Loch Lomond 12 Year Old Organic Single Blend - 46% abv.
Loch Lomond is a pretty large distillery that most people haven't heard of. It is located on Loch Lomond which, I believe, is the the largest fresh water lake (or loch) in Scotland. Andrew Grey (formerly of Bruichladdich) is one of the key people responsible for the current direction of the Loch Lomond group. I say the "Loch Lomond group" because they also produce Inchmurrin single malts at Loch Lomond distillery (in a different still) and they also now own Glen Scotia over in Campletown.
The 12 year old organic single blend is a blend of 50% organic single malt and 50% organic single blend. They call it 12 year old but it is actually 13 years old... for superstitious reasons (marketing) they chose to call it 12 years old. Interestingly, the 12 year old organic single malt is also available from Loch Lomond. Fortunately, either way you get 46% alcohol that is non-chill-filtered. I believe this is the most aged organic whisky available as well, which is cool.
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Colour: straw.
Nose: every time I nose this I think about two things: that's nice and light; and wow I smell cream soda. I've found the cream soda note seems to show up in a few products from the Loch Lomond distillery.
With some water I get vanilla cream or maybe creme anglaise is more accurate.
Palate: light and fresh and a little sweet. I get cream soda here too. I get a little cereal with milk and a sugar. There's other more bitter (pleasantly) notes that balance off these tastes like maybe under-ripe strawberry. There's a nice thread of vanilla throughout it as well.
Water does wonders here. It spreads the whisky out and you really get more of those lovely cream soda notes, you get some salt, and with some time you get a pretty clear note of sweet grapefruit. Good stuff!
Finish: of medium persistence and makes its way to about the back of the palate and mid-throat.
When would I drink this? This is really one of those any time kind of drams. On colder days it may not have the richness to serve as a night cap but this is very drinkable and probably would fit well as a summer whisky. You can also drink this and share this when you want to appreciate something that is organic. Truly a high quality product and a real bargain for the price.
I recently had the good fortune to travel to Scotland. Included in our itinerary (at my aggressive urging) was a visit to the whisky island - The isle of Islay. This article is a summary of my visit to Islay and more so my tour of the Bruichladdich distillery. Here Goes...
How'd you get there?
We flew from Calgary to London, Heathrow and connected to a flight to Glasgow. Our timing and desires worked out such that we spent the rest of our first day in Glasgow and the night as well. Next morning, we were back to Glasgow International to catch a Flybe Loganair flight to Islay. Yes, the plane is pretty small but definitely not the smallest I've been on. The flight was a very smooth 30 minute deal. Alternative was to take the ferry but my wife doesn't like boats. We got off the plane and were welcomed very quickly by our bags and some really neat whisky displays. We picked up our rental car and were on our way.
First impressions of Islay?
Rugged beauty. It feels like the heart of Scotland. The people are very friendly (everyone waves in the car and on the street and they are very warm).
Where'd you stay?
We like self catering situations mostly so we stayed at the Claggan Farm house which is a big house about 5 minutes driving from Bowmore and 15 minutes from the airport. The Cooperative in Bowmore is a solid grocery to get everything you need. Oh, and if you walk down the hill from the grocery you can get your picture right in front of that oft photographed white wall with the word "BOWMORE" on it in big black letters. I have the picture here somewhere...
Another cool thing, drive the other way and you are about 12 minutes from Bruichladdich and 13 - 14 from beautiful Port Charlotte. A little further is the West side of the Island where you can see for your self the sandy dunes of Machir Bay, the large Loch Gorm, and Kilchoman. Your also about 20 - 25 minutes driving from Port Ellen and the famous heavily peated distilleries.
Preparing for Bruichladdich
As anyone who reads this blog regularily knows, I'm a fan of Bruichladdich. I arrived on Islay on Monday and had a tour booked on Wednesday (thank you @Davescotchguy and @SelectwinesAB). We were on a wee drive on Monday and low-and-behold there is that unforgettable Blue. So I pull into Bruichladdich and walk into the distillery shop. The people in there are very friendly and poured me dram of the Port Charlotte Islay Barley and chatted with me. Fantastic!
Bruichladdich
So I had a distillery tour booked at 10am and a warehouse tasting booked at noon. This is a great way to do things. I showed up a hair early to get signed in with the gift shop and look around. I have to tell you, I visited a few distilleries while in Scotland but I never got the feeling from any that I did from Bruichladdich - the place is sizzling like an isotope. If feels alive!
Our distillery tour guide, Ashley, was very nice and did a great job taking us through the Victorian equipment from the mill house to the mash tun to the fermenting vats to the stills. It was all very cool. A great thing was getting to taste the new make Bruichladdich spirit right from the stills - 69% alcohol and suprisingly sweet and fruity (like kiwi, melon, etc.) and a little floral and also surprisingly soft.
The thing that amazed me most, though, was the walk through the dunnage warehouse (#1?). Amazing for the simple fact that Bruichladdich must have a million different combinations of spirit and cask type in there. Spirit that is two times distilled, four times distilled, heavily peated, super heavily peated, from different barley types, etc. and then they are any kind of cask you can imagine - Y'Quem, oloroso sherry, PX sherry, bourbon from all sorts of differnent Kentucky distillers, Mouton Rothschild, Haut Brion, Petrus, etc. etc. Unbelievable. They have no excuse to run out of new release possibilities! This was hard for me because I wanted to spend the rest of my life in there tasting it all!
After the distillery tour, we got to try a number of products available at the distillery including the two valinch barrels in the shop - all for research purposes only, of course :)
Onto the warehouse tasting, our guide Duncan was again very friendly and relaxed. It was very pleasant and it really was a neat tasting. They have three casks on the floor - 1989 Bruichladdich in bourbon cask, a 2005 Port Charlotte fully matured in a wine cask, and a 2008 Octomore fully matured in virgin oak. Duncan tells some stories and uses the valinch to draw whisky directly from the cask and deposit directly into your glass. It is such a nice way to taste and connect with the whisky. I felt kind of like we shouldn't be doing this. A good feeling here.
Some quick notes: the 1989 Bruichladdich was so soft and lead with loads of vanilla cream lightly dotted with lemon and honey. Very nice 25 - 26 year old Bruichladdich.
The 2005 Port Charlotte was classic PC but focussed more on the dark cherry and current flavors with an drying, evaporative finish. It was smokey and punching its weight.
The 2008 Octomore had sort of bourbon like qualities but with classic Octomore smoke and power. A truly interesting whisky. Really rich and sweet and smokey.
As a side note, I thought the drams might be bigger than I wanted to drink all at once and didn't want to waste anything so I brought some empty water bottles to dump excess whiskies into and then I savoured the rest later. So good!
Oh, by the way, you get a fantastic Glen Cairn dram glass along with the Warehouse Tasting that you get to keep.
Back at the shop...
I filled a bottle of each of the PC Valinch 02 Gorag and the Bruichladdich 23 Year Old that spent most of that in bourbon casks and then decanted into an Italian Barbaresco red wine cask. I'll be reviewing those shortly, but they are very good.
I also picked up a rarity - a bottle of The Laddie Sixteen that some of you may remember is one my desert island drams. Very exciting!
For me, this was equivalent to a religious experience. Bruichladdich is special and it feels like a living thing when you are there. I can't wait to see what comes in the future!
Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 Rockside Farm - 50% abv.
Well it took it forever to come to Alberta - like 16 months after its actual release - but I finally got a bottle of Bruichladdich Islay Barely 2007 here in Calgary. I'm sad it took so long but it was worth the wait. This is probably the best vintage Islay Barely released so far (2004 and 2006 preceded this one). I've reviewed the 2006 previously as well which stood out to me for its floral and creamy character.
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Before I get going, I'd like to commend Bruichladdich for helping lead the way on something here. This bottle is probably the first distillery bottling (other than Octomore releases) I've seen with an actual age statement under 10 years old. This one categorically states "6 Aged Years." Thank you for this! I will happily drink young whisky but I like to know what I am drinking rather than have it hidden from me as so many do.
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Nose: sweet floral scents are the first thing on the nose - like some flowers are just after a summer rain. You smell that sweet pollen. This is unpeated yet I get a hint of smoke or char in there and that will almost certainly be due to this being filled into first-fill bourbon casks which are charred on the inside and can release a bit of smokey, BBQ effect into the whisky's profile. Altogether pleasant nose!
Palate: Softer than previous releases. Honey. Lemon. Salt. That very light char from the nose is here too. Fresh yet quite mellow. Coastal. Delicious. This has a nice richness to it while staying vibrant. Moves from sweet honey on the way in to a nice salty tang mid-palate to a lemon zest a the back of the palate. There is also a bit of a perfumed quality to this that reminds me a bit of the Laddie Twenty Two. That's a good thing... family resemblance.
Finish: Finishes with some warmth at the back palate and in the throat and makes to below the Adam's apple. The persistence is long as usual for Bruichladdich and if you chew a bit after swallowing, the light tinge of smokey char shows up - again, quite light.
A pleasant dram! When would I drink this? Any time, really. Works well as a mid-day drink or apperitif but I've found it has enough richness to make sense on some evenings too. Truly honest whisky! Age isn't everything, but I really wonder what this would be like at 10 or 15 years old! I also wonder if we'll ever see some Islay Barley releases with some cask exploration... sherry or wine or something?
I will be visiting Bruichladdich in a few months and cannot wait. This Islay Barley makes me wish I was there already!
Tomatin 12 Year Old French Oak - 46% abv.
Tomatin's graced North America with a special edition 12 year old whisky that was aged in ex-bourbon barrels and then decanted into some French Oak casks for a finish. I jumped on a bottle of this the first day it showed up in my local store for two reasons: I trust Tomatin and French Oak aging is pretty rare.
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Colour: Gold with a touch of copper
Nose: Soft and a sweet with bitter chocolate and orange. Some nice sugars in there too. Water opens the nose and makes the chocolate more milky.
Palate: lovely velvety texture with a sweet arrival that moves to a more herbal and a bit drier feeling at the back of the palate. Good balance - not to sweet, not to savoury, not to bitter. i get semi-sweet chocolate. I get orange. I get orange peel. I get some mint on the tail end. There might be a bit of banana in there. Its lighter in style like a bourbon cask aged whisky but there is nice richness and other flavours there from the french oak.
Adding water to this is a good idea - it kind of spreads it out. I get golden yellow sugar. I get chocolate. I get orange (like navel oranges). I get more mint at the back of the palate. The slight bitter note goes away as well. Very nice stuff! Easy drinking. I like it.
Finish: good medium persistence and makes it down the throat past the Adam's apple with a minty fresh feeling.
When would I drink this? It can be had any time, really. I tend to like it in these fall/winter days where I happen to crave something a little lighter but with enough richness to suit the colder weather.
Another solid Tomatin! Not expensive either... I'd imagine this making a good gift for folks on a budget.
Tomatin 18 Year Old - 46% abv.
Well here is review number 50. A round number that I thought deserved a special whisky for review. I've chose something from one of my favourite distilleries, Tomatin, for this one. I drink good whiskies all the time but every once in a while you come across those ones that are just of a special quality. When I come across bottles of intrinsic quality like this, I like the idea of getting a second to put away for later just in case the future batches are different or the distillery stops making the product. I think Tomatin 18 Year Old finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks fits in this category.
For the record, the Tomatin 18 is aged in bourbon barrels for 15 years and then decanted into Oloroso Sherry casks for 3 additional years. Tomatin used to take some 15 year old and bottle it (previously reviewed Tomatin 15) but they've stopped that now to preserve the stock to make the 18 year old. The 18 is non-chill filtered with no colouring added and is bottled at 46% alcohol.
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Colour: Full gold with a hint of amber.
Nose: Orange peel, banana, toffee, brown sugar, a hint of mint. Soft and full on the nose.
Palate: mellow and sweet on entry. Leads with oaky caramels and orange peel and leads into a hint of mint. Lots of flavour but still soft. No heat on the palate - just mellow warmth. Another sip brings a little banana, a touch of chocolate, some more orange, a hint of vanilla extract and brown sugar and some mint again on the back of the palate. The layers of desert-like flavours play off the layers of citrus notes and feed into the soft and fresh mint so well... its sweet but never too sweet and so well balanced. A lovely layered development with a mellowness and consistency that seems to only truly happen with age.
Finish: finishes so nicely with flavours lingering and the liquid coating your insides all the way down to your belly with a soft warmth.
When would I drink this? This is the kind of whisky to share with your boss or father-in-law with confidence that they will leave thinking you know what you are doing. Unfortunately for those guys, I'm not sure that I'd want to share this with anyone. Yes its one of those ones. For sure an evening dram by the dying embers of a fire. Truly a whisky of high intrinsic quality from a distillery that always seems to produce fantastic product.
A tip: I like to let this whisky open up with time rather than adding any water to it. Water doesn't kill it or anything, but it is so mellow already I prefer not to add it in mine. So that doesn't mean that you sit there in stare at it for an hour but it does mean you should leave it a few minutes after pouring and then savour it slowly. It is very good to start and does open up.
Kilchoman Port Cask Matured - 55% abv.
So I was excited to get one of the more rare malts this year - Kilchoman Port Cask Matured. You don't come across heavily peated whisky matured in port casks very often. I'm a fan of Kilchoman and what they are trying to do (even though I wish they'd release an unpeated whisky some day!). I've tried versions of all of their expressions and reviewed one here. Other than the review here, the one that's impressed me most from Kilchoman is their 100% Islay Release.
This is very different and jumps out at me right away. By the way, Kilchoman states on the label that the whisky used here is all matured over 3 years. I like that. They could have gone with no age statement but chose to be straight about it instead.
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Colour: The label says mahogony with hints of ruby and I'd say thats not far off. This whisky really does have a red/pink colour to it. I love whisky with natural colour.
Nose: soft and fruity nose with a roasted chest nuts, ash, and a note that reminds of fresh figs (not dried ones).
Palate: its sweet and rich with a solid hit of peat followed by ashy smoke. Surprisingly soft given that it is 3 years old and 55% alcohol! There is thick fruit there with dark maple syrup or maybe some molasses. No sharp edges on this. Some nice spices come in through the development. I think the fruits include some sweet field berries, fresh figs, and strawberry. There's a quick layer of chocolate in there to.
There is excellent balance in this. The fruit and peat play off each other and neither dominates. Add some water and you see this more and more. Very different and delicious!
Finish: long persistence with a steady ashy note. Gentle and warm - not hot. Makes its ways slowly down the throat to just-below the Adam's apple. I still am feeling its warmth and taste several minutes after the last taste.
Comments: There are few whiskies I put in this category, but this honestly reminds me of the cask strength Port Charlotte PC releases - think PC7 or PC9, that sort of thing. This is quite as complex as those but is rich and good and warming. Stellar stuff for a cold day for sure! Don't be fooled by the low age on this and go and get one because stores have been selling out fast. I've now decided that port casks and peated whisky go very well together!
When would I drink this? This will make a great night cap especially on a cold or stormy night. Blinder! I don't say this lightly... I would drink this when I need "a pretty heavy whisky."
Curious... will Kilchoman ever put out that ten year old? Lets hope they think about it next year since I think their 10th anniversary is then.
Bruichladdich 10 Year Old - The Laddie Ten - 46%abv.
Well I had just a dram left of my last bottle of The Laddie Ten. Today I saw some incredible news - Mark Reynier, the man who was responsible for putting together the revival of Bruichladdich tweeted today that he has bought a new distillery. We get more details Monday, but I thought a review of what is probably Mark's crown jewel to date is warranted.
This one was put together by Jim McEwan and contains 90% american oak casks and 10% PX Sherry Casks.
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Colour: gold with copper highlights
Nose: salty sweetness with some charcoal and menthol. Fruits and florals come through. Lovely stuff. Some vanilla in there. Two drops of water releases the genie and puts off some more fruity notes.
Palate: lovely. Great texture, sweet and complex. Its fruity but bold. There's some salt there and a taste of charcoal (probably coming from the use of first-fill american oak casks). Honey, vanilla, lemon, some sweet raisin, a little mint. This is very tasty stuff. So well put together. A couple of drops of water seems to bring out a little more vanilla extract.
Finish: The finish is soft but warm and makes its way into the upper part of the chest. The persistence is long.
So this is fantastic whisky. Its fresh enough to be an apperitif but rich enough to be drunk in the evening. Its hard to come by these days, but if you see it, grab it. When would I drink this? Any time really.
Congratulations Mark Reynier. Best of luck with the new venture. This whisky warms my heart and hearing that you are back does too.
