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Friday
December
16th
2011
His last Bow(more)
or "Elementary
my dear Sukhinder"
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The
unravelling of the mysterious codes
is the conundrum for today as four perfectly formed glass
sample bottles sit innocently atop my desk awaiting examination.
The conundrum comprises three unusually marked examples in the
form of a Br2, a Bn1 and a quite
unusual Kh1. Lastly, I am supplied with a possible clue in the
form of one 'Masterpiece' labelled only as Bowmore.
Is it
possible to unravel this mystery once and for all? |
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Br2 |
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Br2 is labelled as Full Proof
and as such, offers 48.3% abv with a
colour of very pale yellow supplying no evidence of blushes. The
nose is initially of slightly leafy malt, then it expands with a
quite floral presence, but always light and fresh. The leafiness
soon returns and very aromatically so with a definite sweetness.
The palate is the nose personnified with a very aromatic
leafiness combined with light freshness leading into a
deceptively long finish. |
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Bn1 is also labelled as Full Proof
with 55.7% as evidence of this. It's pale
yellow in colour and the nose brings alive the idea of a beach
bonfire set in a car tyre as smoke, peat & glowing embers
combine with a light rubberiness and even a hint of raspberry.
But it doesn't end there as after some minutes there's a
distinct hint of smoked bacon being grilled on that beach BBQ.
The palate begins smooth and light, then offers a light
rubberiness, Atlantic sea-air and light smokiness with a
generous helping of fruitiness. The finish is long, light and
smokily fruity. |
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Bn1 |
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Kh1 |
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The
third character in this mystery
also comes with "full proof" and in this
case 59.7% as supporting evidence. A very pale yellow gives away
no secrets and the nose initially offers a light and fresh
smokiness which expands almost medicinally and antiseptically.
There's also a hint of redcurrants in
the background. Fresh countryside with lots of fresh air and
peaty fruit now prevails. The palate has an exceptional balance
between peat and fruit, even alternating between the two on the
palate. A very long finish completes the experience, again with
generous peat and fruit. |
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Finally
and by way of a possible clue
to this mystery I discover a 'Masterpiece'
called Bowmore who is obviously the strongman here with 61.6%
abv. The nose begins with light honey and a fresh coastal
breeziness which expands with a soft leafiness, followed again
by fruity smokiness, lightly floral malt and even a suggestion
of summer herb garden. The palate has a very smooth and creamy
mouth-feel and is considerably richer than the nose as it offers
gently smoked honey, summer herbs and lots of open countryside
with heather and bracken. The finish is pleasantly long. |
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So, as
the sun sets on this magnificent land
I am drawn to some rather poignant
comparisons; firstly I live close to Munich, a city with about
1.3 million inhabitants. An area of about 310 Sq. km. and at an
average of 519m above sea level. Munich has six large breweries
located within the town and celebrates with an annual 'fest'
knwon as The Wies'n which attracts around 6 million visitors
over a two week period at the end of September, beginning of
October. |
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Off the west coast of Scotland
lies an island with an area slightly
larger than that of Greater Munich as it has some 500 Sq. km.
but a considerably lower population with a mere 3400 residents.
In fact the sheep population outnumbers humans by a factor of 9
with some 30,000 of them, but these are further outnumbered at
times of the year as upwards of 60,000 geese make it their home.
The highest mountain here is Beinn Bheigair at 491m although
most of the island is much closer to sea level. In fact the
world's first commercial wave-powered electricity generator
began operation in 2000 at Portnahaven and was made by Siemens
(of Munich). Once each year there's a world-famous 'fest'
celebrating the island's eight working distilleries.
I think
I am now in a position to solve the mystery of the codes as I
look to that magical island known as Islay and suggest
Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain and Kilchoman as the players in this
scene, supported by a Bowmore "Masterpiece" of '93 vintage.
"How was this conclusion reached?" you are
entitled to ask and my answer is as always;
Elementary my dear Sukhinder!
As for
my overall impressions;
Br2
is light, aromatic and floral with a slightly leafy freshness.
Very nice and worthy of 83 points.
Bn1
offers an excellent mixture of peat and fruit along with that
unique Atlantic freshness. Certainly worthy of a magnificent 87
points.
Kh1
was something of a revellation with an exceptional balance
between fruitiness and peat performing a ballet on the palate. I
initially awarded this 87 points, but on a second tasting it is
slightly better than the Bn1 and has now been awarded 88 points.
Truly magnificent from this distillery.
The
Bowmore "Masterpiece", 1993 , 18y is smooth, sophisticated
and very civilised, as one may expect from a Bowmore of such
years. Well worthy of 86 points from me.
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My
thanks to The Whisky Exchange for these official samples |
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Wednesday
December
14th
2011
The
Class of '64 -
'65
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In 1957
Deuchers brewery in the Scottish town of Montrose
was taken over by MacNab distilleries Ltd
and converted into a distillery named Lochside. Four pot stills
(2 spirit, 2 wash) and one coffey still enabled the distillery
to produce both malt and grain whiskies. The distillery was
taken over by a subsidiary of Domecq in 1972 and the coffey
still was removed in 1973.
When
the company became part of Allied Distillers in 1993
Lochside was immediately closed. |
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Compared to many other Scottish
distilleries Lochside wasn't around very long and the hopes
of it ever being reopened were somewhat dashed in 2004 when,
after years of refusals for redevelopment planning permission,
the distillery buildings sadly and mysteriously burned to the
ground. An event which coincidentally cleared the path
(so to speak) for redevelopment to go ahead.
So,
production was limited to the 36 years from 1957 to 1993, a
time span which would often render whiskies impossible to find
and ridiculously expensive, but those 36 years were relatively
recent ones and there are still some very affordable examples
quite readily available, especially some pretty decent 1981
vintages.
As
for Lochside grain whisky, the production was more limited
and these are a little harder to come by. |
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Personally I have fond memories
of the early 'Lochside years' as I shall call them, not of the
distillery itself as I was a child of '59 vintage and perhaps a
little young to appreciate their wares or even know about
them,
but of our family holidays in Great Yarmouth, the Palm Court
hotel and all the wonderful attractions like sand castles,
fairgrounds, a pedal car racetrack and other such marvels so
important to me during those Lochside years! |
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Just
imagine, during the years I was emulating Jim Clark in his Lotus
Climax
on the pedal car track of Great Yarmouth, something which was to
prove quite magical some 46 full years later was happening a few
hundred miles further north on the East coast of Scotland.
As
part of The malt Maniac Awards 2011 I had the privilege of
sampling the truly great Lochside 1965, 46y single blend. Not
only that, but imagine my surprise when I was in full flow with
MMA 2011 and a parcel of samples arrived from The Whisky
Exchange, including a 1964, 46y Lochside single blend! |
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In
modern-day whisky terminology
a single blend is a blend of single malt and single grain
whiskies from the same distillery and, as not so many
distilleries produce both grain and malt whiskies, these tend
to
be pretty rare. Not only that, but these two particular examples
are even more unusual in that a blended whisky usually comprises
individually matured components, whereas these two were blended
at birth, so to speak. As it turns out, some true visionary
decided to blend spirit direct from both pot stills and coffey
still back in those early Lochside years and hide the casks away
in some dark corner of the warehouse.
Thankfully, those casks, or at least two of them have now
seen the light of day and have been bottled as two single cask
examples of Lochside single blend whisky.
These
two whiskies really couldn't be much more different; yes
they are both Lochside children of the 60's, being created just
one year apart and both bottled at the magnificent age of 46
years, but that's where the similarities end.
The
Whisky Exchange version (pictured above left) was distilled
in 1964 and is from cask No. 8970, one of only 139 bottles,
bottled also in 2011 but at 42.1% abv.
This has
the colour of light oak in my classic malt glass. The
nose is extremely aromatic and starts with butterscotch,
lots of it. This develops to include creamy vanilla and then
further as hints of apricot appear. As I mentioned; the nose is
wonderfully aromatic, light, fruity, yet with plenty of
butterscotch and very light toffee. I could just nose this all
day long. The palate is equally fruity with apricot and
peach alongside that butterscotch, but one over-riding quality
here is an extremely floral graininess which expands with a
suggestion of juniper. The finish is very long, very
floral and filled with butterscotch.
The
Adelphi version (picured above right) was distilled in 1965
and is from a sherry cask No. 6778, one of 499 bottles and
bottled in 2011 at 52.3% abv.
As you
see from the picture the colour is extremely dark. The
nose is lightly toasted and offers traditional wax furniture
polish, wood, nuts and something very fruity by the way of rich
berries. After some minutes I detect a slight saltiness and even
a suggestion of smokiness from very aged wood. The palate
can only be described as huge, it's big and energetic, toasted
and very lightly perfumed. The finish is extremely long
and lightly toasted.
My
overall impression here is of two great whiskies. They are both
stunningly good and yet, as I mentioned, couldn't be much more
different in styles. The Adelphi 1965 version has all the
attributes of a great sherry cask whisky and I just couldn't
resist the opportunity to revisit this one as I still had some
of my original MMA 2011 sample left over. Yes I know, any excuse!
The Whisky Exchange version is much lighter and exhibits many of
the typical characteristics of a great single grain whisky with
that floral butterscotch, but yet is has so much more in reserve.
In the
Malt Maniacs Awards I scored the Adelphi Lochside a magnificent
91 points and after my second sampling here I can only endorse
that score. It is well deserving of a 91 from me and thus my own
label of "Great", in fact it's almost a 92, but just not quite.
As for
The Whisky Exchange 1964 example; I have to say it is also a
true "Great", in fact slightly better than the Adelphi with a
stunning 92 points and is certainly one of the top few drams I
have enjoyed during 2011, a true highlight indeed! But with two
such great whiskies is it fair to award just one winner? They
are both magnificent and highly recommendable drams.
Slàinte
Mhath and thanks to MMA 2011 for the opportunity to sample the
Adelphi Lochside and to TWE for their official sample.
(My
thanks also to Colin Smith for the photo of Lochside distillery,
via Wikimedia Creative Commons License)
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Saturday
December
10th
2011
Something
rather Special
or
"Debussy
plays Pitaud"
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In the recent Malt Maniacs Awards
it wasn't sufficient that the same bottle
was entered twice, but also one non-whisky was sneaked into the
competition just to keep the judges on their toes. In this case
the non-whisky was a rather marvellous cognac in the form of "Pitaud
Extra Cognac". The judges seemed to be split between scoring it
quite low as it didn't seem to be a whisky, or they realised it
was a cognac and scored it as such, often quite highly.
Anyway, post-MMA I wanted to revisit this cognac in the
manner it deserves as I originally sampled it using my classic
malt whisky glass amidst a flight of single malts and, although
it nosed and tasted well, it now deserves a review in its own
right as a fine cognac.
When
it comes to enjoying whisky I'm most certainly of the belief
that the glass used has a great influence on the overall
experience, in fact some time ago I reviewed various
possibilities of whisky glassware and wrote a complete article
on my findings, you can find it here --->
Which Glass?
So, I
now settle down in my favourite comfy chair, turn the lights
down low, play some soothing Debussy and pour the last of my
Pitaud sample into a lead crystal brandy goblet ....
As
Debussy glides through the air my cognac glows like pale
liquid amber in my glass as I begin the gentle process of hand
warming, something which I very rarely do with a single malt.
The aromas develop firmly but gradually as my nose is caressed
initially with some very light and floral notes which are always
unmistakable as a cognac. As time progresses, the cognac slowly
warms and some richer aromatic wood notes join the lighter,
almost perfumed floral ones. After some ten or fifteen minutes I
detect a very slight but fresh antiseptic quality in the depths
of the background and then even a faintest hint of smokiness. A
delightful nose indeed.
As
Dubussy continues to caress the ears it's time to tease the
taste buds and again, Pitaud doesn't disappoint. This cognac
offers an initial dryness with various hints of fruit, but with
gentle orange, perhaps oil of orange as the predominant,
although those wonderful lightly perfumed floral notes from the
nose also dance around the fruitiness of the palate.
A
long, nay very long finish signals a crescendo to the cognac
as Debussy performs admirably in tandem and my sample of MMA
2011 No.166 is now gloriously lost in annals of time and my
liquid memory as I recall awarding this a very worthy 89 points
during MMA. I have to agree with that score once again, although
it really is bordering on a 90 and my personal award of 'Greatness'.
As a
final comment; The Festive Season is once again upon us and
one of my personal traditions is to treat myself to a fine
cognac each year. This Pitaud 'Extra' is an extremely fine one
but sadly at an equally extremely fine price, so if your
purse allows then I highly recommend this as something rather
special this year, but unfortunately I'll have to make do with
that liquid memory as I doubt I'll find the €300 necessary to
acquire a full bottle.
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Sunday
December
4th
2011
Highland
Park Vintages
or
"The
70's
Orcadians"
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Highland
Park have released two new vintages
or "Orcadians", one from 1976 and the other 1971 and I was
lucky enough to receive samples of them recently, thanks Gerry.
But are
they any good? Let's see shall we ........ |
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1971 Vintage, distilled 1971, bottled 2011,
46.9% abv, one of 657 bottles
Glass; My trusty Classic Malt,
Colour; rich amber, Nose; wood and currants make a
ninitial appearance, then a rather fruity but light smokiness,
perhaps blueberry and bramble? These are followed by creamy milk
chocolate and an almost cappucino suggestion. There's also a
light perfume reminiscent of sandalwood. Palate; wood,
bramble, heather and a creamy white pepperiness. Slightly dry
and really quite fruity towards finish. Finish; Very long,
fruity and lively. |
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1976 Vintage, distilled 1976,
bottled 2011, 49.1% abv, one of
893 bottles
Glass; My trusty Classic Malt, Colour; lightly
golden, Nose; very floral wood with some initial
maltiness, then expanding with a gentle smokiness and
traditional wax furniture polish. Palate; very creamy
mouth-feel, floral vanilla and a good dose of fresh air and
countryside, including light grassiness. Finish; Long
with polished wood and lightly smoked vanilla. |
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My
overall impressions;
These both have many of the typical attributes of Highland
Park with that outdoors, fresh-air, rolling Scottish hills style
and yes, they do this rather well.
The
1976 has a little more smokiness and a suggestion of what I
can only describe as "inner power", whereas the 1971 has
more fruitiness and a little more outward "power" or richness.
The '71 also exhibits a surprisingly good liveliness within the
finish which is a little uncharacteristic of older whiskies.
Two
truly excellent bottlings although for me, the 1971 is very
slightly the better thanks to it's greater range of
characteristics and is awarded 88 points against 87 points for
the '76.
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Fellow Malt Maniac Mark Gillespie runs the world-renowned
whiskycast podcast and asked if Krishna and I would be willing
to speak about our experiences with MMA 2011, especially as
Krishna flew to Germany from India for three days just to help
fill the sample bottles and take his set back hone with him.
Of
course we both agreed and the result can be heard on the link
above. |
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Thursday
December
1st
2011
Malt
Maniacs Awards 2011
...
and the verdict is
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Well,
it has been pretty quiet around here for the last couple of
months, but as you know I was heavily involved in the 2011
edition of The Malt Maniacs Awards. Starting with logistics
which basically comprised refilling 171 entries into 2500 sample
bottles, then sending 14 parcels to our judges across three
continents and, if I remember correctly, nine countries.
Anyway, it's 1st December and the traditional MMA
announcement day. In fact things progressed well this year and
the announcements were made late yesterday evening across the
various social media platforms used by The Maniacs.
I'll
not bother you with a report from myself, as Johannes has
not only provided our usual Scorecard, but also a full Jury
Report on the process and outcome, so without further ado here
they are for you: |
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You may
be interested to hear what I thought to the Gold Medallists and
Award Winners?
All 'winners' are now available here on
Whisky Emporium as my own
tasting notes, written during the MMA process of tasting the
whiskies totally blind and often two or three times each with
different flight partners for accurate comparison and scoring.
You can see my onw scores on the MM Scorecard, so I won't
rewrite those here, but click on the pictures below to view my
personal opinions on the cream of the MMA 2011 crop. |
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Ultra-Premium
Awards (Whiskies in the €150+ price range) |
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Non-Plus Ultra
Award
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Best Natural Cask
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Best Sherry Cask
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Best Cask
Innovation
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Best Peated Malt
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Thumbs Up
(special mention)
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Premium Awards
(Whiskies in the €50 to €150 price range) |
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Non-Plus Ultra
Award
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Best Natural Cask
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Best Sherry Cask
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Best Cask
Innovation
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Best Peated Malt
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Thumbs Up
(special mention)
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Daily Dram
Awards (Whiskies costing no more than €50) |
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Non-Plus Ultra
Award
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Best Natural Cask
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Best Sherry Cask
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Best Cask
Innovation
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Best Peated Malt
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Thumbs Up
(special mention)
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Finally, one "Special Category" Award for 2011 is the "Pressure
Cooker" Award and is awarded to an astounding 10y whisky,
bottled specially for Whisky Live Taipei 2011.
MacDuff
10y, Cask No.5800, From Exclusive Malts |
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Thursday
December
1st
2011
Families, Christmas and whisky
Matt
& Karen of Whisky4Everyone ask which whisky you'd recommend
to that Great Aunt, Mother-in-Law or other non
whisky-drinking family member!
Read it here...
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2009-2011 by Keith Wood - All rights reserved - Whisky-Emporium |
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