent bottlers which have
emerged. Look at the number of books published on the subject (I once did a count and estimated that over twice as many books
were published on the subject between 1990-2000 as appeared between 1640-1980!). Look at the growth of whisky festivals and fairs. Look at the interest in collecting...
This heated global market-place, and especially one in which - as you say, Serge - consumers can talk to one another and to producers impacts upon the industry in several ways; 1) Supplying the volume demand. 2) Supplying the connoisseur demand for aged and rare bottlings.
3) Promoting a wider portfolio of malts and expressions. 4) Meeting the demands of increasingly well informed consumers.
It is particularly 'challenging' if you apply traditional brand-marketing concepts and methods. So traditional 'brand marketing' is inappropriate for malt whisky. Brand marketing is simple, clumsy and expensive: you throw a lot of money at it (advertising, direct mail, promotions, sponsorship) and
raise the brand profile in the market-place. When you have a wide range of 'brands', like a portfolio of malts (or indeed, a publisher's or
record company's list of current titles), it becomes more or less impossible to promote individual 'brands'. Increasingly, the solution is
seen to be 'relationship marketing' - building 'brand loyalty' by increasing direct contact with consumers; expanding the market by informing and educating individuals. And this is where everything goes pear-shaped - to return to
I have rambled on long enough, and I still have not addressed Serge's many other interesting points - not least his swipe at whisky
writers taking 'the King's shilling'! Perhaps on another occasion, now I must get back to earning my crust; not all writers are in the pockets of the industry ;-) Best to you all. Charlie MacLean
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past ten days, so have missed all the fun - and now have returned to the usual
1000 e-mails, so will have to keep this brief. First, congratulations, Serge, on a
splendid, articulate, hot-yet-icy article. The industry will sit up and take note,
I am sure. It will be interesting to see which way Whisky Mag jumps - the editor
is a great fan of the 'yoof market'. I hope you never choose to become full-time
'whisky writer': you'll put us all out of business!
has been exercising the industry ever since it switched from a sellers' to a buyers'
market in the late-1970s. Before that, there was simply not enough (blended) Scotch
to go round: whisky sold itself, often on allocation; and 'marketing' was unheard of.
But the idea has a fundamental flaw: Scotch does not appeal to the immature palate.
Whisky is 'aspirational', an acquired taste. I shall be interested to hear what age you
all were when you began to enjoy Scotch? And was it blended Scotch or malt whisky?
The only brand to have succeeded in appealing to the 'youth' market is Jack Daniels,
perhaps owing to its simple sweet flavour, but more likely down to a lucky association
with heavy rock bands!
To compound the problem, the world economy was sliding into recession.
Furthermore, the £ sterling was too strong, duties were hiked in many markets (especially in the U.K., where wine duty was lowered at
the same time) and - the worst possible scenario - fashion in the U.S. and U.K. changed away from Scotch ('Dad's drink') towards
white spirits and wine. You know all this. My reason for reminding you is that the whisky industry responded by doing nothing to recruit
new drinkers. Sales continued to decline. Distilleries closed. Malt whisky was re-invented (as a way of using up those surplus stocks of
mature whisky) - and, mirabile dictu, took off at a rate far in excess of what the industry expected. Most whisky companies
(especially the giant DCL) sat on their hands and refused to either promote single malt or revise the way they promoted blended
whisky. There was a degree of arrogance here - and much of what Serge complains about might be summed up as arrogance. Generally, the whisky industry was dragged kicking and screaming into supplying us, its loyal consumers, with what we want.
Examples are the Cardhu business, and now Macallan Fine Oak (they simply don't have enough sherried Macallan to supply Taiwan,
which has grown by 700% in the last four years). What will happen when India and China come fully on stream, I wonder?
Such a demand was unheard of ten or twenty years ago, and good casks of such whiskies are rare. They are also needed for super de luxe blends like Royal Salute of Walker Blue Label, the demand for which is also growing in leaps and bounds.
Everything is so much easier if you are simply offering six Classic Malts or four ages of Macallan...
This is especially challenging because these customers are by definition not 'brand loyal' in the way that blended whisky drinkers are.
Indeed, the kind of consumers that are called (politely) 'pluralists' or (impolitely) 'whores' by marketeers!
Remember that most of the marketing people in the whisky industry are 'marketeers' first and 'whisky-people' second - as in all other
industries. They might be selling soap or motor cars one day and wine or whisky the next. There are, of course, significant exceptions:
I need only mention Bill Bergius of Allied or Nick Morgan of Diageo. Accordingly, many fail to realise that whisky, like wine and unlike
most other products, has its own culture. Furthermore, I have long contended that it is incorrect to consider malt whiskies as 'brands'.
A comparison might be drawn with chateau-bottled wines. By definition, a brand stands apart from the product. You can sell a range
of goods under the Dunhill or Lacost or Louis Vitton band-names; you can change the ingredients of Coca-Cola, or Big Macs, or indeed
of any blended whisky (blends are brands). But you do not have this liberty with the single product of a distillery. Cardhu comes to mind again!
This is amply demonstrated by the fact that consumers
a) do not think of malts as 'brands' (our relationship to them is more complex, perhaps more emotional),
b) do not like to be advertised to/at,
c) like to make our own discoveries,
d) like a wide choice.
Proper relationship marketing - in the sense of building relationships with individual consumers - is not only extremely time-consuming,
it requires to be operated by people with a deep knowledge of the subject. So it costs a lot to do well - although not as much as
running a single ad campaign. Is it reasonable to expect a web-master or a junior in a marketing department to know as much about
the subject as a devoted afficionado, like any of us? This is where the term 'anorak' comes in. Born of frustration, impatience and
defensiveness it seems derisory, dismissive. In truth, there is also a grudging admiration and respect behind it - after all, it is us
anoraks who are driving the specialist end of the market, responding enthusiastically to relationship marketing, fulfilling the ambitions of information/education.
E-pistle #11/12 - Autumn Amsterdramming Report
Submitted on 02/11/2004 by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
Phew! This last batch of 'anorakal' E-pistles gave Davin and me plenty to talk about when he came to Amsterdam last weekend to pick up his 2004 awards samples. Not that we needed any extra excitement; Davin had collected an impressive collection of 'antique' miniatures from the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's and he decided to open a few of them to boost the number of malts on the matrix. Excellent! And all the other conditions were favourable for some serious dramming as well. Unlike last year, the weather was pretty nice - most of the trees still wore their autumn colours with pride, which is quite unusual for this time of year here in Holland.
This report will be relatively short and sweet; I'm quite busy sampling the 2004 awards entries. The picture above also shows our next dram, the Glendullan 12yo (47%, OB, Macdonald Greenlees Ltd, Bottled 1980's). That's a bit
of an unusual strength for a malt, eh? Well, I have to say it performed quite well at this ABV. The nose was big and complex. Quite
fruity. Maybe a hint of lemon? Spices and organics as well. When Davin mentioned cigarette tobacco I found that too. On the palate, I
imagined I could 'feel' the age again. It has a good mouth feel, although it turns a little gritty and bitter towards the finish. Maybe a little bit smokier and perfumier after a few minutes. I went with 82 points, Davin with 83. That being said, Davin seemed to like the Stronachie a lot more than I did. I've reported on the
Scapa 12yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2003, L01752/LF0480) before, but Davin hadn't tried it so we tried it in a H2H with an older, stronger bottling. I'll spare you the results because I saw no reason to change my score of 77 points
for this one. Davin was even less impressed with 76 points. The real star was the Scapa 25yo 1975/2001 (50%, DL Old Malt Cask, 438 Bottles).
Serge sent this as a blind sample some time ago and it blew me away then. There was plenty left so Davin could shine his light on it as
well. The 25yo had much more sherry in the nose than the 12yo, although that seems to have a sherry cmponent too. No contest really, especially because of the wonderful organics in the nose of the 25yo. I'll stand by my 90 points
while Davin liked it just a smidgen less with his rating of 89 points. The Isle of Jura 36yo (44%, OB, Cask #590, Bottled 2001, 449 Bottles) was another generous blind sample from Serge that did pretty well. I'll stick with 85 points
for this one; Davin went with 86. Nice one... By now we had already tried 13 different drams - and we were only getting started... JH DK - Malt:
I still wasn't crazy about the Glendronach 13yo 1990/2003 (46%, Murray McDavid, MM579), but a second tasting proved that my initial
score of 70 points was a bit too harsh. The nose was mellow, growing grainy and then dropping off. Vanilla ice cream. After ten
minutes I got some nice organics, growing more 'farmy' after five more minutes. It's 'bourbony' and quite simple on the palate, but I
decided to pump my score up to 73 points. Obviously, Davin like it a lot better with his 82 points. We were in complete agreement
about the Glendronach 25yo 1968/1993 (43%, OB, 100% Sherry) though: a stunning whisky and easily the very best Glendronach
either one of us had ever tried - hence the unanimous score of 94 points. There were loads of oriental spices in the nose and it
reminded me a bit of the Scapa 25yo. It tasted salty and 'mature' with some tobacco. The third 'Dronach in the trio was the oldest
one; the Glendronach 26yo 1974/2001 (47.5%, DL Old Malt Cask, 198 Bottles). This one also did better than the first time I tried it as
well. The nose started out sourish with organics emerging after ten minutes; sweat and leather. Liquorice and salmiak. Water melon. I
found liquorice on the palate as well. I pumped up my score from 79 to 84 points; Davin even went with 86 points. Phew! By the time the clock struck 8:00 PM we had sampled sixteen drams. JH DK - Malt:
The Rosebanks came from my bottom shelf; I wasn't really impressed with them on earlier occasions, but so far we only have three
Rosebanks on the matrix, so this is just 'cannon fodder' for the maniacs. The Chieftain's 10yo performed rather poorly when I first
opened it, but this time it did notably better. The nose started out creamy and not as harsh as before. Maltier with time, and even
some organics. Overcooked vegetables? Herbs? Quite expressive for such a young Lowlander, actually. Not quite as smooth and
expressive on the palate, though - it loses some points here. I found some pleasant liquorice and cinnamon notes, but little else to get
very excited about. My final score was 75 points - Davin gave it a thumbs up with 81 points. In comparison, the Ultimate 11yo didn't
do quite so well. It had quite an expressive nose as well; but it was 'paintier' and 'faintier' than the Chieftain's. It sweetens out. A
tantalising hint of peat didn't lift it above average, so I'll keep my score at 74 points. Davin liked it a little better with 78 points.
We started on Friday morning around 11:00 AM with a few 'benchmark' malts to calibrate our senses.
We sampled a Glenlivet 12yo (43%, OB, 100cl, Bottled +/- 2001) from my bottom shelf that we both put at 75 points, a suprisingly good Glenlivet 12yo American Oak Finish
(40%, OB, 100cl, LK10997, Bottled +/- 2003) Davin bought for me at the airport (we both gave it 82 points directly after opening) and finally the Macallan 12yo 'Fine Oak' (40%, OB) that didn't go down quite as well as
when I tried it at the introduction; 72 points from me and 73 points from Davin. Hmmm... I wasn't thrilled then and now my doubts are
increasing... In comparison, the Glenlivet American Oak was a big surprise, especially because I'm not a big fan of bourbon matured
malts. The nose is very big and fruity - uncharacteristicly characteristic for a Glenlivet OB. Smooth, fruity and malty on the palate.
Maybe a hint of smoke in the finish. After a while it grows notably grittier. A very nice surprise, I have to say.
Not terribly deep and complex, but big and bold. Good job! 
Anyway, this was just the 'prelude'.
Davin dug into his big box and resurfaced shortly afterwards with a blast from
the past; a mini of Auchentoshan 12yo
(43%, OB, Black label, Bottled 1980's).
I found the nose to be much more potent than that of the current 10yo release.
Malty. Apart from the rotting hay and other organics something clearly reminded
me of the Glenfiddich 'Over 8yo' from the 1960's. Could that be age I'm smelling?
Pickled sweet & sour gherkins. This one doesn't smell 'Lowlandish' at all, actually.
Could that be proof that the 'traditional' regions were to some extent 'invented'
or at least brought back to life in the '80's or '90's? Hmm, let's check the taste.
It starts out a tad perfumy on the palate, but grows sweeter and heavier over
time. I think I'd have to go with a score of 79 points for this one. It's really far
better than the current 10yo. Davin agreed, but gave this one 'only' 78 points.
In retrospect, he decided to decrease his scores for two other expressions;
the Auchentoshan 10yo (40%, OB, Bottled 1990's) dropped to 74 points
while the Auchentoshan NAS 'Select' (40%, OB) ends up at 71 points.
Dram #6 on Day #1 was the Glenordie 12yo (40%, OB, Dewar, Bottled 1980's), also depicted above.
The nose starts out big and fruity with mustard seeds and other spices, but it drops off. Just like the Glendullan, it tastes 'old'. Quite
pleasant but in the end just a little bit flat. Actually, I think the bottlings I tried in the 1990's had a little more body. That must be why we both felt it shouldn't end up in the 80's. I finally decided on 78 points, Davin on 79. 
Up next: Mosstowie 1975 (40%, Connoisseurs Choice, IC/FG, New Label).
When I say 'new label' I mean the one shown at the right; later on you can
find my notes on an even older bottling with an older, brown & yellow label.
The nose started out quite sherried, followed by organics. Apple treacle?
Mighty pleasant, and so was the taste. It's solid for quite a while, but then
the finish grows too woody, winey and thin, So, finish this whisky quickly!
The Mosstowie '75 did very well and we both agreed it was our best dram
so far with scores of 83 points from me and 84 from Davin. Good stuff.
I'm not sure it was wise to turn our attention from the genuine old stuff to
a bogus 'replica', but Davin hadn't tried the Stronachie 12yo (43%, Dewar)
that I bought last year in Scotland yet. It's a 'bastard' botling released last
year by Dewar Rattray, rumoured to be made at Benrinnes distillery. I have
to say I find the whole overblown marketing story about the connection to
an actual Stronachie distillery that may have existed in the past too silly
for words, but maybe that's just the 'anorak' in me.
I hung on firmly to my original score of 75 points (the same score Peter Silver gave it), but for some reason Davin thought it was
worth no less than 81 points - that's in the same area as Serge's 80 and Olivier's 81 points. That means they think this is a
recommendable (if somewhat illegitimate) dram. So, don't take my word for it; try to get yourself a bottle (I think I paid only 25 pounds for it) and find out for yourself if this is a worthy addition to the pantheon of malts.
One bottling that definitely deserves a place in that pantheon of malts (at least in my book) is what must
have been the oldest sample of the weekend, the Balvenie NAS (40%, OB, 3cl miniature, Bottled 1970's?).
According to our information, this bottling (shown at the right) even pre-dates the 10yo bottling shown in
the middle of picture above. That 10yo expression was released in the 1980's, so we assume this one was
bottled in the 1970's. Another thing that set it apart from the other miniatures was its size; 3cl as opposed
to the usual 5cl. Davin and I both took one sniff from our glass, looked at eachother with amazement and
instantly knew we had found ourselves a winner. The nose was big, sweet and very spicy - oriental spices.
Babi Pangang sauce. Mint. Fruity and very sherried as well. Organics. Good wood. Great development too.
The taste is very pleasant as well, but not as 'heavy' as I had expected. It powers up very nicely, though.
I even got something vagualy peaty - and lots of pleasant tannins in the finish. A fabulous piece of work.
Davin and I both gave this a solid 90 points, making it not only the highest scoring malt of this session,
but also the best Balvenie I ever tried. It even beats my beloved 21yo Port Finish, which says something!
We tried it head-to-head with the Balvenie 10yo (40%, OB, 5cl miniature, Bottled 1980's) I mentioned.
That one starts off a little dusty in the nose. It's much lighter than the NAS - and much more like present
day bottlings of the 10yo. Could the NAS actually be older than ten years? Anyway, this one appeared to
have more veggier elements; oriental spices but no sherry. It sweetens out over time but never becomes
as 'honeyish' as the current 10yo. I liked the nose a lot, but got a good scare when I tasted it; watery,
sourish and soapy. Fortunatelyt improves with time and I even found some liquorice. It's extremely dry.
I finally decided on a score of 80 points for the 10yo; Davin liked it a little better with 82 points.
Next was a H2H2H (head-to-head-to-head) of three different Glendronachs Olivier sent me a while ago.
As far as I was concerned, one performed below average, one was recommendable and one was just magnificent.
Here's a micro-matrix, just to give you a quick overview of the results;
73 82 - Glendronach 13yo 1990/2003
(46%, Murray McDavid, MM579)
94 94 - Glendronach 25yo 1968/1993 (43%, OB, 100% Sherry)
84 86 - Glendronach 26yo 1974/2001 (47.5%, DL Old Malt Cask, 198 Bottles)
Time to order some (mildly spiced) chinese food to help settle our rumbling stomachs.
While we waited for our sustenance, we nipped from the Edradour 10yo 1993/2004 Sauternes Finish (57.2%, OB, SftC,
C#04/11/3, Distilled 15/12/1993, Bottled 22/06/2004, 444 Bottles). Interestingly enough, its 'sister cask' (56.8%, OB, C#04/11/2) was submitted for the 2004 MM Awards. If it's anything like this, I expect it to win at least a bronze medal.
After a short break we resumed our investigations with two Lowland H2H's;
75 81 - Rosebank 10yo 1991/2001 (43%, Chieftain's, Hogsheads #1646-1648, Distilled 05/1991, Bottled 10/2001)
74 78 -
Rosebank 11yo 1989/2001 (43%, Ultimate, distilled 12/4/1989, bottled 30/01/2001, C#789, Bottle #445)
85 86 - Bladnoch 1987/1999 (58.8%, Scotch Single Malt Circle)
83 89 - Linlithgow 1975/1999 (56.3%, Scott's Selection)
The other Lowland H2H put two cask strength samples from Serge against eachother.
By now we were both starting to feel it - but surprisingly enough Davin (who had to deal with transatlantic jet-lag as well) didn't seem
nearly as affected as I was. Maybe the fact that I was sampling from bigger glasses was beginning to take its toll. Nevertheless, we found the energy to sample two more drams. The nose of the MacDuff 11yo 1990/2002
(43%, Cooper's Choice) started out oily and a little 'farmy'. The aroma grows a little more complex over time with more organics. It becomes very interesting, but it's not really my
cup of tea. It was exceptionally smooth on the palate and towards the finish I once again found a bit of liquorice. I have to admit this is very pleasant on the palate, so I decided to increase my final score to 75 points
- just two points short of Davin's 77 points. It needs some time in the bottle (and in the glass), that's all. If it had performed like this from the start it would have made the upper 70's - maybe even 'recommendable' territory.
Our last (and 23d) dram of the day was the Macallan 1990/2003 (50.5%, Wilson & Morgan Extra Strength) and that one had no
problems ending up in recommendable territory. It was big and sherried and surprisingly spicy in the nose - much more so than the last
time I tried it. It may not be as extreme as some of the 'old style' OB's, but as a single malt it's able to stand on its own two feet.
Unfortunately, it doesn't do quite as well on the palate; its hot and quite harsh and really needs some water to cool it down. After carefulconsideration, I decided to stick with 82 points - Davin went with 84.
So, that's 23 malts under our belt - quite enough for one day, I'd say.
I gave the Bladnoch 1987/1999 (58.8%, Scotch Single Malt Circle) 'just' 81 points when I tried it a few weeks ago, but after my first
sniffs and sips I immediately concluded that this score was way too stingy. The nose was sweet and lemony with some heather and
flower nectar. Some organics as well and when I also found something slightly medicinal as well I became really excited. The taste was
smooth and, again, lemony. And hey, I found a decent dose of peat as well after a while. I cranked up my score to 85 points, which is
much more in line with Davin's (and Olivier's) 86 points and Serge's 87 points. Actually, if I'm not mistaken, this is one of the very best
young Lowlanders I've tried. The Linlithgow 1975/1999 (56.3%, Scott's Selection) wasn't bad either, but I couldn't go higher than 83
points this time - as opposed to Davin's 89 points. I found a hint of smoke and plenty of lemon in the nose. Pleasant but not very
complex. It did much better on the palate; it had a fabulous fruity centre with hints of sweet liquorice. Salty as well. If it hadn't been
a tad too 'winey' in the finish for me it might have reached the upper 80's. But it was... So it didn't...
The winners of day 1 for me were the Glendronach 25yo 1968/1993 (43%, OB, 100% Sherry), the Scapa 25yo 1975/2001 (50%, DL Old
Malt Cask, 438 Bottles) and that remarkable Balvenie NAS from the 1970's. That's a genuine blast from the past... I'll have no problems dreaming sweet dreams of the legendary malts of yore.
Zzzzzzz...
After a good night's sleep we were more than ready for another day of dramming. JH DK - Whisky: Investigating these 'deviant drams' took us all morning, so we decided to head into town for lunch. We proceeded with the Craigellachie 21yo 1973 'Drumbowie' (53.5%, The Whisky Connoisseur). Our next dram: Strahisla 8yo (40%, G&M OB, Bottled 1980's, IB/ADA).
I have to admit things started to get a little bit chaotic by now. Davin was his own zealous self and passionately pursued the further
expansion of the matrix, but I could use a breather. While I decided to give my poor liver a quick break, Davin investigated a malt that I had already emptied a big bottle of some years ago; the Glen Elgin NAS
(43%, OB, Bottled 1990's). I felt pretty confident about my original score of 70 points, even though Davin thought it was worth 76 points. OK, time to shock my liver back into action with another dram...
Our next dram was something extra special; Dave Russo from Boston passed a bunch of samples on to Davin, and he used the
'Nalgene' plastic bottles I've heard so much about. Well, at first sight they seem just brilliant! They weigh next to nothing and the results of our tasting didn't indicate the malt had suffered in any way. In fact, the Aberfeldy 25yo 1975
(57%, Cadenhead's) performed quite brilliantly. The nose was very polished, although it started a little bit restrained. It seemed like a straight shooter at
first, but it opens up with pipe tobacco and more complex aroma's over time. The taste was big and fruity and quickly loads of
liquorice emerged. Very, very nice. I went with 90 points and Davin even loved it 93 points worth. That seems to indicate that these
Nalgene bottles are perfect for shipping malts. I'll have to do an experiment to determine if they do quite as well w.r.t. storing malts. Around 20:00 PM, just when we started running out of mini's, 'aspiring maniacette' Maaike arrived.
Hmmm... Fairly mediocre results, I'd say.
In comparision, the nose of the Knockando 1984/1998 (43%, OB, 75cl) seemed
We started day 2 with a little virtual trip around the world with malts from South Africa, Wales and Ireland. Here are the final results in another micro-matrix; I'll write a more extensive report on some of these 'deviant drams' for my liquid log soon.
74 73 - Three Ships 10yo Whisky (40%, OB, South Africa)
64 62 - Penderyn NAS Madeira Finish (46%, OB, Wales)
73 72 - Greenore 8yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2004, Single Grain, Ireland)
70 68 - Tyrconnell NAS (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2004, Ireland)
81 79 - Connemara 12yo
(40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2004, Ireland)
83 82 - Connemara NAS Cask Strength (60%, OB, Bottled +/- 2004)
The weather was still unseasonly pleasant, so we could enjoy our lunch at the waterside terrace of 'De Jaren'. Davin adventurously
ordered the soup of the day without knowing what he would get. It turned out to be mussel soup - something I wouldn't risk myself
during a maltathon so I went for the Thom Ka Kai. The fishy soup hadn't discouraged Davin in the least, so when we took a stroll
through town we also picked up one of our favourite Dutch dishes on the way: 'patat met mayonaise'. Stuffed with calories, we eventually made our way to the 
Back home we turned our attention to some other old miniatures from Davin.
The Banff 18yo 1978/1997 (43%, Signatory, C#4617, D 12/12/1978, B 6/97)
wasn't that 'antique', but it would only be the second expression from this long
gone distillery I had ever tried. The nose started off light and grainy with a hint
of soap. Brinta! (oatmeal) - like weetabix with milk. Other, nobler grains emerge
over time while it sweetens out. Still, it tethers on the brink of oily. There was
a distracting hint of perfume in the taste as well. It just feels a little 'soapy'.
It grows a little bitter towards the finish. The taste isn't quite as complex as
the nose but it has lots of 'substance'. I went with 76 points
, Davin with 77.
The Craigellachie 12yo (43%, Master of Malt, 95/547) was even more special,
so far there's not one single expression of Craigellachie featured on the matrix.
Once again, you can really 'smell the age' on this one. The nose has something
I can only describe as 'inbetween oily and organics'. It's well balanced, growing
sweeter and spicier. It had some very subtle fruits on the palate and appeared
a little bit dry. Unripe nectarines. Violets. A nice dram but hardly spectacular.
I ended up with a score of 77 points
while Davin arrived at 80. Quite decent.
I've never heard of a bottler by this name, but Davin suspected this might be a bottling done by a whisky club. If so, they were ahead
of their times; this must have been bottled around 1994. The nose started fruity, sweet and sherried. Turkish delight. Spices. Some
organics as well, growing stronger. This is a lovely dram for the nose. On the palate it started out a little perfumy, sweetening out
over time. When I got some liquorice in there it warmed my Dutch hart. So, this does quite well on the palate as well - how did we translate that into double digits? I'll tell you; with a unanimous score of 86 points.
And the fun with 'obscure' malts wasn't over just yet.
Davin pulled a Mosstowie 1970 (40%, Connoisseurs Choice, Old Label) from
his big box. Yesterday's Connoisseurs Choice bottling was distilled in 1975 and
had a label that was quite similar to the current ones, but as you can see from
the picture at the right this one still had the older, brown and beige label on it.
At first the nose appeared sweet and waxy, but it grew more 'substantial' fast.
Over time more organics emerge. On the palate it has a sweet start, followed
by a minty freshness, then lots of fruits. Salty on the lips. For the first few
minutes I found it very pleasant on the palate, but then the finish becomes
too dry for me - and eventually too watery, if that makes any sense...
My score was 81 points while Davin got stuck at 79.
The nose was quite big with a good deal of oil, spices, smoke, tea and pine.
Unfortunately, it drops off rather quickly. It started off very soft on the palate too.
I say soft, some might even call it weak. It's oily and creamy, that's about all I can say.
Not enough character for my taste, hence my score of 73 points. Davin liked it 79 points worth.
You can find a picture of the
Scapa 8yo (40%, OB, Bottled 1980's) alongside yesterday's notes, but we actually tried it on day two. Arguably, we should have put it alongside the current 12yo and the 25yo OMC bottling earlier, but in our pursuit of a bigger and bolder
matrix our behaviour became increasingly erratic. The nose of this Scapa was big and sherried, then fruitier with a hint of pineapple.
Smoke and organics; farmy aroma's and even some peat. Interestingly enough, this profile has more similarities with today's Highland
Park than with the current Scapa 12yo. On the palate it starts out a little weaker than I expected, but it developed into a very nice
malty centre. After a while it becomes quite winey and a little perfumy - violets again. It loses some points here, but it still ends up with a recommendable score of 80 points in my book. Very different from the current 12yo.
Davin was slightly less impressed with this one, judging from his 77 points.
Another distillery that's not well represented on the matrix is Pittyvaich.
Well, until now, that is. Davin pulled two more nice 'antiquities' from his big box.
I'm afraid there's no way to be completely sure about the exact year in which they
bottled the Pittyvaich 12yo
(54%, James McArthur, C#15096), but I'd guess it must
have been somewhere in the early 1990's, just like the other Pittyvaich on the menu;
the Pittyvaich-Glenlivet 13yo 1977/1991 (58.4%, Cadenhead's, Black Label) that
was distilled in September 1977 and bottled in March 1991. Of course, we decided to
try these siblings H2H. The 13yo seems to display more of the 'aged' character I found
in some other old miniatures this weekend. The 12yo is much lighter, although there's
a wide range of organics to be enjoyed. The 13yo is sweeter, fruitier and much more
sherried - although it does have some organics as well. Maggi? Some rubber perhaps?
The 12yo starts a little bit weak on the palate before growing fruitier and smokier.
It has a very nice mouth feel. The 13yo had big and utterly pleasing sherry character
with lots of good, solid wood - although it grew a little too woody for me in the finish.
We both liked the 12yo (I gave it 83 points
and Davin gave it 87), but the big surprise
was the 13yo from Cadenhead's. If our scores (my 89 points and Davin's 91) are any
indication, many of my low scores for old and tired Cadenhead's bottlings at De Still
are not representative. The few 'fresh' black label Cadenheads I've tried did much
better on average. Ah well, live and learn... Once thing is certain, this has a lot
to offer for a 13yo Speysider. Too bad they closed the distillery in 1993.
Could this be a 'hidden lost gem' like Braes of Glenlivet?
That was a good excuse to finally open a few bottles from my reserve stock, starting with two Linkwoods.
The nose of the Linkwood 10yo 1990 (43%, Chieftain's Choice, 3154) was light and grainy with a lingering sweetness in the
background. Apple. It's surprisingly lemony, very much like a Lowlander. Faint organics. The taste was sweetish and malty; a lot bigger
than I expected, actually. It needs a few seconds to power up and it's a tad too woody in the finish, but I'd put it a notch above average with a score of 76 points. Davin more or less agreed with 75 points. Hardly spectacular.
Meanwhile, the Linkwood 12yo 1989/2002 (43%, Coopers Choice) appeared a little more sherried in the nose, but not particulary
expressive. In fact, it was so slight that it really didn't match the dark colour; I'm pretty sure this was artificially coloured. I got some
spices and maybe a hint of smoke in the nose, but not much more. It starts off a little unbalanced on the palate, growing sweeter and
fruitier towards the centre, then hotter. Quite pleasant, actually. However, it does have a smoky bitterness in the finish that keeps it from rising above average, i.e. the upper 70's. My score: 72 points - Davin went with 73.
Fortunately Davin pulled another (and much, much older) sample from Dave Russo from his big box of surprises to save the day for this distillery. The nose of the Linkwood 27yo 1961
(40%, Gordon & MacPhail) was big and polished with mild organics. Sweet & sour. More organics and spices emerge with time. The taste was very sherried, much more so than what you'd expect based on the fairly
balanced nose. There's no sweetness on the palate whatsoever. A tad too dry in the finish for me, but apart from that a pretty solid malt whisky. I eventually went with 88 points
for this golden oldie, Davin had it at 87 points. In this case, age has certainly been beneficiary to the whisky; the younger expressions pale in comparison.
We decided to pull two more Speysiders from my shelves; Knockando's this time.
Oddly enough, we only have one expression on the matrix so far, the 1986/1998.
The Knockando 1987/1999
(40%, OB, 70cl) appeared a little restrained at first,
but then I got some pleasant nutty notes. It develops further in a malty direction
and eventually picks up some very mild herbs and spices as well. Nice, but in the
end I like my malts a little bit heftier. It's pretty solid on the palate as well and for
the first few seconds it seems to take a sweeter direction. Unfortunately, it grows
very bitter (and quite flat) far too soon, dragging the score down to 74 points.
Davin also ranked it 'a little below average' with 72 points.
But hey, maybe it just needs some time to breathe.
a tad dustier than the '87/'99, but the main impression was nutty again. There were
many similarities, but here the nose seemed sweeter and spicier. It just was a little
more expressive than its younger sibling. The same is true on the palate, especially
in the centre that's positively hot. It never grows as bitter either, so I'll defintely
have to rate this one a few points higher than the '87/'99. While I was trying to
figure out the score I caught a sudden whiff of subtle smoke and organics in the
nose that made me decide on a score of 78 points, once again just a tad higher
than Davin's score of 75 points. I wonder if the slightly higher proof could have
something to do with our preference for the '84/'98 - it just feels a little more
substantial and has a better mouth feel. Of course, the two more years in the
cask would have been helpful as well. Anyway; I'll try to get some samples
to other maniacs soon, so we can beef up the listings for Knockando.
Oh boy... Maaike was still fresh and Davin was going like a steam locomotive. JH DK - Malt:
In the meantime, I was slowly growing visually, physically and mentally impaired. I guess that means I'll really have to start practicing
the technique of spitting some time in the near future. Ah well, I need new carpet anyway... Fortunately, the rest of the evening we would be tasting whiskies I had
already tried and scored before, so I could take it relatively easy. And that's what I did. However, an unfortunate side-effect of this 'laissez faire' attitude is a lack of other notes on tonights session.
So, I'll finish this report with this micro-matrix of the last eight malts of the evening.
79 76 - Macallan 1990/1999 (50%, John Milroy Golden Strength, Millennium Selection)
69 71 -
Clynelish 11yo 1989/2000 'Summer/Autumn' (43%, McGibbon's Provenance)
64 76 - Clynelish 11yo 1990/2001 (45%, Blackadder, Distilled 11/05/1990, Bottled 09/2001, Oak Puncheon #3953)
83 86 - Clynelish 1989/2002
(46%, Wilson & Morgan)
86 90 - Caol Ila 9yo 1992/2002 (43%, Coopers Choice)
87 86 - Caol Ila 10yo 1988/1999 (43%, Hart Brothers, Distilled December 1988)
80 76 - Caol Ila 11yo 1990/2001 Rum Finish
(43%, Chieftain's, Casks #90201/90205, 1540 bottles)
82 78 - Caol Ila 11yo 1991/2002 Port Finish (46%, Signatory Vintage Unchillfiltered, Cask #02/472, 1132 bottles)
I did 'tweak' my old scores for some of these, most notably for the Clynelish 11yo 1989/2000 (43%, McGibbon's Provenance). The nose starts of with lots of odd and peculiar veggy and farmy notes. Interesting organics. I still think it's utterly disappointing on the palate (despite a pleasant liquorice undertone), but it receives bonus points for originality. So, I decided to pump up the score from the original 55 to 69 points - quite a big leap forward. Still, this is far from recommendable in my book. Let's see, what else? My initial score for the Clynelish 11yo 1990/2001 (45%, Blackadder, Distilled 11/05/1990, Bottled 09/2001, C#3953) needed revision as well, although not nearly as much as the McGibbon's. I did find some pleasant liquorice notes on the palate that made me increase my final score to 64 points for this one.
We had originally planned to start the third and last day with a few 'farewell skalks' (Ardbegs), but Davin had to be at the train station at 11:00 AM and my body really wasn't up to it after two days of heavy dramming. So, we made sure Davin's 2004 Awards package was tightly packed and left for the train station where we said our goodbyes. We had a bunch of interesting drams and made some pretty good progress w.r.t. the matrix. I also made a big leap forward in my quest to 'fill in the blanks' . Among these whiskies were exactly 20 single malts that were brand new to me. That puts the number of single malts on my Track Record at 820. Pittyvaich was one of the inactive distilleries on my list that required further investigation because I hadn't tried at least three different expressions. After trying two more versions this weekend, I could cross it off my list. Even better, I could cross three active distilleries from my 'to do' list as well; Craigellachie, Glendullan and Knockando. That leaves just four active distilleries I'll need to beef up on; Glen Spey, (Royal) Lochnagar, (Old) Pulteney and Teaninich. Hurray!
And that sort of wraps it up for me. Sweet drams! Johannes
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E-pistle #11/13 - Six Samples from Sukhinder
Submitted on 04/11/2004 by Krishna Nukala, India
Here is what I had received from Sukhinder Singh.
Bladnoch 12yo (40%, OB, 5cl) Balvenie 10yo Founders Reserve (40%, OB, 5cl) Mortlach 12yo 1989/2001 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Distilled Aug 1989, Bottled Sept 2001, 5cl). Glenturret 18yo (40%, OB, 5cl)
Highland Park 25yo 1970-1995 (40%, G&M Centenary Edition, 5cl)
Caol Ila 26yo (50% DL OMC, 5cl) And there were none...
The 'Amsterdrammers' report reminded me of a recent tasting.
So I decided to submit this miniature E-pistle about six miniatures.
A colleague of mine was on a short training in London last month
and it was time for me to import my whisky quota through him.
I gave him the address of 'The Whisky Exchange' with a short
note to Sukhinder Singh
to send me some interesting miniatures.
I usually prefer a range of small samples instead of buying a single
70 cl bottle as it suits both my purse and the goal of increasing
my malt mileage.
Sukhinder charged GBP 20 for the six miniatures and sent an
extra complementary Bladnoch. Not a bad bargain, I suppose.
Here are my brief notes about the samples shown to the right;
(The only other Bladnoch I have tasted was a 14 y.o at Johannes place and it scored 80 points).
Colour: typical lowlander like white wine. Nose: fresh oak, skin of lemons, mild fruitiness.
Palate: Medium syrupy, faintly sour, nutty, with a cold spoon feeling on the tip of the tongue.
Finish: short. Score: 78 points
(The 'current' Balvenie 10yo was tasted by me at Johannes place and also scored 80 points).
Color : golden. Nose : hints of smoke, fruity and sherried. Palate : Nutty, almonds, sweet and spicy.
Finish : a vanishing act on the tongue. Score: 78 points
Colour : Dark yellow. Nose : Very fruity, green apples, toffee.
Palate: creamy, very good mouth feel developing into honeyed notes.
Finish : sweet and lingering. Score: 82 points
(Surprisingly, not many Glenturrets are featured on the Matrix).
Color: Deep amber. Nose: very fruity and nutty, green bananas and vanilla (after a couple of sips).
Palate: medium body, sweet, fruit punch, getting sweeter with each sip.
Finish: Not long, but satisfying. Score: 79 points
Color: almost reddish. Nose: Typical fruitiness, very sherried, passion fruit, hint of smoke in the background.
Palate: medium body, satisfactory mouth feel, the almonds come out gradually, fruit cake and hmm? the honey.
Finish: Lingering, long after it is finished. You long for more, Alas, the bottle is empty. Score: 83 points.
Colour: Orange yellow. Nose: Peat, peat and peat. Vanilla, green bananas.
Palate: cough syrup, sugars, oily, the sweetness effects my sensitive tooth.
Finish: I just don?t want to swallow. Very smoky, I want to retain the feeling throughout the night...
So, no brushing my teeth with stupid flavored toothpaste ;-) Score: 92 points.
Krishna
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E-pistle #11/14 - Bremen Report: An outsider's E-pistle
Submitted on 05/11/2004 by Thomas Lipka, Germany
On October 16th and 17th the Whisky-Convention took place in Bremen for the very first time. Also, two fellow maltmadmen (what do you call a whisky
So here we go: Since it's only a short hop by train from our hometown Bremerhaven to Bremen and the Parkhotel is very close to the
main station, my fellow Andre and I understandably decided to leave the car at home. Andre is also a member of our newly established
FLUESSIG whisky club. 'Fluessig' is German for 'liquid', if you are interested, but there probably is no way to translate to English what
the capital letters in FLUESSIG are an abbreviation for. Let me just add that is has to do with drinking malts – a lot -, if you get my
drift... ;-) I sported my newly designed FLUESSIG-T-Shirt which also shows my forum nickname "Peaty Tom". After all, I wanted to
make sure to meet a lot of the other guys who I already was acquainted with through the whisky discussion boards.
Overall there were 21 exhibitors at the convention, although not all of them were specialized in whisky. Just to name a few Mustelier
Cigars and the Deutsche Barkeeper-Union (German Bartenders Association), who were offering alcoholic and non alcoholic cocktails,
attended the fair. The place wasn't exactly packed when we arrived, but that made it possible to easily approach each stand and talk
to the exhibitors. I found all staff and representatives at the stands to be very accommodating. They were patient and willing to give information patiently.
Our first "pit-stop". Andre and I used to adjust our tongues with a standard malt, the good old Balvenie Double Wood. Since I tend to
suffer from bad nose days just as Johannes does from time to time, I was relieved to detect the usual qualities of this loveable dram
at once . We were ready for some serious business! Andre is very fond the Highland Park 12yo to say the least, so when we detected
the Highland Park 25yo, OB, 50,7% at the Maxxium stand there was no way we would get past it. The nose greets you with lots of
sherry, raisins and Christmas spices later on. There's also a hint of heather, but I had trouble detecting any smoke or peat. Palate:
this is a sweet orgy of honey, chocolate, heather and fruit, a little bit oaky as well. The finish is rich and full and mirrors the taste. A
wonderful malt that I prefer to the HP 12 or HP 18. However, what's missing for me to score it in the 90s is that little smoke or peat
suggestion that the standard HPs offer. But a very good start to our foray into "new" whiskies (89 points)! A few hours later Andre all
of a sudden presented a Highland Park Vintage 1980, 23yo (bottled 19.09.03), cask # 7367, 498 bottles, 54,8%. Too bad I didn't try it
H2H with the 25yo, because it appeared to me almost like a carbon copy of it. I liked it just as much but I'm not sure that was an objective assessment at that point…
At the next stand we visited, we picked up with Corinna Schwarz and Dietmar Schulz of "Art of Whisky", an online-shop from Northern
Germany. They proudly introduced us to their first own bottling, a Bowmore "Lost and Found" 13yo, 1990-2004, bourbon cask, 56,4%.
They call it "Lost and Found" for a reason. As Dietmar told us this is the second charge of the same bottling. They only bought 120
bottles of whisky this April because they were unsure how well the bottling would be accepted. Luckily it sold out faster than they
ever expected and they deeply regretted not having bought the whole cask. So they were even more excited when they travelled
Scotland again in Summer and learned that the rest of the cask was still available! Not surprisingly they did not let this opportunity
pass again. The cask itself had changed hands quite often in the past: Dietmar told me that among others at one point MacLeod held possession of it before finally an independent bottler sold it to "Art of Whisky".
After we heard this story we obviously were curious if this non-coloured, un-chillfiltered malt was worth all the fuss. We immediately
found that this is not a Bowmore as you might know it from their bottlings in recent years. But it is most definitely an Islay: the
bourbon cask left no room for the perfumy and flowery notes that have been such a controversial subject among maltlovers in past
years. It is very similar in style to the Bowmore bottled by Signatory for their "Un-Chillfiltered Collection". Only this whisky delivers a
lot more punch obviously benefiting from its cask strength. The nose starts with smoke and a little peat, the taste shows a hint of
brine accompanied by a fine layer of malty sweetness which is hidden at first. The more water you add the smokier it gets at first
before giving way to the malt again. No wonder most customers took it for an Ardbeg or a Laphroaig with Laphroaig usually getting the
most votes in a blind tasting as Dietmar explained. Andre and I had a third alternative in mind having tasted the Caol Ila Cask Strength
just recently. We found it quite similar to this one. A nice gem Dietmar and Corinna have dug out there (85 points).
Since I liked this one I was 'curious' (pun intended) to try out another supposedly smoky malt and bought a sample of the Benriach
'Curiositas', (10yo, OB, 40%). As I've been told, Benriach used very peated malt from 1993 to 1996, with the 'Curiositas' being one (?)
result of this phase. And in my opinion it is a weird one. Lots of overwhelming smoke in the nose, suppressing almost all other aromas
in the beginning. It's piercing at first, woody and even slighly phenolic but somewhat off. Only very late a faint sweetness develops.
The first nip shows the same smokiness again, but it's kind of boring. Kind of as if you are standing at a barbecue grill that is being fed
with damp wood. A little bit later the Speysider wakes up, however, and finally shows some malty and spicy notes. For a 10yo it takes
surprisingly long to develop, but the more air it got the more I liked it. The nice recovery helped to work its rating up to 77 points, but overall this Islay-Speyside experiment lacks real complexity and character.
From "Art of Whisky" we were walking over to Lothar Langer's stand that was boasting of a wide variety of rarities. This was a
malthead's dream: from a Highland Park from the early sixties which they praised as the best whisky they had ever enjoyed to ancient
Bowmores to…. a Lagavulin 12yo OB from the early 70s!! Immediately I knew I had to try this one. The Lagavulin 16yo is still one of my
all-time favourites, so the comparison between this quite legendary malt and his successor would be most interesting. But first I had
to convince Andre that we needed a coffee break. The pace we were "working" at was just too demanding. I wouldn't let impatience
ruin my rendezvous with this wonderful rarity. Just as its newer (albeit older) version it is bottled at 43%, yet the nose showed
differences from the start. While the 16yo is very powerful, almost dark and broody in a way, the 12yo was somewhat fresher, taking
a while until it hits you with this great combination of smoke, peat, seaweed, iodine and maybe even sherry. Unmistakably Lagavulin, wonderful stuff (90 points)!
Andre went for a Bowmore "de Luxe" (OB, 43%, dumpy brown bottle) from the sixties, by the way.
Our next stop led us to the Cadenhead's stand where we met Klaus "Pinki" Pinkernell and Krissi from the Berlin branch who tried to
convince us to "drop by" for a tasting of very old Bowmores in November. If only that would be so easy: from Bremerhaven to Berlin
it's about a four to five hour drive depending on traffic. Tempting, though…. Here we went for a Royal Brackla 16yo. If I remember it
correctly it was from the Authentic Collection series (cask strength), but I'm not sure because then the other members of the
discussion boards joined us for the meeting we had arranged. And from that point on there was no way to concentrate on any
specifics in that hodgepodge atmosphere. What I especially liked about the Brackla, however, was the smoky nose before malty
sweetness settled in. Despite the distractions I liked it a lot and probably would have scored in the mid to upper 80s. I guess I have to contact Pinki about this one…..
Another whisky to share the "fate" of the Brackla was an excellent Caol Ila CS bottled by The Scotch Single Malt Circle. Bill and
Maggie Miller had founded the SSMC about 10 years ago after they did not get the permission to establish a German branch of the
Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Bill and Maggie are – so I've been told – as well known for informal tastings in their living room as they
are for their excellent choices of casks. The SSMC now has a loyal following of about 1000 members (probably soon to be 1001 since
I've decided to join them). Good thing I was clever enough to buy a sample of a Clynelish 13yo, 05/90-03/04, cask no. 3963, 57,4%.
Nose: powerful, grassy and estery. Taste: grass again, malty, hints of smoke, marble cake. Finish: slightly burned marmelade toast. Very drinkable at cask strength. Shades of Brora due to the grassy notes. Very good (87 points)!
For obvious reasons things became a bit sketchy after the meeting. Just too much talking, raving and of course drinking with the guys
was going on, so I won't bother you with details any more. However, here's one last note on a rare Ardbeg 1975, Gordon & MacPhail,
40% , provided by Hans-Jürgen. Colour: cognac. Nose : smoky, light peat, promises more than the taste is able to keep. The taste barely shows any peat, strikes you as surprisingly pale and doesn't have a great finish by any means.
At the end of the day Andre and I also attended Stuart Thomson's Masterclass tasting which was the highlight to me as obviously to
many others as well. Not only the very interesting choices of whiskies but the congenial and approachable manner of Jackie and Stuart
turned it into a most pleasant affair. Of course, it is their job to sell whisky but still they both strike you as very genuine people who love what they are doing.
Since Martin extensively covers this tasting in his own report I'm going to refrain from further elaborations. 85 Glenmorangie Artisan Cask
Also, after the tasting I asked Stuart about the Ardbeg 1977. There are rumours that say that besides the bottling of 2001 there was
another one from 2002. Some say that there definitely were differences between the batches with the first expression being a peat
monster while the second one is supposed to be much smoother. Yet Stuart explained to me that the 1977 was only bottled in 2001. Well, he should know best, shouldn't he? I guess we have to take his word on this.
So, was the Whisky-Convention a success in my opinion? I've been there only on Saturday one day definitely is not enough. I didn't
even have a chance to visit my local dealer who was one of the exhibitors. Sorry Ingo, I'll try to do better next time! I think the
convention was well organised with a good enough variety of exhibitors. It could use some more international flair, though, especially
high profile representatives like Stuart Thomson. I also disliked the "Whisky Coin"-system which forced all participants to sell their
whiskies in units worth 2 EUR or multiples of 2 EUR. So generally there was no dram to be had for 3 or 5 EUR. Some exhibitors adhered to the Parkhotel rules, others didn't. An annoyance anyway.
Still, in my opinion it was a very decent start. Many statements I've read and heard so far called it "nice" as well and most were liking
its potential to grow. So here's hoping there will be a second go next year. Meanwhile, our next stop will be Limburg in April of 2005. Exhibitors beware! Until then, keep on dramming. Thomas Lipka
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To my knowledge this is the fourth whisky fair of any kind in Germany to join the regular line-up of events so far consisting of
Frankfurt, Limburg, and Berlin. Munich is supposed to follow soon with the Whisky Festival to be held in early February next year. Talk about the ever-expanding whisky world!
When Johannes suggested I could write a little report for the
malt maniacs website about this event, I doubted I had enough
material for it at first, because he did so after the convention.
I didn't approach this fair as a "reporter" as Johannes called it.
Obviously, my main motivation for this day was having fun!
So, I didn't take notes on most of the malts I tasted, with a
few exceptions. I was looking forward to meeting a few other
maltheads I only knew from the German whisky discussion
boards until that day. So take my tasting notes with a grain
of salt, although I bought some samples that day as well that
I will discuss later, too. On the other hand, I scored most of
the whiskies I tried there and I am quite sure about the points
I awarded, at least to a certain point... ;-)
aficionado who officially isn't a maltmaniac?) chipped in when
I called for help in the discussion boards. Martin Diekmann actually submitted his own report which I just attached at the end of mine and
Hans-Jürgen Frisch delivered notes on an Ardbeg and the location. Thanks a lot, guys!
And it worked, too!
Lothar worked himself into quite a rage about the new Bowmores because of their artificial perfume and lavender notes. But this was
one he was very fond of. Although Andre let me only have a tiny nip I could very well agree with Lothar: there is a huge difference
between this one's fresh fruit and berry notes and the gummi bear aromas that some of the recent Bowmores develop. And telling from Andre's happy smile he wasn't going to argue with this statement either.
Two more things, however: I have scored all "new" whiskies at that tasting but I have decided not to add them to my "official" list of
ratings because I'm afraid that I might have been slightly swept up in excitement there. I'm still listing the scores here just to give you an impression of what was offered in Bremen:
82 Glenmorangie Burgundy Finish
86 Glenmorangie 30yo, 43%
90 Ardbeg 1975 Fino Sherry
87 Ardbeg Very Young, 1998-2004, limited Edition, 58,3%
90 Ardbeg Charcoal
E-pistle #11/15 - Bremen Report #2
Submitted on 05/11/2004 by Martin Diekmann, Germany
Hi everybody. We've been asked by Johannes to write a couple of words about the latest Whisky event we`ve had in Germany.
Whisky fairs, exhibitions, festivals or whatever you want to call them seem to become more and more popular over here, there`s new
ones popping up all the time…. This time around we had our first Whisky festival in Bremen on the weekend of the 16th and 17th of
October. Bremen – for those of you who don`t know – is a northern German town of approx. 500.000 inhabitants and at the same time
it's the smallest state within Germany (the country consists of 16 states, three of them – Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen – consist of
only the towns). Bremen, by the way became the country`s football champion this summer (that's soccer for your american readers….) which is of course very important.
Distillery folk was not there except for one BIG exception.
I also tried the new Longrow 14 year old which I really enjoyed drinking. I found a lot of caramel in it (the taste, not the colour of
course) and only a little smoke. Before that I had the new expression Of Scapa, a 14 year old which is a little sweeter than the
previous 12 year old. Nothing too spectacular but something to have all day I should think. Of course I also gave the new Springbank
Port Wood a try but it didn`t leave that much of an impression on me. Have to try that one again. Finally I needed a break to make
sure I`d be in good shape for the start of Stuart`s and Jackie`s tasting and in fact I was. Of course there were no vacancies which
was no surprise because the tasting was FREE. Quite strange when you keep in mind you had to pay for everything on that day (which I think is fair) only to see the highlight comes free. Anyway, I don`t want to complain…
Stuart and Jackie were in great form and presented us with seven Whiskies. A Glenmorangie Artisan cask which is due out sometime
this Autumn, a Glenmorangie Burgundy Finish and a Glenmorangie 30 year old. I didn`t write down any tasting notes but remember I especially liked the 30 year old which probably doesn`t come as a surprise.
After that we were treated to four Ardbegs, a 1975 Fino Sherry Cask (cask sample), the standard ten year old, the Very Young and
another cask sample of an expression they called "Charcoal". Like the Very Young it was a six year old that`s maturing in heavily
charcoaled casks (about ten times more than the normal casks if I remember it correctly). The result was quite impressive - hot,
smoky, tar-like leaving the standard Very Young far behind. There`s no plans to bottle this in the near future though (says Stuart).
The 75 Sherry was marvelous as well, I`m sure a few of you had the chance to try this because Stuart seems to be quite generous with this one. With the smoke almost gone there was sweetness and Cherries, simply beautiful.
Jackie did some story telling as well and of course she was good at it. Both Stuart and Jackie seemed to enjoy their time a lot.
Towards the end we even had to pass a little quiz in which we had the chance to win a couple of goodies from the distillery like
miniatures, hats, caps and the like. I really liked this tasting and if you could tell from the audience reaction everybody did (except
one maybe who was drunk even at the beginning of the tasting, smoking cigars all the time and talking shit. But anyway, as long as it`s only one…).
I had to leave after that (the festival was over for that day anyway) but the program was repeated the next day. Thanks for reading! Martin
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But anyway, where was I? Yes, Whisky.
I arrived in Bremen at about 10.30 in the morning on said
Saturday expecting to be one of the first guests (they opened
their doors at 10 o`clock) only to find out I was completely wrong.
The presenting room at the Park Hotel was already quite crowded,
even at this early hour, so I decided to wander around to get a
first impression of the event. I found a handful of German retailers
like SCOMA (which is Germany's oldest online whisky business)
Lothar Langer (who is famous for selling rarities), Bill and Maggie
Miller of Scotch Single Malt Circle and of course Markus Müller
who runs the Cadenhead Shop in Cologne amongst others.
All of them made sure you didn't have to leave thirsty….
Stuart Thomson of Ardbeg fame was to join us later in the day together with his charming wife Jackie to hold a tasting in the evening.
Before that I met with some of the guys I got to know from the two main German discussion boards (www.whiskyforum.net and
www.whisky.de/forum). Nice to meet you guys! Quickly we got lost in tasting and discussing, sharing glasses and spreading the latest
rumours. Among the Whiskies I had was the new Bruichladdich 20 "Flirtation" which I found interesting, really fruity, good stuff. I still
wonder why Jim McEwan decided to go for a "flirt" with this expression though seeing as he`s well known for not liking "finishes" –
well, of course he`d say it`s not a finish but a flirt but for me there`s not that much difference. You didn`t want to hide this second
expression wasn`t probably as good as the first one did you Jim?!? So as I said I find the result satisfying but I keep wondering why.
All in all it was a good start although not the best Whisky event I`ve ever been to (so far that was the Whisky Herbst in Berlin
Copenick, an open air event that takes place every year at the beginning of September. Lots of live music, and lots of disitillery
managers - definitely a one not to miss!! The three folks organizing it showed up in Bremen as well.) I`ve heard there`s going to be
another Whisky event in Bremen next year again (around the same date) so if you`re in the area give it a try. I`m sure it`s going to be worth a visit.
E-pistle #11/16 - Mara 5th Anniversary Tasting
Submitted on 15/11/2004 by Luc Timmermans, Belgium
The event: Mara 5th Anniversary Tasting - with Carsten Ehrlich and Roland Puhl.
It's always exciting to see what the Mara boys put on a tasting, and this will be my first visit to this hopefully exciting whisky tasting.
The invitation surely looks exciting don't you think?
Das Programm wird wie folgt aussehen Thema "Unabhängige Abfüllungen":
Zum "Aufwärmen": DEACON`S DRAM 21y 43% Single Malt for Shore Porter´s Society
1. BOWMORE 16y dist. 1973 62,8% Sestante Import
2. GLENGLASSAUGH (dark) 22y dist. 1961 G&M Conn. Choice, brown label
3. PORT ELLEN 14y 1974-88 65,5% Sestante Import
4. SPRINGBANK sherry 1965-87 46% Moon-Import, Series "The Birds"
Buffet
5. CAOL ILA dist. 1977 75cl 63,8% G&M. old "Cask" -label
6. GLENLOSSIE 13y 1966-79 46% Cadenhead, dumpy bottle
7. ARDBEG 1966-87 46% Moon-Import, Series"The Birds"
8. LAPHROAIG 15y 1969-85 55,3% Intertrade Import
For-The-Road-Dram: MACKENZIE´S Pure Malt 8y 75cl 46%, 60er-Jahre-Flasche mit braunem Glas und Kork
But first some background...
First I had to collect some whisky bottles I ordered and since I read those exciting notes from my friend Serge Valentin on the Highland Park 18yo 1985/2003
(53.9%, Signatory for La Maison du Whisky, cask #2915) I couldn't wait to open already one of them. And what is better then to taste this beauty in a "Pure Glass 33cl from La Maison du Whisky". Indeed, my first try with this
glass. And I must say, it looks and feels good. Let's find out how this HP tastes like. Whauh, what a nose, impressive honey smell
mixed with sea air. Very mellow caramel, vanilla nose. I like this nose, mmmm, delicious. Let's see if the mouth brings what the nose
promises. Silence, now. Mmmm, this is liquid cake like my mother used to make it. And again, lovely honey on the top, whauh,
powerful too, and what a finish bringing back the coastal notes. Mmm, Serge, thanks for this exquisite tip.
And then all of a sudden Mr. Hubert Corman comes out of his office with two glasses already filled with whisky. Mmmm, ok, I see, a
test. Let's see what these are. Mmm, first glass. Whauh, again, what a nose. Lovely, soft, powerful vanilla notes mixed with
beeswax, honey and a faint smokiness. Whauh, what a taste. So creamy, so full of chocolate, so robust and still so gentle. Definitely 93 points! What is this? Mario, what are you giving me here?
Glenfiddich 40yo 1960/2000 (43,6%, OB, 600 bottles), lucky me I guess. I had this one before and scored it 92, but I have to admit, this one deserves an extra point for complexity and
balance. And now the second one. Again, what an impressive nose, but this must be Island whisky for sure. The coastal notes, the
sea air. Mmm, great nose again, some citrus too, marzipan, vanilla. Perfect balanced nose. Immensely deep. And what a taste,
impressive, huge flavors, thick, oily, robust. The marzipan citrus notes emerge in the taste. This is great stuff Mario ! Another 93 if you ask me ! Isle of Jura 36yo
(44%, OB, Cask 590, 449 bottles). Lucky me again I guess…….. Now it is time to go Mario ! And off we went. To Limburg a/d Lahn. We needed to be there in time because the Mara boys invited us
in their cellar. And a visit to the Mara cellar is something a real whisky fan doesn't want to miss. And we arrived in time and as you
can see on the pictures, this is something you don't want to miss. Whauh, what a collection of beauties. What an impressive offering
of whisky. And a lot of acquaintances. Isn't the whisky world small? Michiel Wigman (the biggest Springbank collector), Bert Vuik
(the nicest Ardbeg collector), the Pot Still boys from Austria, hi guys. All of them enjoying some lovely drams. And yes, lovely drams
they are. The first glass of whisky offered by my dear friend Michiel is an old blend, before 1940 even. Let's give that one a try, for
the curiosity off it. Mmm, if the present blends would be as good as this one, we wouldn't all have to chase Single's now would we?
Nice, although lacking some dimension and perhaps a little too flat, still nice. I'm sorry that I don't have any details on this one, the
label was unreadable. So this one goes anonymously in the MM-books. And here is the list of other whiskies we tasted. Port Ellen 21yo 1982/2004 (61%, Douglas Laing, 302 b., Sherry Cask) Ardbeg 9yo 1995/2004 (56,4%, G&M Spirit of Scotland, 321 b., Sherry Cask) Springbank 1972
(46%, OB, White label house & tree, 'rotation number' 93/2) Glen Elgin-Glenlivet 13yo 1965/1978 (45,7%, Cadenhead dumpy, sherry)
And so what could I do, after having all these exciting drams. Yes, indeed, offer my friends a good dram. And since the Mara boys have more then enough whisky to choose from, I bought myself the Rosebank 15yo
(50%, OB, Zenith version, 75cl). I heard already lots about this one. So time to try. And indeed a great Rosebank. Who said Rosebank's aren't any good. Shame on you, buy this old
one and enjoy my friends. A nose of butter with salt, cream, fresh granny smith apples, farm & vanilla perfectly in balance with malt,
some fainted peat in the background, slightly emerging, very delicate stuff, hard to grasp. Thick fruity taste, oily texture, slightly
peated, complex, some dry white wine too, some smokiness, flowery, salty, fruity. This is complex. Surely a Bourbon cask. And what a finish, long, extremely long, bringing back the fruit, flowers and vanilla. Points : 91
If only the new Lowlanders would have this complexity. Time to have some food after these lovely drams and before the start of the Mara tasting. After a good pizza and a strong double
espresso, off we went to a lovely 14th century building where the tasting was organized. What a scenery to enjoy these old
beauties. And here is the list of the whiskies we tasted, with in between a break with a nice buffet of cheese, salmon, bacon and pizza (again). Deacon's Dram 21yo (43%, Single Malt, Shore Porter's Society)
Bowmore 12yo 1973 (62,8%, Sestante Import) Glenglassaugh 22yo 1961 (40%, G&M Conn. Choice, brown label) Port Ellen 14yo 1974/1988 (65,5%, Sestante Import)
Springbank 1965/1988 (46%, Moon Import, Series The Birds, Cask # 363) Caol Ila 1977 (63,8% G&M, Old Cask Label)
Glenlossie 13yo 1966/1979 (46% Cadenhead dumpy)
Ardbeg 1966/1988 (46%, Moon Import, Series The Birds) Laphroaig 15yo 1969/1985 (55,3%, Intertrade Import) Mackenzie's 8yo
(46%, Pure Malt, 75cl)
So, that was the tasting. All together a very nice tasting event although I would have expected at least one whisky to be an
absolute stunner. The Ardbeg was super. The Springbank is not worth the money. But it was definitely worthwhile to be able to
explore the history of some whiskies. And yes, I discovered an amazing Port Ellen. How the stills of Port Ellen were able to produce
such a heavy alcohol remains a mystery to me. But I definitely want to explore younger Port Ellen's. But before we returned to the hotel, let's have a small after-tasting. Mario decided it was time to open the Bowmore we brought
along. An experiment you could say. An exclusive bottling for La Maison du Whisky. Bowmore 15yo 1989/2004 (46%, La Maison
du Whisky, Cask 6186, La Préceptorie Finish). Although I'm not a big fan of all these finishes currently on the market, I must admit
this experiment is definitely a good one. A slight orange-pink color. Must be the red-wine influence. The nose is sweet, with lots of
fruit and in the back some peatiness, even a bit medicinal. The taste is powerful, very sugarish sweet, red fruit, the peat is kicking in,
violets in the taste, even some menthol, very soft, fresh and sweet, the finish is good, very smoky and balanced. Nice experiment.
Points : 88 And adding a drop of water brings even the taste more in balance, nice peat with red fruit and violets. I like it ! Time for bed now……..in the morning some after-breakfast dramming in the cellar again.
And after a nice breakfast in my preferred Domhotel in Limburg, again to the Mara cellars for some new discoveries. 92 - Hakushu
for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, N° 120.3 (sorry for the missing details)
And off we went….back home ! I have already booked my seats for the 6th Anniversary tasting!! Luc Timmermans - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was about 6 months ago that Carsten Ehrlich from Mara (http://www.maltwhisky-mara.de) informed me about the 5th Anniversary
tasting they would have in November, and knowing myself I did not hesitate to join. But what is nicer then to have a friend joining
you, so I invited Mario Groteklaes from Corman-Collins (Battice-Belgium) to join me. Mario didn't hesitate either and if I'm correct his
wife gave him this as a present. Good for you Mario!! Don't we all want a wife paying for our whisky-tastings. Ok, so months passed
and passed and finally the tasting event approached. After a lovely dramming session with my dear Lindores friends until 3am on
Friday (www.lindores.be) and after a few SMS messages to Mario explaining him why I would be a bit later, I arrived Saturday 13th
November around 1 PM at Corman-Collins (La Maison Du Whisky Belge) in Battice. Nice store, very impressive indeed. Why haven't I
visited this lovely drink-store before? Impressive whisky collection and an impressive offering of wines too. Very exciting.
In the nose a lovely Port Ellen expression, powerful, the peat and smoke are delicate. Nice and powerful nose. The taste at first is
great but the finish is too woody and too sherried. I had better Port Ellen's in my life, sorry Austrian Whisky Club. Points: 81
Is this a young Ardbeg, in the nose it has so much old-style Ardbeg character. The peat and sherry is beautifully mixed, lovely nose
of smoked bacon on a BBQ, great stuff. The taste is very powerful, perhaps a bit too attacking, but great taste of peat & smoke. I like this young sherried Ardbeg! More please. Points: 91
Great Springie, nose of vanilla fudge, macadamia cookies with fruit. Nice taste, smooth elegant, soft touches of vanilla. Beautiful
complexity just a little short on the finish though. A nice Springbank all together. And I thought the Springbank's from the 60's where
the best. This one is my preferred official 70's Springbank. Very soft. Thanks Jeroen ! Points : 88
Mmmm, such a sweet nose, so delicate, whauh, simply lovely taste. Old style whisky for sure, perhaps a little flat in the taste, but
beautiful balance in nose, taste and finish If the whisky would have been a bit thicker, a super Glen Elgin for sure. The sixties were great! Even in Glen Elgin! Thanks Michiel ! Points: 89
Nice nose of mandarins, fruit, vanilla, malt and honey. A taste of sugar, pretty flat, too alcoholic, sharp on the tongue, diluted with
water, aniseed, with a salted aftertaste. A rather long finish but too sharp. Pretty flat whisky, no balance. From which distillery could this be; my guess Teaninich. Points: 69 (Mario's points: 68)
Undiluted a pretty sharp alcoholic and closed nose, some wet wood, sweaty feet, leather, sulfur. But the mouth, an explosive taste of
overripe fruit, peat, cassis and smoke. A long finish with an explosive return of peat mixed with overripe fruit. If this whisky would smell better, this would be a super Bowmore. But the nose is pretty bad ! Points : 80
(Mario's points : 80)
Mmm, nice and delicate nose of caramel, sweet almonds, Christmas cake, sherry, rhum, followed by a lovely taste of toffee, caramel
and honey. A long and warm finish of notes and caramel perfectly balanced whisky! Points: 86 (Mario's points: 87)
What a nose of oil, petrol, vinaigrette, leather, peat, smoke, menthol and red pepper. Amazing nose and so complex. The mouth,
whauh, salt, alleges, this is a living organism, heavy alcohol, but nice, and sweet, sweet, sweet once you add some water. And this
one has a finish, holy lord. Will this ever finish? Powerful and peppery. This is a perfect sweet-powerful-peated-horny whisky! Is this my best PE……? Yeah, I think so! Points: 93 (Mario's points: 94)
A nose of toffee, caramel, bananas on a BBQ, woodnotes and sherry, slightly burnt wood. A bit overpowered by the sherry. The
taste is dry, caramel, lots of sugar notes and pepper, too woody. A very short finish of wood. No depth. The whisky is nicely balanced but lacks dimension and depth, but the nose is good. Points: 84
(Mario's points: 84)
Extremely salted nose with leather, oil, peat, smoked bacon, burnt notes and some vanilla, alcohol and if you dilute it with water it is
the smell of the sea. The taste is powerful, a perfect salt/pepper combination with lots of herbs and minerals in balance with malt and
the slight woodiness. Long finish bringing back the peated smoked salt. Great finale ! The nose is strange, but the taste is great. Pretty difficult whisky. Points: 84 (Mario's points: 77)
A toffeed nose with sugar, malt, praline ice-cream with red berries, a bit cacao. A mouth filled with sweet cacao and cassis
marmalade, very sugarish. A sweet, liquid milk chocolate finish, unfortunately a bit short but a perfectly balanced whisky. Nose equals taste. Simply great stuff ! Points: 90 (Mario's points: 92)
A slightly peated nose with salt, smoked fish, exotic fruit. Very complex. A sweet taste of smoked bacon again bringing the exotic
fruit touch with delicate wood notes and minerals. Just perfect and a grand and delicate finish. What a balanced whisky. Lovely stuff, especially the exotic fruit punch is super ! Points: 93 (Mario's points : 93)
We were not able to judge this whisky properly because it had a cork taste. Unfortunately Mara did not replace this bottle by another.
Sharp alcohol, nothing in the nose. Bad nose even. And an awful taste.
Sorry, this one is not even worthy enough to be scored.
Here are some whiskies we tried proceeded with their scores.
81 - Tullibardine 10yo (43%, OB, 75cl, screw cap)
92 - Aberfeldy 1975/2001 (57%, Cadenhead Bond Reserve, Sherry Hogshead, 228 bottles)
86 –
Aberlour 8yo (50%, OB, square dumpy bottle, 75cl, big cork stopper)
91 – Port Ellen 21yo 1979/2001 (50%, Douglas Laing, 618 bottles, Sherry cask)
E-pistle #11/17 - Taiwan Single Malt Tasting Club - First Meeting
Submitted on 18/11/2004 by Ho-cheng Yao, Taiwan
Although we have several friends meet each other quite often, we never make up the mind to have the club thing become official.
After talked for some time since earlier this year, we finally made the decision to have the club officially started. The major reason is
the growing of the un-official group members. We used to meet each other in different people's house. However, as you can imagine
that the group will keep growing to a number we simply can't handle. A formal club really makes sense to gather everybody together.
The club's first meeting has only 6 people. We really didn't trying to make a big start, and we certainly don't know what to do for the
club. Then only thing we know is we want to have monthly meeting and every member need to submit NT1,000.-(equivalent to
USD30.-) membership fee as well as each tasting's fee. And we don't even know what's the name of the club. Hopefully we'll think
out something before year end. The topic of the first tasting is the Dufftown Five. I chose 5 bottles from the five existing distilleries
in Dufftown. Though these five bottles are not Taiwan exclusive, I've tried my best to choose something unusual. Attendants: Kingfisher, Murder, Rubinstein, Bird, David, Stephen. Dufftown 12yo (43%, Chieftain's Choice, Sherry Wood Finish)
Glenfiddich 12yo (43%, OB, Plastic Flat Bottle 500ml) Mortlach 21yo (43%,G&M, eagle label) Balvenie 15yo Single Barrel 1978/1999 (50.4%, OB, Cask#4712, actually 20yo)
Glendullan 1981/1998 (58.7%, Scott's Selection) It's a good start for the club. We also take some time to discuss our future meeting. We'll basically maintain monthly meeting. Some
smalls club meeting and with some large public ones occasionally. We now already have 14 members, and expect to add another 7 next month. Our next meeting will be Disappeared Distilleries. Ho-cheng
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I remember I read the article that Taiwan is the top 5th Single Malt consumption country in the world. However, I always wonder why
we never have a single malt tasting club. When people would like to learn more about single malt, people didn't know where to go.
Even most of the salespeople in the shops know very little about the distilleries, not to mention the characters of each malt. With the
club established, we can finally have regular tastings for the members, and it is certainly a better way to gather more connoisseurs.
A brief record of the tasting as below:
(I also record my friends scores, just for fun.)
There were several Dufftown IB bottles in Taiwan. This one is an old Chieftain's bottle and specially state it's sherry wood finish. The
shopkeeper told me it was bottled around year 2000, and with red plaid around the label. Gold brown color. Clear sherry influence,
fruity, with a hint of smoke. Taste quite nice but finished thin. The sherry influence become even more obvious after adding water. Young and robust. Generally speaking a quite strong Speyside. Score: 78. (M:78, R:76, B:C+, D:79, S:80)
This one is an unusual plastic flat bottle with Alc. 43%. Light yellow color. Clear house style, not too different than normal 12yo, but
most of us can really tell the 3%acl difference. Light yellow color. Mint citrus like. Slightly peat feel. Finished short and dry. I think
this one performs slightly better than normal 12yo. And everybody agreed there is no plastic influence. Score: 79. (M:80, R:80, B:B-, D:78, S:77)
Though G&M bottle Mortlach is quite common, the 21yo G&M bottling seldom being spotted in the market.
Brown yellow color. Nutty? Smoking for sure. Sherried, but not too much. Taste smooth, but almost has no finish, just gone. Adding water performs better. Salty. Score: 72
. (M:77, R:82, B: B-, D:81, S:83) This is the only bottle I rated quite different with the others. I think major influence comes from the much better two Mortlach I tasted earlier this week. I re-tasted it again at the end of
the tasting, I decided not to change my score. I think Mortlach should has it's signature strong body.
Again, very rare. It has the earlier hand writing label and it's actually 20yo. The shop keeper said these special 20yo bottles are for
distillery VIPs and distributors. Golden color. Beautiful nose, honey, fruity, Balvenie style. Taste smooth, finished long, on going for a
long time. Strong body, uncommon. Balanced well. Could be one of my favorite Balvenie so far. Score: 88. (M:88, R:92, B:B+, D:90, S:87) And everybody agreed this is the best bottle tonight.
Could be the only Glendullan bottle in Taiwan. At least no one believes I can find this one.
Golden color. Too strong to nose at first. Fruity. Adding water, some mint and citrus turns out. Simple. Finished long. Strong body, simple, but fit my style. Score: 82
. (M:83, R:85, B:B~B+, D:87, S:79)
E-pistle #11/18 - Repeat after me: Mack-Myra
Submitted on 02/12/2004 by Lex Kraaijeveld, England
On the contrary: the label of Glen Breton makes it abundantly clear that it's a Canadian whisky. Here's a bunch of young enterprising people, who want to create a And what have the Mackmyra guys done to bring the wrath of
Now the SWA may know a lot about the whisky industry, they really show here that they don't understand a thing about the wider
world and especially linguistics. I don't know where the SWA has gotten the idea from that the distillery is named after the son of the
famous Viking warrior Kmyra, but if they had done a wee bit of homework they would have known that this Kmyra bloke of course
never existed and that the word 'Mackmyra' is not a 'son of …' word at all; it's not even a personal name. Angela Forsgren D'Orazio,
part of the Mackmyra team, explained to me that 'mackmyra' refers to a night-flying insect (a 'mack') which flies over the peat bog
(the 'myra'). It's a name of a site. Mack-Myra and not Mac-Kmyra. A site name which has roots going back something like 500 years.
Simply because there are only a limited number of letters to represent all the sounds in all the different languages of the world means
that every once in a while you'll get the same letter combination being used in two words which have absolutely no connection to
each other. For no other reason than pure coincidence. So that's exactly what we see here with the Scottish word 'Mac', referring to
the son of someone, and the old-Swedish word 'Mack', referring to a night-flying bug. To be honest, until I heard of this SWA claim,
the thought that the Mackmyra name could be read as Mac-Kmyra hadn't even occurred to me, even though I wasn't told what the
word actually meant until later. To me it never looked even vaguely Scottish ….. So what's next? Suing the Macedonian distillery in
Greece, which makes ouzo? Just in case people think that the distillery is named after the son of Edonian? And, as a contributor to
malts-L contemplated with plenty of sarcasm, should pasta-makers around the world be worried about marketing MacAroni? Will it soon be illegal to use MacHines?
The claim against Glenora was ridiculous, but this claim against Mackmyra really shows there is plenty of room beyond ridiculous. You'd
fall off your chair laughing if it weren't potentially serious for both distilleries. Two very small distilleries which have no other objective
in mind than to make a uniquely local product that they can be proud of and that people can enjoy for what it is. They have no
intention whatsoever of trying to look Scottish. It's exactly the opposite: they want to make a Canadian or Svensk malt whisky. To me, it shows that the SWA has really come off the rails big time in their quest to protect Scotch whisky.
So, all at the SWA, repeat after me: Mack-Myra, Mack-Myra, Mack-Myra. Got it? Lex - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The SWA, the Scotch Whisky Association, was brought into being to
protect the interests of the Scottish whisky industry, both at home and
abroad. Not a word of criticism from me on that. An important part of their
work is to crack down on whisky producers around the world who are falsely
marketing their products as Scotch whisky. Again, I'd be the last to complain.
But recently it has started to look as if the SWA is seriously losing the plot.
Doubts about their sanity were first raised when they attacked Glenora, a single
malt whisky distillery in Nova Scotia, Canada. The reason for their attack?
Not because Glenora is marketing their single malt as Scottish.
No, the SWA is claiming that the word 'Glen' is quintessentially Scottish, so every non-Scottish whisky using that word on their label is
confusing the customer and thereby damaging the Scottish whisky industry. How many times does the label of Glen Breton say it is a
Canadian whisky? SWA, can you help me count? Thank you, five times on a single label. How many times does it use the words Scotch
or Scottish? Indeed, zilch. So where will people think this whisky is distilled? Any room for confusion? Not in my book. And just when
you thought that this was really a ridiculous claim, the SWA manages to come up with one even 'better'. Don't believe me? Read on...
Next distillery in their sights is Mackmyra, a Swedish whisky distillery
situated 200 km or so north of Stockholm. I visited the distillery earlier
this year and really enjoyed the visit.
uniquely Swedish malt whisky. Their single malt hasn't been bottled
yet, but the cask samples I tasted are definitely promising. Especially
their peated version, which has juniper branches thrown in together
with the peat, will be a very interesting whisky once bottled.
the mighty SWA down upon them? They dared to use the letter
combination 'Mac' …. No, I'm not kidding you, the SWA really
thinks that a 'Svensk Whisky' which uses the letters 'Mac' in
their name is confusing the public.
E-pistle #11/19 - SMSW; Single Malt Swedish Whisky?
Submitted on 03/12/2004 by Robert Karlsson, Sweden
Our favorite abbreviation might be in dire danger!
Mackmyra. Coincidentally enough the name of the old iron mill where the distillery is housed outside the city of Gävle, right in the middle of Sweden. Sounds kind of Scottish don't you think?
The idea behind it all was sprung in 1998 by a bunch of friends who discovered their mutual interest of single malts and asked
themselves why there are no Swedish malts around. One answer might be that the previous Swedish malt in history, called "Skeppet"
("The Ship"), from the fifties was no real hit so to speak (this was a blend, but with Swedish malt whisky in it). To make a short story
even shorter, the Mackmyra distillery was founded one year later, in 1999. Two years later the current two recipes ("Elegant" and
"Smoke") were defined and now they produce on average 9 batches a week – each consisting of a 700 litre middle cut. Not a bad turn of events.
Three types of first-fill casks are used, bourbon, sherry and Swedish oak. The Swedish oak casks are made of the trees that the
Swedish kings of old planted in order to guarantee a good supply of wood for their fleet of warships. Now put to much better use of
course. These are handmade and charred by their cask-maker (the only one in Sweden I believe). The bourbon casks has previously
contained Jack Daniels and the sherry ones they prepare with sherry themselves, what they do with all the old sherry remains to be
investigated. Mackmyras primary offer to the public is currently these casks, in 30l or 100l sizes. So in other words they do not
currently sell any bottled whisky at all and it is still unclear how they will offer their future bottled malt to the market. Larger casks are
also used but not on public offer as the smaller ones. The reason for these unusually sized casks is that the whisky matures more
quickly and thus cuts time-to-market considerably I presume. Another reason is of course that their main public offer is these casks
and larger ones would be less unique and more expensive. The casks are stored at two locations. One is at an old military facility in the Archipelago of Stockholm and the other in proximity to the distillery. - The Elegant Ex-Bourbon A tasting of them all on the same occasion was for the first time ever
So perhaps, just perhaps, I was not in my "peak" so to speak.... So, some results from the tasting! They were all matured in 30 litre casks and of cask strength, from 57% to 61% strong. Mackmyra
are quite clear that their goal is to make Swedish, not Scottish malt. So expecting it to taste like a well-matured old Scottish Speyside
when you are in fact tasting a seven months old Swedish malt matured in 30l casks might be to ask a bit much. Just a word of caution. Mackmyra Elegant Ex-Bourbon (2 years, 7 months old). Mackmyra Elegant Swedish Oak (4 years, 6 months old). Mackmyra Elegant Ex-Sherry (7 months old). Mackmyra Smoke Ex-Bourbon (3 years old). Mackmyra Smoke Swedish Oak (7 months old). Mackmyra Smoke Ex-Sherry (7 months old). I found three favorites here. The Elegant Ex-Bourbon appealed to my Lowlandish casky side, the Elegant Ex-Sherry awoke my
sherry-bombish fancy and finally the Smoke Ex-Sherry to my arctic wintery smoky-yet-sweet tastes. These three especially show
potential, give them ten or fifteen years in a hogshead or butt and we're talking. Give them instead 3 to 5 years in a 30l cask and I'm perhaps not sure if we're talking or not. But time will tell!
All in all an interesting tasting which I recommend if you have the possibility. Robert Karlsson, Sweden
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Read on about the world's northernmost single malt distillery - and a tasting session of their whole range of "bottlings".
So, two recipes times three cask types make six "brands";
- Elegant Ex-Sherry
- Elegant Swedish Oak
- Smoke Ex-Bourbon
- Smoke Ex-Sherry
- Smoke Swedish Oak.
offered at the Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival held in September 2004.
And currently they are doing a tour of these tasting sessions around Sweden.
It will by the way also be offered at Whisky Live in London in March 2005 I believe.
I have had the opportunity to attend the tasting twice, once in Stockholm at the
festival and once where I live (city of Karlskrona). The festival-tasting was held at
7PM and we started tasting whisky at 12AM that day.
The second tasting I attended in a considerably more attentive manner. Therefore the details from the second tasting is what I write
about below, the contents differed only slightly between the occasions.
Pale yellow in color. Vanilla, wood, not-as-spirity-as-expected, hay (?) in the nose.
Warm woody quite spirity, a little bit salt (?) in the mouth. Opened up with water, more hay, grass.
The "Lowland" in the collection, all in all surprisingly pleasant.
Although not to be drunk yet, unless slightly desperate or very cold. Potential.
Dark amber in color. Butter, wood, slight vanilla, certain sweetness.
Dry, a bit "flat?", persistent not very pleasant taste. Water doesn't help much.
Unsure what to think about this one. Not a favorite even though it's the oldest by far.
Deep yellow, slightly lighter in color than the Oak. Very strong nose of raisin, dates, toffee, very pleasant actually.
Not as good nose with water. Taste disappointing compared to the nose, a bit BPS to it (hardly surprising).
More pleasant warming long aftertaste. An immature sherry Speyside-wannabe?
Not bad and indeed promising, especially considering its age.
Light yellow (not colorless). Salty phenol nose with some sweetish hints.
Difficult taste to try to define, certain sweetness, metallic (?), immature unbalanced, not very pleasant. No winner.
Dark amber yellow. Spirity slightly sweet, biting alcohol to the nose. Spicy spirity dryish (?) taste.
Showed some potential too, although the Ex-Sherry was more appealing to me.
Deep yellow, similar to the previous one. Young, peat, smoke, salt spirity nose.
Very tough rough taste, Ardbeg very very very young? Didn't last long with water though.
Interesting potential I believe, with the smoke and sherry, long-term winner?
Now I just have to find someone who wants to share a Smoke Ex-Sherry cask with me…
E-pistle #11/20 - Whiskyfest New York 2004
Submitted on 17/12/2004 by Louis Perlman, USA
Whiskyfest NYC 2004 took was held on October 8th, at the Marriot Marquis hotel. So without any further ado, here is a list of whiskies that I sampled. Glenlivet 21yo 'Archive' (43%, OB ) Bowmore 25yo (43%, OB) Bruichladdich 14yo 'Links' (56%, OB) Caol Ila 18yo (43%, OB) Compass Box Orangerie
(40%, OB) Lochside 12yo 1991 (46%, Gordon and Macphail Unchill Filtered) Isle of Jura 10yo
(43%, OB) - 79 points. Macallan 10yo (40%, OB Fine Oak)
Glen Grant 1977 (55.4%, Scott's Selection) Stathisla 17yo 1987 (5?%, Signatory Unchill FIltered, Binny's cask) Oh yes, and I also sampled a few bourbons and other whiskies; Michters US*1 American Whiskey
83.4 proof
Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 20yo 90.4 proof
- - - And now for the seminar reports.
You can find some more information on the Malt Advocate's web site (www.maltadvocate.com).
This time around, my main objective was not to get drunk like I did in 2002. My strategy was to eat more, attend the presentations,
and stick with standard strength whiskies as much as possible. Things worked out generally well, as I was in decent shape at the end
of the evening (not to mention the next morning, good thing too, as my boss took the day off and left my name as his backup on his
voice mail message). To maximize my return on the not inconsequential $95 admission price, I brought along a bunch of plastic bottles to bring home souvenirs.
Tasting notes, ratings, and other comments are included as I remember them, as it was rather crowded, with limited clearance around most of the tables for note taking.
Chivas 21yo 'Regal Royal Salute' (40%, Blend)
These were the first two drams that I sampled, at adjoining tables. The Archive is a sherried Glenlivet, no major surprises. This isn't my
favorite style of whisky, but I can see how it would be easily identified as a quality dram by the general public. Although I don't think
it's really worth around $100, but at least there is a linear price/quality ratio compared to the standard Glenlivet 12 year old.I really
wanted to try the Royal Salute, and it seemed like a very fair comparison to the Archive. But like the Chivas 18 year old, the RS is
bottled at 40%, and has most of the life filtered out if it. It's a lighter style of whisky, and very smooth, but has a very watery body. I
can't imagine any taste being left when served on the rocks, which is how it is most likely to be consumed. And worst of all, the price
has risen from around $120, now approaching $200, probably to better compete with Johnnie Walker Blue. All in all, ample proof to the theory that upscale blends are lifestyle choices, rather being purchased by discerning consumers. 86 points
for the Archive.
A big disappointment. To much sherry, and not enough peat. Way overpriced at $150-200. 84 points.
A bit more sherry influence than the 15yo, but not too much. Nicely done. 85 points.
There is a bit of controversy regarding Diageo's new CI releases. Both Jim Murray and the Malt Advocate prefer the 12 year old to the
18, but various friends of mine say the opposite. I tried the 18 and was very impressed, and I even bought a bottle. As for the 12, I sampled it after the 18, but my taste buds didn't register much at that point.
Something a bit different from CBW, couldn't even be imported into the US for a long time, since there was no official category for it.
Orangerie is made up of 10 year old scotch, infused with orange peel. It goes for $30 or so for 375ml, but the infusion is done by hand.
Millburn 27yo 1976
(46%, Gordon and Macphail Unchill Filtered)
At long last, G&M has given the US market some bottlings at ABV other than 40%. The Lochside is a nice coastal dram. Rather
pleasant, and similar to the Murray McDavid Lochside that I have previously sampled. A bit pricey at around $60, but the distillery has
been demolished, so we're reaching the end. The Millburn is similar to others that I've tried, and the distillery is also history. This time a real bargain, at around $100, considering the age and scarcity.
Isle of Jura 16yo (43%, OB) - 81 points.
Isle of Jura NAS 'Superstition' (43%, OB) - 81 points.
Isle of Jura is one distillery that I've missed up to now, so I was eager to sample all three expressions.
It was explained to me that the 10 and 16 year olds are Highland style whiskies, while the peated Superstition is a style that had been
produced in the past. I found the 10 to be a youthful dram, with a spray of salt. The 16 showed the effects of the extra years, being more rounded, and the Superstition lived up to its billing.
Macallan 15yo (43%, OB Fine Oak)
These are the new Mac's (along with a 21 year old that I took home a sample of), and I had a very pleasant conversation with Bob
Dalgarno. As we all know, there isn't enough sherry casked Macallan whisky to satisfy current demand, so they are doing what they
can to stretch the inventory. The results are interesting, with some family resemblance to the traditional Macallans. In fact, they go in
the same direction as the duty free Elegancia, which has oloroso and fino whisky in it. Obviously, there will some strong opinions on the Fine Oak series. The prices are $40, $65, and $210, so the 15 is obviously the best value.
North of Scotland 39yo 1964 (43.2%, Scott's Selection, Single grain whisky, port wood cask)
The Scott's Selection table is one of my favorites. I have a nice representation of their line in both my open and reserve stock. Their
bottlings are quite excellent, and while not cheap, they at least provide good value for the money. One problem at Whiskyfest is that I
can't go down the table, as these are all cask strength bottlings, so I just picked a couple of items of interest. The Glen Grant wasn't
overly sherried, and still had a reasonable amount of the distillery character. But I was really impressed with t he NOS. Other single
grain whiskies that I have tried were on the exotic side, with things like marshmallow and pina colada flavors.
Not here. Perhaps it was the port wood cask, but the NOS simply tasted like really good, old whisky. Not too expensive at around
$115, it is an excellent counterpoint to the Glenlivet Archive and Chivas Regal Royal Salute that I reported on above.
General family resemblance to the standard 12 year old, and a bargain at $55.
Available from Binny's in Chicago, www.binnys.com.
Michters 10yo Bourbon 94.4 proof
Michters US*1 Straight Rye 84.8 proof
Michters 10yo straight Rye 92.8 proof
The old Michters distillery was in Pennsylvania. The current owners bought the name, and operate out of Kentucky. The American
whisky is around four years old, but cannot legally be called bourbon since it is aged in previously used bourbon casks. The end result
is a very pleasant dram, with notes of butterscotch and vanilla. This would be a good introduction to 'real liquor' for someone looking to move up from mixed drinks. Not an outright bargain at $30, but you could do a lot worse too.
The 10 year old bourbon is another story. The age shows, as this is a big, expressive bourbon, without being aggressive. That means
that there aren't the leather and/or tobacco notes that are sometime present in older bourbon and scotch, but the rye doesn't jump
out of the glass and bite you in the nose either. A bit pricey at $50, but competitive with other mature bourbons.
Neither rye, on the other hand, did much for me. They brought back memories of the Canadian Club in the Screwdrivers (along with orange juice) from my pre-legal drinking days. The 10 year old was no improvement in the area.
The Van Winkle family are wheated bourbons, with a much smoother profile minus the rye. The 15 year old is very cognac-like, with
barely a hint of corn late on the palatte. The 20 year old certainly follows in that tradition, although I doubt that at $120, it's worth
three times as much as the 15 which is bottled at 107 proof. Speaking of the 15, there are a couple of news items of note. First, the
recipe has changed slightly, although no major character change. Second, it has been promoted to the Pappy Van Winkle Family
Reserve line, and is now bottled in the taller bottle. This was done to distinguish the 15 from the 10 year old, which comes in a squat bottle with a long neck (interestingly enough, the 12 year old has always been sold in the tall bottle).
There were four being conducted at the same time, in four time slots from 7-10:00 PM.
The plan was to attend the second, third, and fourth. However, the even and odd pairs were held on opposite sides on the ballroom so
they could be set up while the previous seminar was taking place. With only forty seats in each room and close to two thousand
attendees, all of the rooms for number three were full by the time I made my way over. It didn't help that Ardbeg, Macallan, and
Laphroaig made up three out the four choices. Oh, well. One more thing to take into consideration next year. I ended up attending the Maker's Mark and Suntory seminars. Perhaps a little off-beat, but they were quite interesting.
Maker's Mark - presented by David Pickerell, Master Distiller
This seminar was quite informative, even of you don't care much for bourbon.
The second part of the seminar dealt with the life cycle of Maker's Mark.
Now here is some interesting stuff.
The tasting samples that were put out were White Dog (new make), 2 years old, fully matured (the stuff that gets bottled), 9 years
old, and some bourbon distilled back in 1938. The latter was to show just how bad bourbon was in the old days. I took the samples
home, and sampling them did indeed show exactly what they were saying. The White Dog was not fit for consumption, and the 2 year
old was better but not very good. The fully matured was just right, and the 9 year old was a bit woody. The 1938 wasn't as bad as all that, but the current product is much better and Maker's Mark goes for all of $20 a bottle, quite a good deal.
Hey, and Makers Mark even has the same initials as Malt Maniacs, as well as the same second letter.
The first part was devoted to Maker's Mark's current PR pitch. I'll just pass it on, without editorial comment.
For those who may not be aware, the sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol was prohibited in the United States from late 1919
until late 1933, by constitutional amendment. This was know as the Prohibition Era. After Prohibition, the bourbon industry was in bad
shape, because they didn't have any stock aging in the warehouse. So bourbon was sold straight out of the still, without any aging.
For that reason, bourbon became know as a drink to get men drunk quickly (perhaps so they didn't realize how bad it tasted).
Sometime in the 1950's, Bill Samuels Sr. began to look for ways to improve the quality of the product. He settled on using wheat
instead of rye (bourbon by law must be =>51% corn based), which he picked up from Pappy Van Winkle. Maker's Mark stumbled along,
without making very much money until 1980, when a front page article about the distillery appeared in the Wall Street Journal.
Commercial success was finally at hand, and the rest of the bourbon industry then picked up the idea of producing higher quality whiskey shortly thereafter. And they lived happily ever after.....
This shows some stark contrasts to scotch. For the first two years or so, the barrels are kept at the top of the warehouse, where the
extraction phase occurs. This is where the major contribution of the barrel comes in. New make bourbon is clear, the reddish color
comes from the layer below the charred surface of the barrel. Once the barrels are deemed ready, they are moved to the lower level of the warehouse for the balance of the maturation. Maker's Mark is bottled at around six years.
They once swapped a few barrels with Glenmorangie, and discovered that one year of aging in the Makers Mark warehouse is equal to
about four years at Glenmorangie. In another stark contrast to scotch, the Maker's Mark warehouses are wrapped with steel (and thus
acquiring the nickname of Tin Boxes) to raise the temperature and speed up the maturation (some other bourbon distilleries even pump
in steam in the winter to speed things along even faster). A major reason for doing so is because bourbon stocks are taxed every
year, so there is a serious incentive to getting the product to market as quickly as possible. In a double irony, older bourbon is taxed on the angels share as well, which can't even be sold anymore.
Suntory - presented by Lincoln Henderson, Brand Ambassador
Now here was a multi-cultural affair. Japanese malt whisky designed to compete with scotch, being peddled by the former master
distiller of Woodford Reserve bourbon. Most of the presentation was given to the history of the Suntory brand. Here are some
snippets, as my handwriting isn't very good under the best of circumstances, let alone after nearly four hours of sampling. So.......
Shinjo Torri started Japanese whisky making. Yamazaki water flows in the vicinity of a famous 16th century tea house. The first
whisky was produced in 1929, and was a big flop. The Kakubin whisky introduced in 1937 was better, and was a commercial success.
Tory Bor (drinking bar) was established in 1938, there were 35,000 bars in japan by the late 1960's. Shinjo's ultimate accomplishment
was the creation of the Mizuwari lifestyle, drinking whisky with ice and water in bars. While this doesn't sound like a big deal today, it was a major breakthrough 50-70 years ago in a country steeped in tradition.
The second part of the presentation described the Suntory whiskies. Suntory 12 year old Suntory 18 year old Suntory 17 year old Sherry cask Suntory 25 year old And one anecdote to close. Seated in the audience was Elmer T. Lee, the Master Distiller of the Buffalo Trace (bourbon) distillery, and
a good friend of the presenter. Ol' Elmer allowed that he's consumed precious little scotch in his life, but that the 25 was a mighty fine dram.
There are four types of stills, with both direct and coiled heating, and five different varieties of wood are used in the casks. The end
result is that many types of whisky are produced, and each bottling is made up of several.
The 12yo, 18yo, 17yo Sherry cask and 25yo were poured, and I took home my samples.
This is a very nice dram, said to be vatted from six different whiskies.
There are hints of malt and vanilla, notes of prune and perhaps cherry. This description doesn't really do it justice, but I have
previously tries the 12, and it is most impressive, and very competitive in the mid $30's price range.
Forget about detailed tasting notes, this is the similar to the Macallan 18 year old.
Rather pricey though, it goes for around $100.
My recollection is that it was bottled at 45% ABV, pretty much what you'd expect from the name.
Ah, the best for last. Simply wonderful stuff, again similar to a similarly aged Speyside.
A huge, expressive whisky for once not tasting watered down at 43%. It goes for $250 in Japan, but this is one dram that I would say
is worth the money.
Louis
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E-pistle #11/21 - Flora & Fauna Fake
Submitted on 30/12/2004 by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
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Archive
<-- Previous Issue Next Issue -->
As usual, a single page isn't enough
to contain all the madness found in an
issue of Malt Maniacs. So, here is 'Malt
Maniacs #11 - Page 2'. The second part
of MM#11 starts with Charlie's take on
some of the issues raised by Serge on
the front page. Charlie's
Anoraks Ahoy
article raises some pretty interesting
questions by itself. Furthermore: an
Autumn Amsterdram report and Krishna's
E-pistle about six samples from Sukhinder.
Finally, we have two sizzling hot reports from the whiskyfestival in Bremen by German 'foreign correspondents'
Thomas Lipka and Martin Diekmann
. And that's just a selection!
... of MM Issue #11
Click HERE for more malt mania!
