SMWS 76.127 Funky Massage Whisky Review

SMWS 76.127 - Funky Massage Whisky - 51.1% abv.

One of the many things I love about the Scotch Malt Whisky Society is that you can access whisky that would otherwise be out of reach for anyone but the 1%. This bottle is a good example of this. My general thought is that SMWS whiskies, if thinking only in terms of price paid versus age, tends to be a little pricier for young whiskies and good value for older whiskies - this older bottle is a good example of that. Although not inexpensive, this is a good value and could never be had at a reasonable price if bottle by the distillery (look up the SMWS codes online if you want to see where this is from).

Colour: Gold.

Nose: Perfumed and oak driven with notes of real navel oranges. The nose has a floral character and a hint of cooling eucalyptus. Honestly beautiful.

Palate: Soft and sweet initially with a orange and moving to a eucalyptus (massage oil) type flavour. The next sip confirms your initial thoughts... this is a nice older dram.  I get sweet orange perfumed with some baking spices on top of chocolate which is than balanced with a  nice woody/eucalyptus note and a (like the SMWS notes say) a distinct sort of effervescence. This is mature whisky.

Finish: Finish does not go right down to your belly and tends to stay up high in the chest and has nice persistence leaving you with that minty/eucalyptus sort of taste and sensation.

Comments: When would I drink this? When you have time to enjoy a dram quietly, drink this one. I generally think this one lends itself better to warmer days or when you feel like a whisky in a lighter style with some class... maybe night cap on those days? It shows its 28 years of age nicely and its 51.1% alcohol with almost no alcohol sensation at all. It's balanced and complex enough while just being damn good. This whisky at this age, if bottled by the distillery, would be multiples of the price the SMWS charge.  If you're looking for a good older dram to just relax with, this is a strong bet.  Maybe this is a massage whisky after all!

P.S. A quick tip with this one... give some time in the glass.  Sip it over at least 28 minutes (1 minute per aged year) and you will see that it changes quite a bit over that period.

Bruichladdich The Laddie Ten - Second Limited Edition Review

Bruichladdich - The Laddie Ten - 50% abv.

I've been away for a while.  I had to take a bit of a hiatus to take care of some business and now, since I think I am done that and its 2017 and Bruichladdich has done a fantastic thing by releasing a trio of new ten year olds (The Laddie Ten, Port Charlotte 10, and Octomore 10) I thought it a good time to start some more posts.  I have a crap-tonne of amazing whiskies in backlog to review so I hope I get to them soon.  In the mean time, hear is my quick notes on the first of the three new tens: The Laddie Ten, Second Edition.  It is a limited release of 18,000 bottles.

Colour: 14 kt. gold.

Nose: Classic Bruichladdich! Honey and lemon, salty marine notes, Islay florals, fruit, and a hint of mint.

Palate: First taste reminds me very much of the first Laddie Ten released from the revival era of Bruichladdich.  That is a good thing. There is a very nice balance of honey and lemon notes along with a marine tang and some crisp fruit. The first time I had this I thought it might be a little mellower than the version put together by Jim McEwan (I thought them to be very close with Jim's a little more punchy and coastal where this ones is a softer version).  This coats the mouth nicely and as you sip it more, you get some more complexity and mid-palate shows a real waxy Wine Gums note along with a very faint smoke (I'd expect this is from the use of first fill american oak barrels which are charred on the inside).

A little water spreads this out a bit and takes things further along the waxy wine gum thread. Maybe you get a little vanilla in there too, but my mind could be playing tricks.

Finish: The finish lingers and leaves me with that marine salty tang, lemon peel, some mint, and some very light, whispy char smoke on the back palate.  

Comments: It reminds me a bit of martini time which gets me thinking about when would I drink this.  I think the answer to that is really any time you'd drink a martini... the sweeter side of this can come out for certain moods which may make it perfectly good in the evening instead of just as an aperitif or the "I just had a long day," kind of dram. Though it is bottled at 50% instead of the 46% of the previous version, I don't feel any more alcohol than the previous version on the palate. I'd also say that, this seems shockingly similar to the previous version as well. Good on the new guy (Adam Hannett)... lovers of Jim's Laddie Ten will not be disappointed!  Hopefully the Ten continues to be solidly in the Bruichladdich line up going forward.

Bruichladdich Cuvee 382 Review

Bruichladdich Cuvee 382 - La Berenice - 21 year old - 46% abv.

Here we go, another from the Bruichladdich series of 21 year old Cuvee releases. These were put out a while ago but pop up again every now and then. Honestly, the series was fantastic in that it delivered a wide variety of flavours from three different 21 year old malts. All of them were aged for most of their lives in bourbon casks (I believe for 18 years) and then moved on to other casks for additional evolution. The age brings out a level of mellowness that you'd expect from 21 year olds but this Cuvee 382 brings a crisp brightness with it as well.

In the case of the 382, it saw additional cask evolution in the sweet sauternes wine and barsac wine casks. For reference, these are both white wines. 

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Colour: Full gold.

Nose: Apricot, peach, pear, natural honey, kiwi, and caramelized sugar. 

Palate: first thought is a basket of fruit. White sweet wine influence is apparent. I get apricots in honey, fresh lemon peel, meringue, and a salt tang.  

I always find that this whisky benefits quite a bit from time in the glass. Give it that time and the flavours develop and get more layered. I get the above fruits leading into a layer of melon and cantaloupe with a clear crisp green apple note on the sides of the tongue. There is a nice hint of mint in there as well accompanied by a sort of champagne finish. Its mellow and bright.

Finish: good persistence and it on the shorter side in terms of length. Fresh.

Comment: This is a bit different than many might expect from a 21 year old.  I think most would expect a super mellow and rich night cap but this comes across a something else. When would I drink this? When its time to start bringing out the "good stuff."

Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask 121.88 "Licking the Wooden Spoon" Review

SMWS 121.88 - Licking the Wooden Spoon - 15 years old - 53.8% abv.

I recently joined the SMWS after a long gap from the first taste I had of their whiskies (see previous article). I am actually really happy to have joined and I have to say that our SMWS Canada folks here (Rob and Kelly) are fantastic and do a very good job of pushing the exploration angle with this whisky. We see all sorts of stuff that is from distilleries most people never think to try or might even turn up their nose at. The quality of the casks they bottle always seem to be at a high level (my experience).  The best part though, is really the experience in the Society tastings... I have found people to be very friendly and very open to sharing and enjoying the company as well as the whisky.

Anyway, I bought my first green bottle and here is the review. I won't state the distillery here but will tell you that it is one of the Highland Island distilleries and it is unpeated and you can probably very quickly figure out which one. I want to avoid naming the distillery to encourage the spirit the SMWS does - don't prejudge this whisky based on the distillery it comes from.

Colour - 14 kt. gold.

Nose: natural honey with a punch from the alcohol. This thing is 15 years old but its punching its weight for sure. The SMWS tasting note speaks of buttered popcorn and I have to say that feels pretty accurate - I think of buttered kettle corn with that slightly sweet smell. There is a bit of sugary pastry note there as well. Baked goods of some sort and a hint of mint in there. 

Palate: first thoughts are very good. It seems maybe younger than 15 years old to me at first but has a lovely sweet hit right off the start. Second sip - sweetness is very nice and it leads into some baking spices - cinnamon especially - and you get the spicy sort of dryness at that back palate but its not overly drying. Third sip, you start getting some chocolate in there as well as the doughy flavour. As you read these notes, the name they gave this cask starts to make sense. There really is a nice balance here - sweet, a pinch of salt, some richness, some doughy-ness, and some spices.  The only nit I can pick with this whisky is that it takes a bit to adjust to the alcohol on this one but we are really just talking a couple sips and then you are rewarded with a great and satisfying and balanced dram.

This one needs time as well.  As you leave it in the glass, you start to get a bit more fruit notes to accompany things and there is juiciness there that is nice.

Finish: The persistence of the flavour is long with the spices and a bit of dryness that tends to make me salivate rather than just get dry. Good thing. In terms of length, this goes down to the Adam's apple for me so is a shorter, crisper finish. Good for the summer.

Comments: When would I drink this? An evening dram or night cap in the summer. I find that, in the winter, I tend to want a night cap to be a rich, sherry cask-aged whisky with a long finish. That doesn't fit so well in the warm summer months. This offers a lot of the richer, sweeter flavours but is really nicely balanced and doesn't have a finish that is too cloying in the summer heat. Case in point, I drink this on a warm evening after having had a high of 28 degrees Celsius today.

A little further comment: the SMWS tasting notes are highly entertaining and, to be honest, quite helpful. Although I think their language is a little over the top sometimes, I can get to most of the notes they describe in terms of flavour and they do go a long way to helping you get the profile of the whisky before picking up the bottle - much more than can be said for most distillery tasting notes which just leave people wondering "what is really in this bottle?"

I'm really looking forward to regular SMWS bottlings. I am excited!

Bruichladdich Octomore 7.3 Islay Barley Review

Bruichladdich Octomore 7.3 Islay Barley 2010 - 63.0% alcohol

This is the second Octomore in the Islay Barley series.  The first one, the 6.3, was an absolute shocker by the numbers... 258 ppm phenol and 64% alcohol.  I thought it was brilliant for its power but also for its fantastic mix of citrus fruit flavours and richer smoked barley flavours.

This one is a bit different. It is a marriage of american oak casks and spanish wine casks and the intensity of the peat, 169 ppm phenol, is less than the last one. There is another thing a bit special about this one - I believe it is the last Octomore that Jim McEwan was responsible for prior to retiring.  Let's see what its got.

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Colour: 14 carat gold.  Definitely a bit different than typical Octomore's which tend to be more straw coloured.

Nose: On the nose, there is smoke there but less than you would think. What jumps out at me more so is a real sweetness. Its like smoked honey in a background of sea spray. The power is there for sure. I get some iodine. I get smoke. I get stewed peaches and apricots. There is a dryness on the nose that reminds me of red berry fruits. A little air gets a real smoked barley note to rise up. 

A little water really softens the nose. It also brings out some more of the berry fruit scents.

Note: if you ever go to Bruichladdich distillery, they have bins with barley that will go to make each different brand of spirit - Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte, and Octomore - be sure to smell and taste these things because it will help you understand flavours in the whisky.

Palate: the palate is huge. A load of sweetness up front. This is Octomore for sure but leading with sweetness first and then blowing across the palate like a bush fire. With a second sip, its lighter in profile than other Octomore versions but it still has the thick texture. 

Its sweet almost like the 4.2 Comus but it moves into a drier fruitier flavour profile reminiscent of red wine. It dries near the back palate like red wine as well. I get berry fruit. I get apricot. I get lots of pepper mid-palate. I get smoke, of course. I get smoked barley. I get a crisp saltiness. 

A little water tames the beast a little and brings out a big whack of salt - really reminds me of sea water - along with the same sweetness. The water also brings out a lot of the lighter red wine flavours.

Finish: drying and warms the back of the neck and the Adam's apple. Dying embers of a fire. 

Comments: This is an Octomore like I haven't had before. Its unique in that it brings forward a red wine character that you would never expect in a whisky of such huge numbers. Many will compare it to 6.3. I would say get both and experience two different takes on Islay Barley but note the big fruit flavours that come through in these carefully made whiskies. Drink this on a cold day, preferably a wet one, and have it before you drink the other Octomores to finish off your night. 

Bruichladdich Cuvee 640 Eroica Review

Bruichladdich Cuvee 640 Eroica - 21 Years Old - 46% abv.

I've been away for a while and anyone living in Calgary will know why. Its crazy out here. When the night is so freakin' dark like it is here now, sometime you just need a hit of luxury and why not have that to also celebrate one of the heroes of Scotland, Robbie Burns. Slainte.

Nose: chocolate, orange, mint present initially and then a nice soft saltiness. Beautiful. You can tell this is older. There is some soft tropical fruit in there as well or maybe just overripe pear.  A drop of water opens this up a bit - I usually don't add water to older whiskies - and some strawberry appears with a little carmalized sugar. 


Palate: Chocolate flowing into a layer of orange followed by a soft spearmint at the back palate. Soft and drying. Second sip leads with some champagne flavours - crisp tree fruits - then flows back into that chocolatey orangey minty set of layers. You don't get french oak often in scotch but when I do, I tend to get these kinds of flavours. Unusual but very nice. This whisky is so balanced and luxurious. Luxury in a bottle.

With a drop of water, its weird, the texture almost gets thicker and more luxurious. Velvetty with a lovely, balanced richness. I think of a chocolate orange, half milk - half dark, swimming in a nice crisp champagne. Sounds weird, but it really works. 

Finish: The finish is of medium length and persistence going just into the top of the chest cavity and spreading warmth there. A truly balanced experience.

Comments: Luxury. When would I drink this? When only a sexy whisky will do.

Glendronach 15 Year Old Revival Review

Glendronach 15 Year Old Revival - 46% abv.

I'd say that it occurs often that I am in a liquor store and someone comes in looking for the Macallan 18 Year Old. There is a certain easy-drinking, night-cappy and rich profile about that whisky that people seem to go for. I like that kind of thing at the right time as well. Macallan 18 is hard to come by or ridiculously expensive if you do find it. I'd say this Glendronach 15 year old aged in Oloroso Sherry casks is a phenomenal substitute and may even better that other whisky for a fraction of the cost. And its non-chill filtered with no colouring added and bottled at 46% alcohol which make it more of a "craft" presentation.

Colour: Rich brown with amber highlights.

Nose: Juicy raisins covered in chocolate. Dates. Dark-caramelized sugar. Sweet sherry with a bit of a punch to it. Some sort of citrus rind. Pepper.

Colour: rich sherry notes. Raisins, chocolate, bitter chocolate, white pepper. Right away, it takes me to that classic Macallan 18 year profile that seems so sought after. Its easy to drink but has lots of rich flavour. There may be a little liquorice in there or aniseed as well. A few drops of water spread this out really nicely without killing the lovely mouthfeel.

Finish: good persistence and it makes its way right down to your belly.

When would I drink this? This is a fantastic after-dinner dram and can double as a nice night cap. Feel free to bring this out with confidence as a gift for your boss or father-in-law or save it to share with them and look like you know what you are doing. 

Tomatin Cask Strength Batch 1 Review

Tomatin Cask Strength Limited Edition - 57.5 % abv. - Batch 1

Tomatin have finally done it. They've done a big cask strength release. I always wondered how this type of thing would turn out at Tomatin. Would they go for a total sherry bomb or something more balanced but powerful? Of course they did a bunch of the right things up front - no chill-filtering, no colour. This one is aged in a mixture of oloroso sherry butts and bourbon barrels.

Here goes...

Colour: full gold.

Nose: sweet and bold. Add a little water and I get a scent of apples cooking down in a pan with butter and brown sugar.

Palate: sweet and rich! Big! Like coffee with loads of brown sugar and some cream in it. Leads to spices and chocolate. Nice balance neat for such high strength. A little water brings out marzipan and and orange and orange peel along with the brown sugar sauce. There's still those spices too and some ginger at the back of the palate. Balance here is fantastic. Many cask strength editions are really huge in one direction - those are great too - but this one is more of a balanced one. Part sherry bomb and part full strength bourbon barrel edition. 

I suggest people play with this a bit. Start at full strength, add some water, taste, let it sit, add some water, etc. 

Finish: mid-long persistence making its way down into the chest. It leaves behind some spice and vanilla notes. 

This is another super solid product from Tomatin. I am impressed, and the price is reasonable too! A big, balanced malt with power and refinement. When would I drink this? In the evening on those days where you come home and nobody loves you, your wife doesn't understand you, your bank manager doesn't understand you, and the world is against you.

Inchmurrin 18 Year Old Review

Inchmurrin 18 Year Old - 46% abv.

Here's another distillery bottling you don't hear about much: Inchmurrin. There is no Inchmurrin distillery any more that I am aware of - the modern Inchmurrin that is easily identified by its very modern packaging is actually a product of a column still at the Loch Lomond Distillery. For those who don't know, the Loch Lomond Group which includes Andrew Grey (formerly of Bruichladdich) owns Loch Lomond, Glen Scotia, and this Inchmurrin.

The good news is that, with Andrew Grey involved, he has brought with him from Bruichladdich the same philosophy of bottling un-chillfiltered, colouring-free whisky at 46% alcohol.  Everything they released for the past couple years from the Loch Lomond Group was aged 100% in American Oak and unpeated, however, I hear a brand revamp is coming in 2015 and that we'll likely get some sherry or wine cask finishes and some variety in the bottlings. 

Anyway, here is a note for the Inchmurrin 18. Its worth checking out, especially as a lighter summer dram. 

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Colour: 14 carat gold.

Nose: Pretty soft and a bit perfumed with scents of sweet cereal and lemon. A little of that cream soda note comes through too, which seems common for products of the Loch Lomond Distillery (in my experience).

Palate: soft and sweet. Honey cream and lemon peel.  A little salt mid palate. I want to say that I get a touch of mango or pineapple here. Add some water and things become a little less tangy and tart and a little more creamy. Good stuff. When you mash it all together in your brain, which makes sense here because it isn't a super layered and progressive palate, I think lemon meringue whisky is an appropriate description.

Finish: medium persistence with some sparkly lemon pop bubbles at the back of the palate. Finish is shorter, like to the the back of the throat.

This is more of a summer whisky to me. But one for the evening in the summer... softer and a little more mellow with some subtle development.  Good stuff! Don't look past this one just because you don't know it.

Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2008 Review

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2008 - 50% abv.

This is a Bruichladdich I've been waiting for for a while. Its a Port Charlotte distilled in 2008 from an impressively traceable terroir of Islay barley farms. It states right on the bottle that the barley comes from Coull, Kynagarry, Island, Rockside, Starchmill & Sunderland farms. 

I would suggest this means that they either put a bunch of barely together and distilled it all together or that they did a run of each farms barley sequentially and put the spirit into casks and married them when they bottled this. After spending some time with Duncan Taylor and Simon Coughlin on Islay in April, I'd say either is certainly possible as Bruichladdich continues to develop huge variations in their product.

Either way, incredible to have small batch, hand made whisky like this available at reasonably affordable prices!

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Colour: Pale gold.

Nose: lightly perfumed with very clear vanilla, lemon, honey, and nice thread of smoke like you get from burnering moist heather. There's mint in there as well as the scent of salt-lashed botanicals. There's a bit of floral notes in there too.

Palate: softer than I expected. A very well-balanced initial flow of light sweetness, salt, lemon, and mint. This appears to be aged 100% in american oak and the flavour suggests this as well. There isn't the sherry cask richness that seems to be in the Port Charlotte Scottish Barley. Another taste - sweet, creamy vanilla leading into a very salty lemon rush that leads to white pepper and mint and peat smoke.  This truly is a pleasant dram! 

Oh! Add a little water and it sweetens up a bit. Weird but this does happen with some whiskies. There's thick honey, lemon, and smoke. This like two whiskies - like above without water and then richer and sweeter with water. So good! There's a really nice white and black pepper through there which, combined with the sweet, salty, citrus, and smoke notes makes for a really nice, balanced peated whisky. Every now and then I think the arrival is like biting into a really ripe grapefruit. You don't get grapefruit often in whisky but I think this one has it.

Finish: you'll taste this one a while after you drink. The finish makes just to the Adam's apple.

When would I drink this? This really seems like a great dram to have a crisp, sunny afternoon. But it can work as a night cap on a damp night too. Another home run small batch Port Charlotte!

PS. The packaging is stellar too! The white makes it jump of the shelf into your shopping cart!

Port Charlotte Valinch 02 Gorag Review

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Valinch 02 Gorag - 62.0% abv.

Travelling to Bruichladdich distillery means you're fortunate enough to experience the place but it also means something else very special... you get valinch bottlings. Yes, bottlings because they carry both Bruichladdich Valinch and Port Charlotte Valinch now. For those who don't know, a valinch is the copper pipette that is used to draw whisky out of the cask for sampling - you know, for "quality control." Its a tough job but someone must do it.

In any case, on my recent trip I picked up a bottle of each valinch cask available. This one is a Port Charlotte distilled July 7, 2003 (so, just a shade under 12 years old) and fully matured in a Pessac-Leognan red-wine cask. Its a cask exploration, so let's explore.

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Colour: full amber.

Nose: huge smoke with a clear thread of mint and pepper. Molasses. Brine. Rasins. Cream. Water seems to open up more of the same scents.

Palate: Classic Port Charlotte! Thick arrival. Sweet. Smokey. Like dark maple syrup coated bacon moving to a drying sensation - like evaporation - into mint and white pepper.  This is huge. It really has the power of a Port Charlotte. 

Water takes down the intensity a bit but spreads things out. Some more botanical type flavours come through as well. Now I get stewed berry fruits, followed by the dark syrup, nice saltiness, some spice, and then peat at the back palate.  Taste some more an I get a pretty fat fruit layer in the mid-palate of this - like red current or something. The wine cask makes this different from Port Charlotte PC releases but this is still clearly part of the family! Interestingly, as I taste this more I get some lemon in here. Interesting since that usually comes from american oak combine with salty Islay air.

Finish: drying but not overly with long persistence. Very nice stuff.

When would I drink this? Its rainy and chilly as I write this evening and I would say that this is the perfect time. That chilly, humid evening fits this perfectly.  A pretty heavy whisky, indeed! Really top shelf stuff if you're looking for something nice and rich and fat.

Loch Lomond 12 Year Old Organic Single Blend Review

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. 

Whisky while you travel: Bruichladdich Distillery Tour and Warehouse Tasting

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 Review

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 Review

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 Review

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 Review

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 The Laddie Ten Review

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.

Benriach 12 Year Old Sherry Wood Review

Benriach - 12 Year Old - Matured in Sherry Wood - 46% abv.

Benriach is a distillery that is celebrated by many and has been making non-chill filtered, colouring free whisky. Its honestly a style I have trouble figuring out though. I've a few different of their products and I never feel like there is a family resemblance there and they don't really sing to me for some reason. I always feel like they are good quality products, but just not my style. I think one can depend on them, but I think you also need to like the style.

Colour: Copper.

Nose: a fairly creamy nose of grape, currents, and maybe even cherry. Brown sugar and jam. Almost reminds me of maple syrup on a waffle with a dollop of jam.  As it opens, you get banana on the nose as well.  Interesting that if you add some water and wait a while, this gets a sort of coca-cola smell to it.

Palate: bright and fruity on the palate and a sweet then little into dryness and a bit of bitterness (not unpleasant). Banana, stewed cherry and cranberry in sugar lead into some spices. Juicy is a way to describe this one. And its clean.  I would say that this one is better without water... just personal opinion.

Finish: drying with medium persistence and finishing into the upper chest.

This is a whisky matured in some combination of wood including sherry woods. Given the drying quality, my guess is that one of the woods used is Oloroso sherry casks. Its good stuff but I usually look to sherry-aged whiskies to be richer and mellower while this is more bright and crisp.  When would I drink this? I would say this is one of the few sherried drams that makes more sense as an aperitif than a night cap.  

Talisker 57 Degrees North Review

Talisker 57 Degrees North - 57% abv.

Talisker makes classic and richly flavoured whisky and that's why I love them very much. This time, I'm discussing the 57 Degrees North release - it has no age statement but is bottled at a big 57% alcohol (not cask strength).

click photo to enlarge - Thanks to Olivia Girard for the lovely painting!

Colour: 18 karat gold with copper highlights

Nose: White and milk chocolate with white pepper and peat.

Palate: This is great stuff. Comes on sweet and powerful with coffee and chocolate leading into a bit of salt and then a big hit of smokey white pepper. Lovely texture and layered development.  I get black pepper at the back of the palate along with some warmth working its way along the roof of my mouth back to the back of my neck and shoulders.  Some hints of honey sweetness and vanilla or maybe creme anglaise in there. Really, really good.

Adding some water to this (just 4 drops or so) brings out a richer, creamier desert-like quality... think along the lines of a custard or something.  I suggest the water.

Finish: Pretty well to the adam's apple and of long persistence.

This is classic Talisker and will satisfy that Talisker craving if you ever have it just like the Talisker 10 Year Old. This is no-age-statement but when the flavour comes out like this, who cares about age? Its big, its Talisker thru and thru but with the volume knob turned up to 10. When would I drink this? Best time is probably that chilly, rainy night. Would do good for you on that chilly gloomy afternoon too! Sometimes only Talisker will do, and this will do it.

Rich and delicious. Blinder!