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Eight Australian Whiskies – and Price-point Scoring

According to the inter-web, there are currently 120 whisky distilleries in Australia.

And 80 of them are in Tasmania – which is a lot more than the 31 I had heard of about 10 years ago.

As an obvious consequence of this number of manufacturers, stocks of Aussie drams are starting to be more available on NZ shelves.  Like any whisky selection some of them are good, some less so.  And some are attractively priced while others suffer under the weight of transport costs – or maybe delusions of grandeur as to worth.

I recently attended a promotional tasting of a selection of Australian whiskies held at Glengarry Wines in Wellington, hosted by Aroha Jakicevich.

Aroha.

There were eight samples on offer: three from Victoria’s Port Melbourne Starward Distillery, three from Tasmania’s Callington Mill and the last two from Overeem Distilleries (also Tasmanian)

The line-up (photo courtesy of Pat)                                         
Glass 1:  Starward Nova

41% ABV, No age statement, but probably 3-4 yrs. Non-coloured and non-chill filtered, Red Wine cask from Yarra and Barossa valleys.  Fermented with brewers’ yeast.

Nose: Poached fruit, ripe bananas and a slight sour edge – possibly influence from the red wine cask. Madeira cake with lemon-tinted icing, spicy.  Buttery.
Palate: Soft, then sweet, then a hot edge.  A peppery note.
Finish: Peppery, with heat at the back of the throat.
Comment: Quite nice.  The peppery notes are not off-putting.  A Nova-based “cocktail” with bitter lemonade was served as a welcoming drink – a good choice.
Score: 8.4  

Glass 2: Starward Fortis

50% ABV, nas.  American Oak casks from Barossa Valley wineries

Eye: Dark, and somewhat watery.
Nose: Vanilla and brown toast.  Sweeter than Nova, with a light perfume and an overlay of, Muscatel raisins, cocoa dust, sawdust and dark chocolate.
Palate: Smooth, then a short burst of ABV heat on the centre of the tongue with sweetness and spice.
Finish:  That spicy sweetness sticks around.
Comment: perhaps the best of the presented range.
Score: 8.8 

Glass 3: Starward Unpeated Single Malt

48% ABV

Nose: Light, surgical and rich, with pickled gherkins.
Palate: Sweet, then peaty going to vegetal.  A bit of heat, and faintly drying on the tongue.
Finish: Peaty.
Comment: It is interesting that this dram is titled “Unpeated Single Malt”.  Why would you say that? it’s a bit like saying this pie doesn’t have gravy in it.

The mystery is explained when you discover that this Australian malt is matured in Islay barrels, reputedly from Lagavulin and Bowmore – which goes a long way towards explains the peaty palate!
Score: 8.6 

Glass 4:  Callington Mill (Tasmania)  Emulsion Single Malt

46% ABV.  Casks 100L Apero plus one 700L Tawny (Port?).   Triple distilled.

Colour: Strawberry Gold
Nose: Sherried, and a sweaty strawberry sock with brown bread crust.
Palate: Not what you would expect.  Light and smooth, undoubtedly helped by the triple distillation.
Finish: Warming. Slightly sour.
Score: 8.5 

Glass 5:  Callington Mill Symentry Single Malt

46% ABV

Colour: Light Amber
Nose: “Raspy”, slightly astringent, bandage, honey
Palate: Smooth, with late heat, a slightly acidic edge at front of tongue.  Ripe.  Stewed orchard fruit.
Finish: Sours
Comment:  Won Silver at 2022 Worlds, double gold at San Francisco Worlds
Score: 8.5 

Glass 6: Callington Mill Entropy Single Malt

52% ABV.  Casks: Tawny, Apero, Muscat

Colour: Red tinge.
Nose: soapy/laundry smell.  Sour, medicinal (surgical)
Palate: Smooth (again!!)
Finish: Sours off
Comment: Small batch (handcrafted)
Score: 8.7 

Glass 7: Overeem Single Malt Sherry Cask Matured

43% abv

Nose: Vanilla (from a sherry cask???), rum & raisin
Palate: Does not taste like a sherry-matured whisky, unless it’s an oloroso.
Finish: Sour
Comment: Too sour for its price point (refer to Thomas’ Price Point scoring)
Score: 7.8 

If I like the dram and its price is acceptable, I will mark it higher.  If it’s not an appealing whisky or if I think it is too expensive for what it is, then those views will adversely influence affect the price point score I allocate.

Glass 8: Overeem Single Malt Port Cask Matured

ABV 43%

Nose: Sherry, Raisins, Chocolate
Palate: Smooth, edgy but no heat
Comment: Priced at NZ$250, but doubtful if it’s worth it. Might be more attractive to buy at early $100s.
Score: 8.6 

Thomas’s Price Point scoring

Somewhere around the last two samples, comment was passed on the impact of freight costs on the NZ shelf bottle price.

Thomas introduced us to a concept where he sometimes includes a “value for money” rating in his bottle scoring to add to nose, palate and finish.  Price.

It is an interesting idea.

If I’m going to base a purchase on how much I like the nose or the palate or the finish what the cost is has got be a consideration, doesn’t it?

All scoring is subjective – I may love the nose of this dram, but you may think it’s horrid and smells like stale washing or an old bike seat.    And we score the nose accordingly.  We do the same with the palate.   It’s all done based on our individual views.

Price point scoring is done the same way.

If I like the dram and its price is acceptable to me then I will mark it higher.  If it’s not an appealing whisky or if I think it is too expensive for what it is, then those views will adversely influence affect the price point score I allocate.

If a price point score were to be applied, the measurement would need to be divorced from the ‘traditional’ nose/palate/finish score

Think about the last bottle you bought.  At any stage in the transaction did you consider how much you were paying?   I’ll bet you did, even if only fleetingly.

And this is where the subjectivity comes in.  Are you going to buy something you really like at a cost of say $120, or are you going to fork out for something that you scored as only a “pass” but which will set you back north of $300?  It’s my guess that you’ll leave the shop clutching the former – and feeling really good about it.

What you feel is OK to pay for a bottle of whisky may send me into a major panic attack when I consider how many heated evenings, tanks of petrol or cans of catfood are being exchanged!

Now we’re back to the methodology of any scoring – individual viewpoint.

But in order to get a group consensus on a dram, if a price point score were to be applied to a particular bottle the measurement would need to be divorced from the ‘traditional’ nose/palate/finish score.  There does need to be a relativity between the traditional score and the price point one – if two drams score 8.5 traditional points but vary in price by a significant amount, on a like-for-like basis the cheaper one would tend to get a better price point score.

And if we’re going to add a price score into the measurement for this dram, won’t we have to do it for all of them?

How’s the headache?

 

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Dramfest – Chapter 3 – The Monday After

From Pat

An interesting and informed motto:
“Don’t make Whisky to get rich in New Zealand, do it for love”

When in Rome, do what the Romans do.

Now, Romans may be in short supply in Christchurch, but a smart pastime for whisky lovers is to book a tour of the local distillery.  Just out of the Christchurch CBD is The Spirits Workshop, the home of Curiosity Gin and (more importantly) of Divergence Whisky.

As we were brought up on the Boy Scout manual, we had prepared for the Monday afternoon after Dramfest by booking ourselves a distillery tour.

We had deliberately decided against the idea of a Monday morning tour.

This booking was a two-pronged process.  We thought it would be kind to let the good people from Spirits Workshop get back to earth from their tough weekend of revelry at Te Pae.  On a more personal level, we thought to let the revelers from the same weekend get back to some semblance of order and cohesion.

Note to self: On a smartphone’s Google Maps it looks just a short and simple pleasure stroll through the shops and attractions to The Spirits Workshop.  The reality is actually long enough for an Uber ride.

Getting there is half the fun

The walk from our hotel was about four lengthy blocks south, through a largely commercial area with precious few redeeming scenic attractions.  We trekked (later becoming “trudged”) along a very busy multi-lane street, across three very busy multi-lane pedestrian crossings and over a very busy multi-lane bridge.

We finally made it to the distillery, located in an anonymous commercial building off Durham Street.  No big, bold Islay distillery lettering – the only clue that we had found the right place was the pretty Curiosity logo in gold on the building’s gable end.

Our little party was warmly invited in by Founder, Chief Gin Officer and Managing Director, Antony Michalik.

The Presentation

Not counting Antony, there are six of us sitting around sitting around a large, very solid and imposing board table:  four dedicated whisky drinkers, two dedicated gin drinkers and a couple who could swing either way depending on what was being offered.

Antony started his wide-ranging presentation on the development of Curiosity gin and Divergence whisky with a slide show.  He covered the history of first setting up the Spirits Workshop, the owners’ previous incarnations and experience, and starting to make distilled spirits.  As the presentation progresses, he hands everyone a sample of all of Curiosity’s range of gins – Classic, Ruby, Dry, Pinot Barrel Sloe, Recipe #23 and Negroni. My personal favourite is the Classic, but as with any group we all have different choices.

Walking around

We started on a guided walk around the distillery, beginning at the still room with its lovely polished copper bits.  The stills, all bought from China,  appear to be very good quality.

Antony and Pat inspecting the equipment
Peter admiring the still,

But the most exciting room for me was the barrel-aging room, containing a selection of very small barrels which are aging for private owners.  There are custom engraved casks with capacities ranging from about 10 litres up.

I oddly found myself wanting to be very quiet in this room – it looked like a nursery with rows of babies sleeping.  Just beautiful!

Pat’s “Nursery” at The Spirits Workshop

As we were the only people in the distillery we took our time on the tour.

The Whiskies

Walking finished, it was back to the boardroom and the unleashing of Divergence whiskies on this over-eager audience.

First dram up is the Virgin French Oak, the stock distillery expression.   This is followed by the latest edition of Port Wood (matured in Tawney Port barrels) and then FIVE (Spirits Workshop’s capitals, not a misprint)

Then Antony brought out his Big Gun, his last bottle of Pinot Noir Finish.  This expression officially sold out ages ago.  The Pinot Noir Finish is fantastic stuff, and Antony politely declined my asking really nicely if I could buy the open bottle: so now I’m left to  look forward to a new bottling being released some time in the future.

Antony also mentioned that they also make an Absinthe as well – at about 70% abv.  They haven’t yet sold very many as they didn’t know quite how to market it.  He offered us each a small nip to try – a tiny sip nearly blew my eye balls out! One of us was so excited and loved it so much that he bought a bottle.

After a lot of semi-informed questions from the tourists and a lot of very informed answers from the Director, the tour drew to a reluctant close.  With formalities completed, we all bought a bottle or two to take away or be delivered by courier.

I can totally recommend taking a visit to The Spirits Workshop.  We couldn’t have wished for a better host who made us all feel very welcome,  answered all our pesky questions as whisky fans are bound to ask and left us in high spirits.

Contact The Spirits Workshop for to arrange your own tour, please click here.

Note: Since this article was written, both the Divergence FIVE and the Virgin French Oak have been awarded gold at the NZ Spirit Awards 2023.

Some Random Tastings
Inchmurran Highland Single Malt

Sample from Pat

Distiller: Loch Lomond
46% ABV.   NAS,  NC2

Colour: Gold.
Eye: Good viscosity
Nose: Sherry, oranges, Vanilla, Old leather boots
Palette: Smooth, Soft.  Black Jellybeans.  Oloroso sherry?  Sawdust (oak).  Not much heat.
Finish: Smooth
Comment: A quaffer.  Right up with the standard we’ve come to expect from Loch Lomond.  I would definitely have one.
Length: S/M
Score: 8.3

The Dalmore

12 year old, 40% ABV.

Colour: Dark
Eye: Medium viscosity.  The legs seem a bit weak.
Nose: Sherry.;  Slight nose prickle.  Citrus Juice.
Palette: Hot tip and centre of tongue.  Tannic-y.  Sour.  Well integrated,  Golden Syrup/Treacle.  Soft
Finish: Sweetness stays for the duration.  Very slight smoke.
Comment:  Other than the bald 12 yo note on the label, there is very little info on casks or maturation etc, and the dram is almost anonymous.
Length: M+
Score: 8.2

SMWS 16.54 (Glenturret)

Age: 10 year old
Sample from Ian

Colour: mid-gold
Eye: Medium viscosity, wide legs
Nose: Strong, wood, high nose prickle. Rum & Raisin ice cream, oak sawdust, slightly “dirty” aroma, back of the nose hit of alcohol
Palate: Sweet marine. Hot tongue!  Sharp at first.  Rich and hot.  Very  nice.
Finish: Long & spicy.  Yummy, want to take another sip (moreish).  Slight smoky (a bonfire breath – interesting that there has not  been a hint of smoke anywhere else before this!
Comment: Nice!
Length: long
Score: 8.6

Cotswald Reserve

50% abv, NC2

Barrels: First fill ex-Bourbon, NC2
Nose: Prickle, Red Wine on nose, honey, butterscotch, bit of vanilla.  Promising!
Palate: Smooth and HOT!  Wow Factor right through.  Tongue Heat, and then drying.  Coconut. Dark caramel.  Promise kept.
Finish: Tongue slightly drying, but not a problem.
Length: Medium/long
Comment: Wow Factor! Would get a bottle (around $110
Score: 8.2 – 8.5

Disclaimer:
All writings on rantwhisky.com are the work of Real People.
No AI has been used.

Bet you couldn’t have guessed that!

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Dramfest 2023 Review – Chapter 2 – The Adventures of Pat

Over the weekend of 4th and 5th of March I got to go to New Zealand’s premier whisky event, Dramfest.

Before I went, my wife told me to treat this like an adventure – very good advice, as you will see.

Saturday morning flight to Christchurch and off to the Te Pai Convention Centre at 12:30 to be meet a queue of other Whisky addicts.  Te Pai has plenty of space and the show was well laid out on one level (t as the afternoon went on, that was good as everybody became relaxed in various degrees of inattention).

After a lovely bagpipe intro, the stands were allowed to pour.

The Show

This year I decided to forgo the master classes and instead just do the stands. At previous Dramfests I have gone to every master class available; this time I wanted to spend more time just mingling.

On Saturday I managed to try about forty drams, the majority cask strength (the Wellington Curse).

Saturday picks

My pick for the day – and indeed as one of the stand outs for Dramfest – was the Cotswolds Founders Choice at a hefty 60.5% ABV.  My notes record just the word “Wow” under Nose, with the same recorded in Taste.  I don’t usually limit myself to a few words, but this was fantastic.

Cotswalds Founders’ Choice

The next memorable stand was the Alistair Walker Whisky Company. They had two drams that stood out: the Infrequent Flyers Benriach at 57.2% and the Glenrothes at 62.8%.  I feel the Benriach nudged ahead and indeed shares my first equal as the best dram of the weekend with the Founders Choice.

Infrequent Flyers Benriach

The impact of 40 high-strength whiskies during Saturday afternoon created a few internal GPS issues.

 A surprising Saturday find for me was the Sagamore Spirit stand.  Sagamore make Rye whiskey, and I like Rye whiskey.  Two drams on the stand stood out, mainly by not having that minty taste you sometimes get with Rye.  I found one not listed in the menu but that had a very much a Wow moment – the Sherry Finish Rye finished in PX sherry barrels at 52%.  It came at you in two layers on the taste, and I hope Whisky Galore gets more in!

Sagamore Rye – Sherry Finish

The Adventure – aka Pat’s Magical Mystery Tour

The Te Pai venue is 200 metres in a straight-ish line from our hotel – a short walk.  However, the impact of 40 high-strength whiskies during Saturday afternoon created a few internal GPS issues, and getting to the hotel became a much greater challenge than anticipated.

I had walked four blocks past my hotel before I encountered another Dramfest attendee.

“Pat, you’ve gone too far.  You need to turn around and go back into town.”

So I went back three blocks, then sat down thinking “This is hard work!”

There followed a text conversation with my wife (who was waiting with deteriorating patience in the hotel lobby) – refer photos below.  My part in the conversation was rather confused, and my wife was not amused in the slightest.  I walked  the last block and saw a large neon sign identifying the hotel.  Bliss.

Screen Print 1 – Blue messages are from Mrs Pat.

For clarity, the phrase “No funding idwa” contains typing errors.

Screen Print 2
Screen Print 3

Sunday

I started the Sunday session with the Kavalan 58.6% Port finish.  It is amazing, and surprisingly better than their Sherry finish.

The New Zealanders

I was taken aback with delight by the New Zealand offerings at Dramfest, and my Sunday tour of various NZ distillers’ stands revealed some new delights.

I visited the stand of Christchurch’s own Spirits Workshop, with their 5-year-old Divergence 5 and the new bottling of the Portwood in tawny casks.

Next was the Pokeno Whisky stand.  The Origin was a lovely smooth dram, but the pick was the Prohibition Porter from a first fill bourbon single cask – dark chocolate all the way and very smooth indeed.  I had to leave the stand; staying was far too far too tempting.

Then on to Waiheke Whisky.   I had sort of written Waiheke off a few months back after tasting some of their sample minis.  After tasting their offerings at Dramfest, I admit I definitely was wrong.  They gave me the Dramfest special bottling at 46%.  There is amazing mouth feel and, typical of NZ peat, just a hint of sea, smooth with a long finish.

I was then given a dram called Cantankerous which they said was for a cantankerous person.  Moi???  Again, this dram was not on the menu.  It is excellent and well worth finding – if you can.

Going home

No worries getting back to the hotel this time.

It is always a pleasure to go to a world class event here in NZ and, as usual, the team at Whisky Galore have done an superb job in a great venue.

 

Silly Statistics

Because we were interested (and a little bit bored) we analysed some of the numbers in the Dramfest catalogue.  They make for quite interesting reading.

The total price of all bottle in the catalogue:  $34,320.76

The average prince: $138.39

The highest orice: the Glenfiddich “Grand Cru” 23yo 40% $592.00
Second: the Buffalo Trace Stagg JR 64.2% $401.00
Third: The Whisky Cellar  Cambus Single Grain33yo 52.5% $386.00

On the (probably slightly under attended) Black Tot rum stand on Sunday, we used three bottles of each of the two drams we had.  Assuming the same level of consumption for all the other stands over the two days, that is $205,900 worth of whisky consumed!

And that wildly undependable calculation:
– undoubtedly understates the number of bottles used on many of the stands,
– does not include the values of the “under the counter” bottles, or
– the value of merchandise sales from the front shop.

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Dramfest 2023 Review – Chapter 1

Event Overview

A very happy, well-oiled crowd.

That was Dramfest 2023, New Zealand’s largest whisky event.

NZ whisky enthusiasts have been waiting for three years to get back to Dramfest.  The last festival, in 2020, took place on the weekend before NZ’s first Covid lock-down, when Dave Broom got “kept in” in NZ and had to receive care packages of whisky to keep him going!.

And then came Dramfest 2022.  Sort of.

We had all our entry tickets sorted.  Airfares and beds were booked, and we were eagerly awaiting the exciting range of Dramfest Sessions to come up for grabs.

Then, just as the starting gun was about to fire, the rug was brutally snatched from under our collective feet by yet another bloody lock-down!

It all seemed a diabolical plot, like someone telling a 5-year-old that Santa Claus doesn’t exist!

Patience gets its Reward, though: Dramfest 2023 (2022.5?).  And it has been well worth waiting for!

Putting whisky aside for a moment (just a moment), what a magnificent venue Christchurch’s new Te Pae Convention Centre is.

The Te Pai Convention Centre

And the Whisky Galore team added a mouth-watering 68 stands, with over 70 brands of whisky and rum on offer this year.  Happiness and smiles all around.

My very rough count of this year’s assembly was 324 drams available to sample, plus those at the Sessions and a few “under the table” ones that I missed in the reckoning.

Dramfest 30 minutes BC (Before Customers)

My Dramfest Highlights (View from the Chair)

Travelling in Style

Compared with previous Dramfests, my intake of alcohol at this year’s event was minute.  Maybe something to do with drink-driving.

Instead of tasting everything available, I took the opportunity to spend my time introducing myself to the owners of New Zealand distilleries.  I had previously met quite a few of them by email or telephone but not in person.  It was great to meet them, introduce myself and shake a hand or two.

I was delighted to get a warm welcome from everyone I spoke with.  As a result, I am looking forward to being able to provide this Blog with many more articles on NZ distilleries and the local whisky scene.

I did weaken a bit during the tripping around and took the chance to test-drive a few NZ-produced drams.  Here are my views:

Lammermore Distillery, The Jack Scott Single Malt, 46%

Nose: Sweet and floral.  A slight tinge of sweaty shearing shed.
Palette: Tongue bite at first, but that drops away quickly.  Young and plenty of alcohol heat, vinous from the Pinot Noir barrels.
Finish: The tongue sting stays.  The taste sours at the end (again, the influence of the pinot noir barrel?), but then again so do a lot of whiskies.
Score: 8.1

Cardrona whisky Pinot Noir, 52% ABV

Nose: Vanilla custard with dried stone fruit.  The pinot noir barrel gives the expected vinous note.
Palette: Sharp, and not too alcohol hot.  Under the sharpness the whisky is smooth and even, with pip fruit on the tongue.
Finish: A heat stays on the tongue, roof and walls of the mouth.  The vanilla custard note remains.
Comment:  This is the second iteration of Cardrona to be matured in pinot casks.  We reviewed the first “Just Hatched” Pinot Noir-matured whisky is Dec 2019.  This second one is way better.  I have tried this before Dramfest, and I was just as impressed then.
Score: 8.7

Waiheke Whisky, Peat and Port, 46%, 5-yrear-old, 40ppm peat.  Dramfest bottling.

Nose: Marine, like rock pools.  Citrus peel with vanilla
Palette: Rich and sweet.  Slightly “sheepy”, but not in a bad way.
Finish: The sweetness stays.
Comment: This is capital N Nice!  Actually, a whole lot better than nice.
Further comment:  Although the 40ppm of phenols is accurate, if you are expecting this to be like one of Islay’s more heathen expressions you will be disappointed.  In all the New Zealand peated whiskies I have tasted from Waiheke Whisky the peat notes are there, but they are way more subtle than Scottish peated drams – with Waiheke whiskies I really have had to look to find to find them.
Score: 7.9

And then I spent Sunday working on the Black Tot Rum stand.  For an ardent (and sober) people watcher, manning the stand is so much fun.

Graeme’s Dramfest Sessions

Email traffic in Wellington prior to Dramfest, getting tickets to the sessions was a bit of a  keyboard lottery.  Some punters won Powerball, others were left bemoaning their poor fortune.

Graeme got particularly lucky.  He scored entry both the Arran and the Glen Scotia mini sessions.  He then followed that streak by getting into Sunday’s Top Shelf session, led by Dave Broom and Michael Fraser Milne.

Graeme has kindly provided his tasting notes from those events.

The Arran mini-session

Arran 17yo rare batch Calvados cask 52.5% ABV.

Matured for full 17 years in second fill casks previously used to mature Calvados.

Nose and palette: Both apples and pears dominate, spiciness.
Finish: Medium-long with flavour persisting.
Score: 8.5

Lagg release one ex-bourbon  50% ABV. 

Matured in bourbon cask, peating at 50 ppm.

Nose: light peat.
Palette: more pronounced peat, otherwise undistinguished.
Finish: long, peat dominant.
Comment: In no way measures up to the Arran Fingal’s Cut tasted at last Dramfest.
Score:  6.5

The Glen Scotia mini –session

Glen Scotia 25yo, refill ex-bourbon casks, but finished in first fill ex-bourbon.  48.8% ABV 

Nose:  Standard vanilla.
Palette:  Chocolate, vanilla, sweetness.
Finish:  Medium-long with flavour lasting well.
Comment:  This won whisky of the year at the 2021 San Francisco spirits forum.
Score: 8.5

Glen Scotia 9yo first fill ex-bourbon  Cask no 9.  56.7% ABV

Distilled 2013.  Specially selected for Dramfest, six  bottles only taken straight from the cask still sitting in the warehouse.

Nose:  Standard vanilla.
Palette:  Oily, salty, fruity.
Finish:  Long flavour persistence.
Comment:  Watch out for the release of this one.
Score:  9.0

The Top Shelf

The theme of the Top Shelf tasting was reviewing the traditions of whisky-making.

Daftmill 15yo first fill American oak  55.7% ABV cask strength

A Lowlands distiller, Daftmill is from the traditional farmer distiller, making whisky in his spare time from on-farm materials.

Nose:  Oaky, vanilla, spice.  Palette: buttery, mouth-filling, well integrated flavours.
Finish:  Everlasting flavour.  So long that it was necessary to drink some water before moving on to the next whisky!
Score: 9.8

Glenturret 30yo matured in ex-sherry cask  42% ABV. 

One of 750 bottles from this Highlands distillery.

Nose:  Sherry, spice, geranium (the last Dave Broom’s comment).
Palette:  Soft, floral, sherry, dark fruit and dates.
Finish:  Long and subtle flavours (but not as long as the Daftmill).
Comment: A light whisky, well-integrated and soft.
Score:  9.0

Springbank 22yo from Adelphi, 46.3% ABV.

One of 239 bottles.  Easily the oldest Springbank anywhere in Dramfest.

Nose:  Sherry, new-made bread.
Palette:  Sherry, low-level peat evident.
Finish: Medium-long, fades more rapidly than first two.
Comment: Slightly disappointing after the first two.
Score: 8.0

Caol Ila 40 yo Director’s Special bottled by Whisky Exchange. 49.1% ABV.

Nose:  Fruity, grapefruit, very light peat in the background.
Palette:  Fruit, salty, peat remain light and in the background.
Finish: Long, with lasting flavours, peat finally becoming more evident but beautifully integrated.
Comment:  the bottler loves tropical fruit whiskies.
Score:  9.5

Overall Tasting Comment: Fully lived up to very high expectations.

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Bits and Bobs

We have a round-up of Bits and Pieces for you.

We start off with the Rantandwhisky Tasting journal, now back in limited stock ready for Dramfest.

There’s a whisky (Glayva) sauce recipe to brighten up your eating, some tasting notes from Pat, and a bit of a laugh to finish.

RantandWhisky Tasting Journal

With Dramfest 2023 just around the corner (less than six drinking weeks to go!), rantandwhiky.com has released the latest version of its Whisky Tasting Journal.  The Journal proved very popular at the last Dramfest (if you can remember back that far!)

 

The A5-sized journal is designed to fit conveniently into your carry bag at the event.  Good space is there to record all the details you could ever want about what you’ve tasted.

There is provision for the usual Nose, Palette and Finish notes.  We also have place for details of ABV, Age, Year Distilled and Year Bottled, the Colour, whether it’s been filtered or not, and your score.

Each journal has space to record 20 whiskies – about a day’s tasting for the average whisky fan, two days’ tasting for some, and half a day for the truly dedicated!

But no matter how many whiskies you taste, the Journal has one great added extra advantage – it will help you to recall your tastings in the days and weeks after the event.

A limited run of the Whisky Tasting Journal will be available, so it will pay to be in quick if you want to score a couple.

You can order the Journal via the form on the Contact Me tab on this website.  Just tell me your name and address and how many copies you would like.  Alternatively, if you know my details, please phone or text me.  Or ask me, if we pass on the street!

There is no asking price for the Tasting Journal, although a koha would be greatly appreciated.  Please note that I will have to charge you cartage if you need me to post them around the country or elsewhere.

Geoff’s Sauce

My mate, Geoff, is a dab hand in the kitchen.  He’s also an export from Glasgow with a taste for things whisky.

He was telling me the other day about spicing up his Whisky Sauce with a smidge of Glayva.

It sounded so good I just had to pass his recipe on …..

Things you’ll need to make Whisky Sauce
  • A frying pan or large pot
  • A lighter (ideally the kind with a long handle) or a long match
Ingredients for Whisky Sauce

The recipe serves two.  Increase the ingredients proportionally if you need to make for greater numbers.

  • 3-4 tbsp whisky
  • 100ml Double cream
  • 50ml stock – you can use a quarter of an OXO cube dissolved in hot water (veggie but chicken works just as well).
  • Knob of butter
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Construction

Heat the fry pan/pot to medium, add the knob of butter and melt.

Add 3 tbsp of your choice of whisky then light the whisky with the lighter and allow it to burn off the alcohol. This makes the sauce less bitter. Be careful at this stage, the flame can be quite aggressive but will burn out quickly.

Add the cream, stock, and mustard to the pan once the flame is out.

Allow to thicken and reduce on a low heat while continuing to stir then add salt and pepper to taste

If you like a stronger whisky taste then add another tablespoon of whisky or Glayva at the end!  As this won’t have the alcohol burned off it will be a much stronger taste.

IT Takes about 10 minutes to make (possibly longer, depending on your consumption of the ingredients during the construction process!)

Tastings from Pat

Sadly, I’m still not able to taste whiskies (please let this be over before Dramfest!), so I have substituted some sent from Pat.  These are his words ….

Well, I finally got through the samples that I was given at the Best of the Best.  Here are the results, and many thanks to all who made my tasting at home amazing

Jack Daniels single Barrel Rye 47% (from Matt)

Nose: smooth, vegetal.
Palette: smooth as silk, caramel and chocolate.
Comment: very fine Rye almost gave it a 9, even compared to a SMWS.

Score: 8.7

Dalmore 2011 SWMS 13.91 62.5% (from Richard)

Nose: Golden Syrup, Sherry ?, cocoa,
Palette: mouthfeel, oily, high alcohol.
Comment: I reduced it, but still alcohol driven got citrus

Score: 7.5

Regards, Pat

It’s a viewpoint

I know it’s a bit naughty to copy stuff off the interweb without attribution, but I came across this the other day.

I thought it was rather good but I don’t know who made it originally, so I’m going to share it and hope that whoever built it in the first place recognises and accepts my thanks for it!

Looking greatly to seeing you in Christchurch at Dramfest!

Slainte

John

 

 

 

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Goodbye to 2022, welcome 2023

I won’t be sad to see the back of 2022.

Let’s be honest, the last couple of years have been pretty rubbish, really.

Covid reared its ugly head in NZ in March 2020, just a few days after Whisky Galore’s 2020 Dramfest.  It resulted in personal lockdowns, business close-downs and relationship breakups.  And a lot of empty whisky, wine, and other bottles.

Since 2021 Covid has also proved to be a very handy scapegoat for a whole range of ills – inflation, delays in supply, more inflation, lack of business performance, high inflation, reduced stock of nearly everything important (whisky), potholes, road works, road -re-works, high costs of public works, lack of performance, expensive groceries, horrendous petrol prices.  And inflation.

And Covid even managed to stop Dramfest 2022!

The covid-inspired disruptions to 2021 were a pain.  A couple of notable Scotsmen were detained in New Zealand, caught by the first sudden lockdown.  One did take the opportunity to make a bit of a name for himself by getting samples in to his isolation accommodation and putting up on-line tastings.

Limited Tastings

For the general whisky-drinking public, only a very limited number of whisky tastings were able to be held due to the demands of lockdowns, “social distancing”, mask-wearing and the like.

if you will forgive me a small personal indulgence, 2022 has been a calamity.

A fortunately short spell in hospital (where I discovered whisky consumption is frowned upon) was rather too quickly followed by an unrelated muscular injury which has required pain-killers of ocean-going strength.

Point of interest:  you may have experienced Tramadol, a manufactured-opiate based analgesic.  If you have, you will probably have also experienced some of its rather bizarre side-effects: a slight disassociation from normal reality (wooziness), muddled thinking, slow reaction times and (most spectacularly) dreams straight from Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band.

I’m probably going to get stick for not reading the box, but I wasn’t aware of  the combined effect of Tramadol and alcohol.

I quickly became really aware when a routine traffic breath-test stop indicated that I was perilously close to failing – on only one glass of a less-than-memorable pub chardonnay that had accompanied my steak meal.  On the plus side, probably better to discover this before Christmas festivities really hit their straps.  All my celebrations for the near future are now going to do wonders for the share-prices of ginger ale and orange juice.  Sad.

The Better Bits

But 2022 hasn’t all been rubbish.  I managed to get to some magnificent whisky events.  Two memorable ones:  – Dr Stopher’s Multi functional Madness, and the opportunity a week later to help Mel clean out the contents of her whisky cabinet to make room for planned purchase activity at Dramfest in March.

Another particularly bright note was the creation of the “Virtual Tasting”, where samples are distributed by courier and the tasting event held by a Zoom conference.  My wife came home one evening to discover 20 or more fairly convivially chatty people in little boxes discussing the contents of their whisky cabinets on our TV screen.

And there has been the testing/tasting all those generously-given samples I have received, along with the whisky-tasting evenings at Hare and Copper Eatery in Turangi.  One must keep a balance!

It is now high time to let 2022 go and move into 2023 with Faith and Hope.

Things to look forward to

I don’t know who wrote this, but I certainly empathise!

Dramfest

The major event for whisky aficionados to look forward to!

Dramfest 2023 is to be held at Christchurch’s new Te Pae Convention and Exhibition Centre on 4th and 5th of March.

This will be the much lamented,  Covid-struck event delayed from March 2022.

It will feature over 50 exhibitors (including, by ny count, seven New Zealand distilleries, 300 different single malts, blends and other whiskies available to try.

And, for the first time, rum will also be available as a “guest spirit”.

According to the website, tickets are already sold out.  Flights, at least from Wellington, are getting hard to find.  Accommodation is also looking to be under pressure.

Overseas Travel

Travel is back on again, although (like Tramadol) to be taken with caution.

It will be nice to be able go to Australia, the UK or America again.  We’ve done pretty much all of New Zealand now, time to stretch the wings a bit.

And cruise liners are back amongst us. Structures the size of Head Office blocks are parked alongside the wharf disgorging loud shirts, cameras, and peaked caps.  Great news for the hospitality industry, which has struggled considerably for the past couple of years.

Reduction in Covid cases

In the last few weeks there has been a startling resurgence in the number of Covid cases being reported, north of 40,000 a week with a significant quantity of people dying with/from the disease.

Hopefully, 2023 will see those numbers start to drop and life return to a normalcy.

Being able to drink

The impact of taking anti-inflammatories is an inability to drink whisky and wine.  It’s not that I’ve lost taste (although some may dispute that!), but the slight hallucinogenic effect of the drugs coupled with alcohol is not a pleasant mix.  So samples of whiskies have been building up, sitting in a corner of the cabinet and laughing at me.  It will be good to get rid of the pills and take other mind-altering substances instead.

And that is why there are no tasting notes for you to read at the moment.  Watch this space!

Teeling Release

The Revival Vol V, 12yo Single Malt, 46%

Ireland’s Teeling Whiskey Company are releasing a series of limited edition whiskies under The Revival series label.

WestmeathWhiskeyWorld have reviewed the latest in the series.  They note the feeling that these may well be Collector drams, unlikely to ever be opened.

 

Personally, I am very much looking forward to 2023.  I’m looking forward to tasting some new whiskies and re-acquainting myself with some others.

And I’m particularly looking forward to getting together with my whisky-drinking friends!

A very happy New Year to you all.

Slainte

John

Correction

I received the following from WestmeathWhiskyWorld on the subject of Teeling Revival V.

“The Revival Series finished with the Vol V bottle in 2018.

Teeling are now embarking on a Renaissance Series to celebrate their own distillate coming of age at their Dublin distillery.

Renaissance will be of similar style to the Revival bottlings, limited editions, fancy packaging & premium pricing along with pretty tasty whiskey too!”

I greatly appreciate the information.  And I’ll go looking for a bottle to see if any travelled all this way!

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Dr Stopher’s Multi-functional Madness

Some tastings require fanfare and commendation.

Others slide on by.

Photo courtesy of Richard Mayston

Ian Stopher’s tastings require fanfare and commendation.  His Multifunctional Madness tasting definitely requires them.

The reason participants love Ian’s tastings is because of a lot of factors.  The offering, the whiskies, and the bonhomie – but most especially for the breadth, width and depth of Ian’s knowledge.

It would take a book to describe Ian’s research into the whiskies he produced from the darker reaches of his collection.

His eight (or maybe ten, depending on how you count) Multi-functional Madness whiskies had no Madness, but rather were quite logical and sane.  This tasting centred around distilleries that are or had been multi-functional.

My rather too brief tasting notes are below, along with some of the stuff I’ve managed to discover about the drams and the distilleries from they came from.  Note that, unsurprisingly, Ian had all this stuff at his fingertips.

Start the Evening

Ian gave a Starting Choice choice of Welcoming dram – either

    1. Glen Flagler Single Malt, Distillery bottling.  100% pot still whisky, bottled as a 7yo in the 1970s at 40% abv, or
    2. Aerstone 10 yo from the Ailsa Bay distillery.  A 40% Single Malt, Land Cask, from William Grant and Sons.

The Glen Flagler had a visible similarity to the look of ginger beer.  I didn’t try that one – the Aerstone hove into my view first.

The Line-up. Photo courtesy of Pat
The Line-up. Photo courtesy of Pat

Then into the really serious stuff.  In order of tasting:

Glass 1

Dumbarton, 30 yo Single Grain, 48.7% abv, SMWS bottling G14.3

 From a refill ex-bourbon barrel cask, releasing 174 bottles.

This was distilled in 1986 and bottled as a 30-year-old in 2016.  It’s now 2022 so the dram was distilled 36 years ago.

Nose: Soap, with vinegar
Palate: Soft and buttery.
Comment: Beautiful
Score: 9.5 

Dumbarton distillery was closed in 2002.  It has been demolished for a housing development.

Glass 2

Gordon & MacPhail Kinlaith, 27yo Single Malt, 40% abv.

Distilled 1968, bottled 1995 –  distilled 54 years by the time we got to taste it.

Nose: Sweet, medicinal, baby sick.
Palate: Very watery!!  Not good.
Finish: Sourish, a slight mint flavour.
Score: 6.1 

This whisky has a Whiskybase score of 87.91.

Ian’s post-match comment:  “I think it lost some spirit through the cap during the time in the bottle. Even so, I find it hard to believe the rating of 87.91. If it was this good I suspect they would have found a way to keep the distillery going.”

Before its demolition, Kinclaith was the oldest malt Whisky distillery in Glasgow.   It closed in 1975.

Glass 3

Garnheath 35yo, Woodwinters bottling, Single Grain, 55.5%.

180 500ml bottles.  Distilled Feb 1973, bottled 2008.  Distilled 49 years at time of this tasting.

Nose: Baby sick (again).
Palate: Hot, wide mouth, quite well balanced
Finish: Sweet, then souring.
Score: 8.7 

Garnheath, a Lowland grain distillery, was developed to produce both grain spirit and grain whisky at a time of increasing demand for blended whisky. With five continuous stills, it had a capacity of 15 million original proof gallons, one of the largest grain distilleries at the time.

Garnheath stopped production ion 1986.

Glass 4

Ayrshire, 31 yo Single Malt, 47.7% abv. From the Ladyburn Distillery

 Bourbon barrel, 182 bottles.  Distilled Feb 75, bottled Feb 2007.  Distilled 47 years at time of drinking.

Nose: Alcohol kick, cheese
Palate: Sour
Finish: Buttery end
Score: 7.5 

The Ladyburn distillery was an expansion of the Girvan distillery built in 1963 by William Grant & Sons Ltd. The Ladyburn malt whisky distillery was created in 1966 with the addition of two pot stills. The malt portion of the distillery was closed in 1975 and demolished in 1976.

The independent bottlers Signatory Vintage and Wilson and Morgan have released Ladyburn single malt under the name “Ayrshire”, after the council area of Scotland in which Girvan is found.

Comment: This Signatory Vintage bottling was in a light blue tube, an unusual tube colour for a Signatory bottling.

 Glass 5 

Ladyburn and Inverleven, Ghosted Reserve, 26yo, Blended Malt, 42% abv

Bottled 2015, 4100 bottles

Nose: Wood
Palate: Not startling, but good
Finish: Citronella candle, tongue feel
Score: 8.4 

Ladyburn (part of the Girvan distillery) operated as a single malt distillery from 1966 until 1975.

Glass 6

Strathclyde (Cadenhead bottling) 30yo, Single Grain, 54.5%

 Distilled 1989, bottled 2020.  Distilled 33 years at time of tasting.  Sherry and Bourbon Cask.  360 bottles

Nose: Sherry
Palate: Nutmeg
Finish: The nutmeg stays.  Really nice.
Score: 9.2 

The Strathclyde distillery was founded in 1927 by Seager Evans and Co. The first spirit was produced in 1928.  Today Strathclyde is part of Pernod Ricard.

Glass 7

 Inverleven (Cadenhead bottling).  Single Malt 15yo, 58.1% abv

Distilled 1987, bottled 2003.  Distilled 35 years at time of tasting.  Bourbon Hogshead.  294 bottles

Nose: Dirty
Palate: Hot, sweet, wide-mouthed.
Finish: Tongue heat, with grapefruit.  The finish drops away quickly.
Score: 9.6 

A little bit of trivia. from Ian.  The Cadenhead bottling calls it Dumbarton (Inverleven Stills) so some people at first glass would assume it is a Single Grain, but it obviously isn’t a grain

Glass 8

Girvan (Douglas Laing bottling) 25yo 51.5% Single Grain

Distilled 12.1993, Bottled 2.2019.  Distilled 29 years at time of tasting.  Refill barrel.  227 bottles.

Nose: Vinegar
Palate: Nutmeg, Heat rises, lemon peel
Finish: Fades to medium
Score: 7.8 

Girvan distillery was built in 1963, with the installation of its first Coffey still the same year.

The Panel

 

OBE

In looking at the real age of some of Ian’s drams – the total distance between distillation and consumption – I wondered about the effects such a long time in the bottle might have on whisky.

I came across a condition known as OBE – Old Bottle Effect.

OBE Effect on wine

The issue of wine aging in the bottle is fairly well known.

In reds with cork corks, the colour starts to fade through oxidisation as air enters through the porous cork.  Synthetic corks are reputed to increase this effect.

Screw caps are reported as a better seal, effectively stopping the oxidisation process and keeping the wine fresh – a helpful point when you want the fresh fruit notes in whites or light reds.  But the lack of oxidation can work against the wine by increasing sulphur compounds.

OBE Effect on Whisky

From www.scotchwhisky.com comes an explanation.

The higher levels of ethanol in whisky are an important difference.  Ethanol absorbs the oxygen and reduces oxidative effects.

OBE typically returns descriptive notes of smooth mouth feel, wax, peaches, and low tannin.

When comparing an old whisky (Expression A) to its more recent expression (Expression B), you should consider what changes occurred in distillation processes and methods since Expression A was bottled versus  Expression B.

From scotchwhisky.com: “Think of the possible variations which could have happened at a distillery over the decades: peat may have been used in the past, barley varieties have changed, while wort clarity may have been altered if a traditional mash tun was replaced with a lautering systems; then there have been changes in yeast strains, and possibly fermentation regimes, direct fire may have been replaced by steam coils and worm tubs by condensers; then there are the cask types used, the quality of the wood and the conditioning of the casks.

“Because we are not dealing with a liquid which has been made in an identical fashion … it is impossible to say whether the OBE effect is driven by ageing in the bottle, changes in distillation, or a combination of the two.

“The only way to test this would be to take a whisky being bottled today, analyse its production methods, run a gas chromatography and sensory analysis and then leave it for 20 years in an unopened bottle to see what changes might have occurred.

“So, the conclusion? Something happens but it happens slowly. What it is precisely? We are still not sure. Maybe time will tell.”

Stop Digging

Searching for a collective word to describe people who like whisky, I kept coming back to the word “bibulous”.

From https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bibulous

 Bibulous (adj): something that is highly absorbent that soaks up liquid well, like a towel or a sponge.

Bibulous comes from the Latin word bibere, which means “to drink.”

As it applies to people, bibulous means “likes to drink alcohol.”

The saying is that when you get to the bottom of the hole you should stop digging.  Sometimes you don’t recognise the bottom of the hole, so you dig on.

From Heinemann’s New Zealand Dictionary comes a rather more strident definition:

Bibulous: adjective.  Addicted to drinking alcohol.

Bottom of the hole, right there!  Stop digging.

 

 

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Whisky Wednesdays at Hare and Copper

Whisky Wednesdays at Hare and Copper.

A catchy and pretty self-explanatory event title – What, Where, When and, to a certain extent, Why.

Hare and Copper is a delightful Eatery & Bar, located just outside Turangi at the southern end of Lake Taupo on NZ’s North Island.  Both the Eatery and Bar and its Whisky Wednesdays are the brainchilden of entrepreneurial owner, Andrew Wood and his wife Liliana.

Hare and Copper Eatery and Bar, Turangi, NZ

The name Hare and Copper initially conjured up an image of a large rabbit taking a nice warm bath in a large shiny cauldron, in the company of a selection of chopped carrots, onions and potatoes.

A nice concept, although maybe naming the kids’ pet rabbit Stuart was a little thoughtless!

But this Hare and Copper is not a recipe suggestion – at least not for rabbits.  The Hare and Copper is a species of fishing lure, used locally to invite trout to dinner.

A Hare and Copper Lure
The Hare and Copper Lure

NZ Whiskies

Three Whisky Wednesdays have been held at Hare and Copper this year, one each on the first Wednesday is July, August and September.

The first featured three NZ whiskies.

Very high interest in the event resulted in 30 attendees booking seats.

The event was sponsored by Central Otago’s Cardrona Distillery.  who generously provided their Territory Manager, Jonnie Cocks, to the event.  And they equally generously provided bottles of Cardrona Solera plus another as a door prize.  (The prize was won by Neville, who had travelled to Turangi from Havelock North especially for the event – a well worthwhile trip!)

As well as sampling the Solera, the event tasted Kiwi Spirit’s Waitui whisky from Takaka and The Spirits Workshop’s Divergence PX Sherry whisky from Christchurch.

Winner was Solera, followed closely by the Divergence.

Japanese Whiskies

August’s event was Japanese whisky focused.  Chosen drams were:

    • Nikka’s Rare Old Super, a 43% blend with a lot of colour,
    • Matsui’s Kurayoshi. An 8yo “pure malt” at 43%, and
    • Matsui’s Mizunara (Japanese Oak) cask, bottled at 48%.

The Nikka Rare Old Super is described as “an entry level premium blend” – whatever that is!  It is a good easy-drinking, simple, inoffensive blend.   It lacks a bit of character beyond the faint hints of peat and nuts.

The Kurayoshi from Matsui Shuzou is also a blend, this time made from whiskies sourced from Scottish distilleries blended with Japanese whisky and “volcanic-stone-filtered water”.  A big (and seemingly impenetrable) question is which Scottish distilleries were involved – no-one is saying!

The Mizunara is named for the Japanese oak used in the expression’s maturity.  At the end of World War II, Japan faced shortages of medicine, food and other daily necessities.   Against this backdrop, the lack of imported casks in which to age whisky was the least of the country’s problems.

However, whisky was popular with the occupational armed forces, so whisky makers had to do something.  Local distillers began to use the native oak, mizunara.

Mizunara-aged whisky is known to impart distinct sweet and spicy flavours with unique aromas reminiscent of sandalwood and incense. Coconut and vanilla are also pronounced characteristics.

The Islay Tasting

The last event for the winter season was September’s 5-dram Islay tasting.

A record 36 people turned out for this one, including Mike and his bagpipes.

Mike, with bagpipes

The dram selection was pretty much what you would expect, but with a couple of odd ones thrown in for interest and variety.

The starter was the standard Laphroaig 10 yo, 40%, 45ppm phenols (may as well get The Peat in first!).

Second was a new entry from Kilchoman – Sanaig, named after a local bay just north of the Kilchoman distillery.  I am generally a bit ambivalent about Kilchoman expressions, but this one is rather nice.

Then the old Standard, Bruichladdich Classic Laddie Scottish Barley in it’s striking turquoise tube.

Next came Ileach, which I’ve not had before.  58% abv and around 40 ppm of phenol, the genesis of Ileach is a bit obscure.  Suspicion is that it is either a teaspooned Lagavulin or Caol Ila.  Either way, it’s totally drinkable, if a little youthful.

Last was the latest Port Charlotte, PC10, 59.8% abv and 40ppm.  I vividly remember my first introduction to the PC ranges – someone gave me a glass of PC7 and the peat in it nearly blew my head off!  PC10 is not like that – a wee bit underwhelming when you’re expecting a blast!

Group scores for the evening:

    • Classic Laddie 8.75
    • PC10 8.48
    • Sanaig 7.88
    • Laphroaig 7.86
    • Ileach 7.67

Whisky Wednesdays

It’s an informative title, if a bit bland.

It really doesn’t cover the essence of the events.

It doesn’t cover the roaring fire, the bonhomie of whisky tastings, and it specially missed out the extremely critical bit of the fantastic platters and service provided by hosts, Andrew & Lili.

Whisky Wednesdays are sadly parked now for the summer months.  But look forward to them resuming again next winter!  I’ll be queuing up to be there!

The Bagpipes

I have always liked the skirl of bagpipes.

I used to sit on a summer Sunday in Wellington’s Botanical Gardens and listen for as long as my parents would let me.

For future reference, hearing the bagpipes played outdoors on a hillside is one thing.  Having them played indoors and a metre from your ear is a whole other matter entirely.

By quite a few decibels!

Slainte mhath

John

 

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Autumn 2022 Tastings – The Good, the Bad and the Unusual.

Islay sheep at the beach – why not?

Here we are with another set of five quite random tasting notes.

Three were samples donated by friends, the other two were my purchases.

One in particular hits the headlines.  The PX Sherry Cask from Divergence in Christchurch has the most incredible nose that blew my socks off!  I have since put another bottle of it into a tasting that I ran early in July – it did not disappoint.

Cardrona Just Hatched, Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir Cask
65.8% ABV, casked Sep 2016, bottled Oct 2019, bottle 113 of 592, donated by Graeme.

Nose: Vinous, which is probably only to be expected, given the casking.   A light curry powder and slightly peppery nose.  Fruit cake batter, a lot of alcohol.  That curry powder smell gets more prevalent with nosing.
Palate: Alcohol and heat.  Raw fruit and wine.  The “sharp tooth” of Youth and too high an ABV.  With minimal water reduction, it still hits the back of the palate and nose;  a few more drops widens the taste and adds black pepper.  It’s still raw and young, but the pepper is way more manageable at the reduced strength!
Finish: Pepper.  A lot of pepper, strangely mixed with Arrowmint chewing gum.
Comment:  I have had some really nice Cardrona experiences but this Pinot Noir expression isn’t another one.  It’s not my style, and I think it’s not as good as the other Sherry and Bourbon casks Just Hatched we reviewed a year or so ago.  Too much pepper aftertaste.
Length: long

Score: 7.4 

 

Divergence PX Sherry Cask, The Spirits Workshop
46% ABV, age 4-and-a-bit yrs. Distilled Nov 2017, bottled Feb 2022

Colour: Dark.
Nose: I would love to write the words we thought when we first nosed this, but decorum prevents me  This nose is absolutely amazing!  Floral, but stronger.  There are Berries (like you fell into the vat), fresh crushed parsley, pip fruit and Glacé cherries.  Dusty wood chips.  Nose score: 10.5
Palate: Sweet, gingerbread, lip-smacking waves of multi flavours.  There is quite a heat, considering the ABV.  Wide in the mouth.
Finish: Chocolate, heat, and the taste stays on!
Comment: The most amazing nose that keeps on giving.   We’ve tasted other Divergence whiskies earlier this year, but this PX Sherry Cask is a beauty and (hopefully) is starting to define the way NZ whiskies are going.
Length: Long

Score: 9.7

 

Auchriosk 10yo
Speyside, 59.1% ABV, PX Sherry Hogshead (sample from Kurt)

Colour: Dark Gold
Eye: Good viscosity that hangs on to the glass.
Nose: Fruit in sufficient quantity that I guessed a PX influence before I knew what the dram was.  There is wood dust, and the brown sugar/golden syrup notes that PX generally comes with. Floral, and Xmas fruit mince.
Palate: Foosty/musty at start.  Sharp – I initially thought it was young, but at 10 years old I would not have expected a shaprt note.  Sweet, and a later heat kicks in.  Hessian on side of tongue, slightly tannic,
Finish: Sours a bit, tannic – but neither are a negative to this very nice drop.
Comment: The taste doesn’t match the nose.  But this dram gets better and better and better with time.
Length: Long, and the flavour last and lasts.

Score: My initial reaction score was 8.5, but after another taste or two it climbed to 9.3 

 

SMWS 51.15
Bushmills, Northern Ireland.  First fill Ex-Bourbon  ABV 56.4% (sample from Kurt)

Colour: Light Amber
Eye: Some legs come down the glass
Nose: A nose prickle, usually expected with rather unsubtle SMWS cssk-strength bottlings.  A note of banana and those banana lollies.  Oak sawdust and a chemical note.  A bit narrow in the mouth mouth.
Palate: softer than the Auchriosk, then Heat with a big H!.  Chemical, heat and sweeter later.
Finish: The sweetness doesn’t fade.  There is no tannin or sourness in the finish.  The majority of the taste tends to fade a bit early.
Comment: I like this a lot, but I don’t love it.

Score: 8.3

 

Ardnamurchan AD/11:14 CK 384 Dramfest 2022 Bottling
Oloroso hogshead.  ABV 57.5%, Distilled 2014, Bottled Oct 2021.  Bottle 146 of 178

Eye: Fascinating.  Give it a swirl and it climbs the glass, then hold the glass still and it all sinks back down again in a line.  No viscosity, no legs.  I’ve never seen whisky behave like that before, ever!
Nose: Christmas Cake! Heavy sherry.  A vegetal (cabbage) hint.  Oak wood chips.
Palate: Thin and no mouth “feel”.  Hot, salty, tannic and drying.  I can hold it my mouth for over 10 seconds without my eyes starting to bleed – which is unusual for a 57.5 ABV.  There’s none of the Christmas cake promised on the nose.
Finish: Drying.  The alcohol heat doesn’t stay.  The taste dissipates quickly, like a small cloud disappearing in the summer sky.
Comment:  I feel let down.  It slides down the sides of the glass in a sheet, but there are no legs.  Drinkable, but the dram lacks any Wow factor at all.
Length: Medium+

Score: 8.2 tops.

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Four more tastings and some interesting internet browsing

Three new recent openings:  a third Singleton from Dufftown, a very drinkable Glen Grant, an update on a Naked blend, and a hot Adnamurchan for afters.

And there’s some quality on-line reading for you to peruse while you sip!

The Singleton, 15 yo, Dufftown Distillery

40% abv, Refill Bourbon and Pedro Ximenes sherry casks

We have tried Singletons before.

Back last year Pat reported on a couple of The Singleton whiskies he’d bought. 

The Singleton is a Diagio product, comprising whiskies from three Speyside distilleries – Glen Ord, Glendullan, and Dufftown.

              Dufftown, Speyside

I recently purchased another Singleton whisky, a 15-year-old from the Speyside Dufftown Distillery (map above).

Purchase price was a whopping $95.  It’s another of those whiskies that are very affordable and very tasty!

Colour:  Dark amber
Nose: Fruit, rich pipe tobacco/pipe smoke, nose prickle, deep nose.
Palate: Contradictorally (is that a word?) simultaneously sour but sweet (like sweet & sour pork takeaways). Wide and mouth-filling, integrated, soft & smooth with no hard edges (showing the age?).  Slightly oily feel, but not much.  The taste tends to “disappear” fairly quickly, but I’m not entirely sure to where.
Finish: Sweetness stays, with a warm throat.
Comment: Yummy.  A nice “session” whisky.  I’d get it again. 

Score:   8.1

The GlenGrant, Arboralis

Speyside Single Malt, 40% abv, nas

Colour: Light gold/amber.
Nose: Fruity, with sultanas and poached peaches.  Sweet with a slight note of perspiration.  Rich pipe tobacco, golden syrup, sherry
Palate: A quick sharp heat that disappears fast, leaving an oily mouth fell.  Nice but unsophisticated.  Oil tongue lining and top of mouth.  Slightly sour.
Finish: Taste is medium spice, and the oiliness stays on.
Comment:  Another good session whisky quaffer.  Length is medium (the Glen Grant website says “long” but it would, wouldn’t it).

Score:  7.5

Naked Grouse, Blended Malt, 19yo, 40% abv

F/F Sherry Cask Finish

Donated by Daniel

We tasted this recently as part of Matt’s Blended Tasting, where it came 3rd for nose and 4th overall.

This is a whisky that is rather hard to get a firm handle on.    It has been relaunched from the Famous Grouse family of whiskies as a stand-alone blended malt, without the previous grain component. 

The malt selections include Highland Park, Macallan, Glen Turret and Glen Rothes.  Those component whiskies have been matured in first-fill and refill American and European oak casks.  It has then been finished in first-fill oloroso sherry butts for a further six months.

Colour: Dark amber, with a reddish tinge.
Nose: Raisins and fruit cake fruit.  Grassy (straw) and chocolate.  Sour washing, but not necessarily an unattractive nose.
Palate: Sweet & soft, not wide but integrated.  Warming tongue.  A bit sharp (4/10). Sourish (may be from the oloroso sherry).  Slight sweaty sock at the end.
Finish: The main taste does not stay.  Sherry and the warm throat linger, with an oily residue on tongue.
Comment: Not demanding, not exceptional, but very drinkable.

Score: 7.1

I found a comment in thewhiskyjug.com that I thought was a good summary:  “This is not a good cheap Scotch, it’s a good Scotch that happens to be cheap.”

The Library

And then we went to Regional Wines’ Library tasting, where my clear hit of the evening was:

Ardnamurchan AD/04:21, 57.5%

The Paul Launois Release

The first limited release (2,576 bottles) from Ardnamurchan distillery.

The whisky is a vatting of unpeated spirit matured firstly in first fill Bourbon barrels.  It is finished in wine barriques from Paul Launois, a new Champagne producer in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger (an area to the east of Paris, known for chardonnay grapes). 

Added into the mix is an unpeated cask of Ardnamurchan.

Nose: Grainy, meusli with dried apricots and oats.  The alcohol level prickles the nostrils.  A very attractive nose, indeed.
Palate: Sweet, with the youth show through.  At 57.6% abv and young, the alcohol and sharpness overrule the  world – score 7.8.    However, with a minimal amount of reduction the flavours come through, the whole lot softens quite gloriously and the score goes to 8.9.
Finish: Medium, and a mysterious bit of smoke.
Comment:  I managed to wrangle another couple of servings when backs were turned – just to check my scoring, you understand.  It’s a big pity there were so few bottles!

Score: 8.9

 

Post script

Pat came across  the Whiskyintelligence.com website. 

There is a raft of absolutely fascinating articles here.  I’ve just been reading about a new Islay distillery (Portintruan) that is being built by Elixir Distillers on the island’s South Coast on the way to Laphroaig.

Elixir’s core brands include Port Askaig, Elements of Islay, Single Malts of Scotland and Black Tot.

Give yourself plenty of time.  This site is a real rabbit hole of information – you could get lost down it for a long time!