Whisky Intelligence has reproduced (with permission) The Gauntleys Whisky Newsletter for August 2009. The author, Chris Goodrum, has some excellent insights into the whiskies being commented on which makes for excellent reading on a Sunday. Enjoy!
Dear Whisky Customers
I had a dream recently. It was the usual sort of scenario. Pursuit by a possessed vacuum cleaner, through a winding labyrinthine city of darkened streets and the customary maze of some out of proportion house, populated by friends passed and present, armed only with a padded sword and red paint! (If you have ever live role-played, you’d get the reference.) Anyway what has this to do with whisky? Well when I suggested a tasting session to my good friend Keiron, he replied. “How about an Auchentoshan theme!?!?!” You see I thought I must be dreaming! A whole evening tasting an innocuous spirit, devoid of character, which as I’ve said many time before the best thing you can do is stick it in a sherry cask!
Can you tell I was less than enthusiastic? But, hell, why not, it’ll give me an interesting subject to write about me thinks. So why Auchentoshan? Well he had just come back from a visit to the distillery and thus armed with goodies that he had purchased he wanted to ‘convert me!’ I also added a couple of samples to the mix and we were away.
We began with a tri-pak of miniatures featuring a 5cl of new make spirit, a 5cl of spirit which had spent 1 year in bourbon oak and one that had spent 2 years in an Oloroso cask. The new make spirit was actually very good. It was clean, which I would have expected and had that ‘rose petal’ like aromas and flavours to be evident in marc, which became dirtier and more decaying with time. I have detected those same congeners in the Penderyn Welsh whisky, new distilled Bladnoch and the ‘X4’ from Bruichladdich, to name a couple. Thus the question is what do these spirits have in common? The answer is that they are all highly rectified spirits. Auchentoshan is classically triple distilled, the X4 is quadruple distilled, Bladnoch’s two stills both have a bulge at the base of the column called the “Milton Ball”. This bulge I believe is a factor in increasing the level of reflux, and both the Penderyn and most Marc’s are distilled in a rectifying still.
This form of still has a tall column fitted with a number of perforated plates, which increase the reflux of the spirit, allowing the heavier, oilier components to be returned to the pot. The resulting spirit is light in body and contains a greater degree of higher alcohols/aldehydes. Thus this aroma and flavour must be an aledhyde or a combination of them. So consulting the smell database of Berkley University I have concluded that this aroma is probably a combination of 2-Phenylethanol (beta-Phenyl ethyl alcohol), (E)-3,7-Dimethyl-2,6-octadien-1-ol (Geraniol) and a soupcon of N,N-Dimethylmethanamine (Trimethylamine).
So Auchentoshan actually does have character (shock! – see tasting notes below) and that character includes granite, citrus and botanicals as well as a sort of sulphur note. Not the sulphur blemish that you get from poorly cleansed sherry casks, but more of a gun smoke or gun flint type note, similar to the aroma that tends to appear in young Chablis. It’s interesting to note that after a year in a Bourbon cask it has lost a lot of its intrinsic character, and the wood really grips, drying out the finish, whilst it has yet to add any complexity, in other words, in its formative years it subtracts more than it adds. Mind you by 9 years it still has not added a great deal of wood character, but then the (probable) Duncan Taylor sample could have been filled into a well used cask.
Onto the Oloroso sherry 2 year old and not unsurprisingly it’s all about the cask. A very clean cask it is too, but hang on is there just a hint of the marc like character? It was quiet impressive actually and I would imagine that single cask bottlings of this would be rather nice, however by the time they have vatted a reasonably large amount of bourbon casks into the 12 year old it has become considerably ordinary, and as for the caramel ruined 18 year old………. Enough said! Well no actually I have just two words (because I’m not getting into a rant!)………… STOP IT!!!!!
So finally the 1978 distillation, 18 year old, and I really couldn’t justify spending £125 on it, which is what it’s currently retailing for, although it was quiet pleasant. Although I will say that their cask selection policy is absolutely first rate.
So am I a convert? Hmm, good question! In conclusion I would actually prefer to drink the new make spirit – Quickly before it becomes too manurey! Here’s a thought. Why not do an ‘X4’ and quadruple distill it, bottle it at say 46% and market it as a sort of vodka/ white spirit. Maybe the additional distillation would remove the manurey esters and leave a crisp, clean spirit.
Here’s a thought, they could call it Auchi-Vod!!! Grief….. I’m on a roll here!!!
Auchentoshan New Make 63.5%
An extremely clean nose. It has unsurprisingly that ‘off the still’ cereal character as well as a strong rose petal marc note. However it has quiet a perfumed character with hints of granite, citrus and developing botanicals. The palate is oily and delicate, obviously very similar to the nose. The rose petal marc is particularly strong on the middle and maybe there is a suggestion of yellow fruit and spice. Good length.
With water a resiny almost pine like note appears on the nose, as does a gun smoke/ flint/ sulphur-ish note. The palate has become quiet sweeter with the cereal taking on a more ‘mashy’ texture and it is now showing a greater degree of fruity esters, especially citrus. Strange but after being in the glass for 30-45 minutes, it had almost degraded. The rose petal aromas/ flavours had developed a definite decaying character and it had become quiet manurey.
Auchentoshan 1 year old 63%
Bourbon
Fresh bourbon I would imagine as the oak (aromas arrive and pass like a speeding bullet. Then the marc rose petal character comes through, which like the new make is quiet concentrated. There is a hint the citrus and parma violets. The palate is quiet oily, with less oak character. Very intense and alcoholic with the rose petal flavours being joined by some lovely pure white pepper, whilst the citrus has taken on a greater zestiness. The oak really dries out the finish.
Water really emphasises the rose petal marc, whilst the oak aromas completely disappear. Odd, I would have expected water to do exactly the opposite. On the palate it doesn’t make any significant changes.
Auchentoshan 2 year old 62.3%
Oloroso
Incredibly smoky. One can really smell the charring of the wood. Again I would say it’s a fresh, dry Oloroso as it’s very grapey with hints of treacle, toffee, dried fruit and moist fruit cake along with a candied sweetness to the aromas. Spotlessly clean, this shows an that they have an excellent cask selection programme. However the ‘distillery character’ is unsurprisingly nowhere to be seen. The palate is surprisingly soft, although there is an abundance of wood tannins and alcohol, with the flavours mirroring the nose. Unctuous and clean with the marc like notes just pushing away through on the finish.
A drop of water makes the gun smoke/ flint/ sulphur-ish note that was evident in the new make put in an appearance and maybe there is an ever so fleeting cardboard note, then its whoosh – sherry! On the palate there is not much change except that it increases the candied sweetness.
Independent Bottlers Challenge sample No 55014590
Probably Duncan Taylor Auchentoshan 9 year old 46%
16 July ‘09 – Bourbon Cask
Nose: Very young, with prominent marc-like rose petal aromas. Quiet a candied sweetness, which increases with time and prickly alcohol (2.0)
Palate: Candied, sweet, straw-like fruit. Quiet simple with hints of marc. The alcohol is noticeable but not intrusive. Quiet soft (3.0)
Finish: A good length with hints of soft spice and the marc-like rose lingering. Quiet an oily after taste (1.5)
Conclusion: It’s ok, if you like this style. Probably Auchentoshan! (6.5)
Auchentoshan 12 year old 40% £32.95
Quiet a deep, oily nose of nutty sherry wood. It develops a touch of marc-like straw (obvious distillery character). The sherry is spotless and has a pleasant degree of fruit, cereal, earth and dunnage floor notes. The palate is soft and quiet juicy, opening with the sherry wood. Again there’s a hint of marc-spirit, which follows through to the finish. It’s a bit short and kind of one dimensional. A pleasant nose if you like a sherried dram but nothing to get excited about on the palate.
Auchentoshan 18 year old 43%
The nose is very similar to the 12 year old, but they have obviously used a lager quantity of sherry casks in this vatting as there is greater degree of coffee-toffee wood notes evident. It has probably more depth and guts than the 12, displaying a candied barley sugar insinuation although over time a sort of smoky/ plastic aroma appears.
The palate is very disappointing having been flattened by the addition of caramel (check the farven justeret med caramel note on the back label – Danish for colour adjusted with caramel). It is slightly oily and prickly, gutless, quiet watery with a sugary-candied sweetness along with that gun smoke/ flint/ sulphur-ish note. Why the caramel? It has destroyed a perfectly ok whisky.
Auchentoshan 1978 (18 year old) 58.8%
Bottled in 1997, non chill filtered
A vatting of 13 casks – 2952-57 and 4365-71
A clean, leafy Oloroso nose. Lightly oily with hints of almond/ marzipan along with a slight candied note and alcohol. Essentially it is just wood and alcohol – Very good wood though! The palate is dry with dusty tannins and sherry wood. The alcohol adds to that drying sensation and almost burns. The wood and alcohol totally overwhelms and it isn’t until they dissipate that the candied orange peel, sweet almond and some ‘distillery character’ gets a chance to show.
Water brings out that candied orange peel aroma along with some dusty spices. The complexity of this dram become more apparent now that the alcohol has been tamed and it is now rather pleasant with hints of violets and gingerbread. Likewise the palate has softened, allowing the light orange fruit and gingerbread notes to show. The distillery-marc like character appears on the middle and it languidly drifts into a long spicy finish. Still possibly a tad too sweet for my liking but water gives it a better balance and keeps the sweetness under control.
General Round Up
Duncan Taylor Ardbeg 1993 (15 year old) 58.9% SOLD OUT
Bourbon Cask 1724
192 bottles of which 12 for the UK market
An intense and briny nose, opening with a huge dollop of Seville orange, which has a marmalade-esque edge. Wonderfully crumbly peat and rubbery fishy notes join the party. Over time the Islay cow-pat aromas become more apparent and the rubberiness increases. All backed up by the supporting oak. The palate is quiet mellow with fish oils, burnt embers and a touch of soot. The middle is extremely fishy and the alcohol bites. It has a lovely sweetness with hints of parma violets and light liquorice. Very long with peat dust, bog myrtle and leafy notes in the finish.
Water = Wow!! The bog myrtle bursts out of the glass with its leafy intensity and some of the sweetness which was evident on the palate is now showing. Bloody good stuff! On the palate the water takes the edge off the sweetness a bit, maybe emphasising the parma violet character, but not too much. It’s still incredibly fishy and the peat has taken on a wonderfully pure and crumbly texture.
Duncan Taylor Royal Lochnagar 1986 (22 year old) 53.8% £84.95
Bourbon Cask 951
A wonderfully lightly earthy nose with oodles of mature honey, apricot, barley and a lovely balancing granity hard edge. Over time it develops leafy, herbaceous notes.
Astonishingly rich with a superb depth. The palate is moist and juicy opening with hints of fruitcake followed by apricot, creamy oak and citrus. The alcohol builds slowly and the middle is full of church incense and gristy spices all wrapped in the most delightfully fresh acacia honey. Absolutely beautiful!
A drop of water emphasises the citrus aromas whilst it softens the palate, possibly muting the intensity. However it is still gloriously mouth filling and it emphasises the leafy spice notes on the finish. Personally I would drink neat.
James McArthur Blended Whisky 40%
I would imagine from the nose that this has quiet a high grain content (80% – Girvan?) and it is quiet youthful as well with that youthful cereal/ neutral spirit character dominating. There is some orange fruit along with the perfumed rose petals. The palate displays a greater degree of malt character, although the grain rushes in with the youthful cereal, rose petal and botanicals. Soft perfumed finish. One for the gin lovers!
Mackmyra First Edition 46.1%
After the number of Predulum bottlings, this is the first ‘official’ release of the Swedish malt. Having tasted a couple of those earlier bottlings I though they showed a definite promise, so it was quiet interesting to try this. However………
The nose is surprisingly grainy and floral with hints of light pine, sap and a suggestion of orange fruit. The palate is lightly oiled, again very light and grainy with oiled wood and botanicals. A touch of apricot-ish fruit battles against the gin like spirit middle but looses!
I have to say that I’m disappointed. The predulum bottlings displayed a lot more guts and depth than this. Maybe I’m being a bit hard on this because I though the previous bottlings were really good. I’m not saying that this is a poor spirit, it’s just I feel let down by it.
Duncan Taylor Glen Craig 1974 (35 year old) 42.4%
Cask 2922
Initial aromas of linseed oil and woody orange fruit give way to wonderfully buttery vanilla oak. Give it some time and the lush, melted honey aromas appear out of nowhere. Showing a delightful maturity, with the linseed oil notes lingering. Lighter on the palate, again the linseed oil note is noticeable, yet there are plenty of vanilla oils, earthy spices, citrus and a fleeting grassy note to balance. The finish is a touch alcoholic, botanical and tannic, but the after taste is a mouth coating buttery vanilla pureness. I think if this were to retails around £80 then I would quiet happily recommend it but as it retails for £120, I honestly don’t think it is worth, even if the distillery has long since gone.
Connemara Cask Strength 60.7% £49.95
An intense and heavier peated nose than I remember. Fresh and oily, it reminds me a bit of Caol Ila with that herbal, loamy, pure peat intensity. Quiet phenolic with a touch of tar and a medicinal note. Some vanilla oak arrives with time as does a perfumed white fruit note. Quiet oily on the palate, with the soft, herbal-peat building. It has a lovely purity of peat flavours and an intense coffee burst on the middle. The piquant alcohol bites, and finishes with a continuation of the leafy/ herbal theme. A definite wake-up dram.
A drop of water brings out some lightly perfumed tangerine on the nose and maybe a suggestion of rubber and kippers. However there is no stifling the high-toned phenolic character. On the palate it has mellowed it and softened the impact. The peat has given way to more of the vanilla oak, which is lovely and sweet as well as some hickory and bacon notes. The light peat now drifts in towards the end.
So in conclusion, drink neat for the full impact, add water if you would prefer it more subtle but lingering!
Compass Box Hedonism 43% £56.95
Bottling No. H25MMVI
It’s been a long while since I last tasted any of this, so long in fact that it was the only grain whisky that we used to stock and it was definitely a favourite of mine. . So how did it stack up against the plethora of single cask grains that are now available? – The answer is pretty well, of course!
The nose opens with a huge wad of creamy vanillin’s, pure caramel and beeswax, intertwined with that distinctive ‘grainy’ note. This is lovely – pure butter cream with toffee topping! Over time it develops a violet and aniseed note along with some leafy herbs. The palate follows the nose with the vanillin’s leading off followed smartly by the caramel coated grains and a touch of violet. Lovely intensity and crispness with the alcohol arriving on a botanical wave. Although it might sound like a bit of an oak monster it is superbly balanced, so that the oak isn’t overly intrusive. Long, creamy after taste.
Duncan Taylor Carsebridge 1979 (30 year old) 52.3% £78.95
Cask 3038
Quiet an elegant nose with light orange fruit, earth/ dunnage, mature honey along with the expected vanillin’s and a violet note. Over time the oak asserts itself with a gorgeous pure caramel/ toffee note. Wonderfully deep with a late touch of camphor and menthol. The palate is light yet sweet – pure granulated sugar, along with oak vanillin’s, butter toffee, wood tannins and that violet note. Balancing botanical grains and soft, unobtrusive alcohol arrive on the middle and it finishes with a buttery aftertaste.
A drop of water brings out the oils with a touch of lanolin and some nutty notes. It becomes a tad sweeter with more of a toffee popcorn character. On the palate it isn’t as sweet as you would think; only lightly candied. Gorgeously mouth filling and soft, with oodles of character.
Inchfad (Heavily Peated) Loch Lomond 45%
Cask 666
Well it had to be tasted didn’t it? The Devil’s own cask!
A young, lightly honeyed cereal nose. Which is definitely not as peated as one would expect from a ‘heavy peating level’. Although in saying that the peat has a lovely crumbly-briquettes/ oily texture. There is a slight perfumed white citrus and a high toned/ floral note. Theirs is a youthful rawness to it but it doesn’t scream at you and is quiet rounded. The palate is leads off with the youthful, gristy cereal and a touch of marc. Quiet soft with a pleasant barley sweetness. The oak and the alcohol combine to dry the middle out but it has a good length with the peat and white fruit emerging in the finish and a slight perfumed after taste.
It has an endearing crispness, but could hardly be called the Devils brew!
The Corner Creek Distilling Company, Bardstown
Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon 44%
The nose opens with pure vanilla ice cream and a heavy parma violet note. It gets horrifyingly sweet with a pink(?) candy floss and icing sugar character.
The palate is quiet oily and similar to the nose. The bottle should have a pink bow around it as it is soooo girly! There are some pleasant grains on the middle but there is no way they can balance out the confected character. Far too sweet for me. Although in its defence it isn’t sickly.
Nikka Coffey Malt 12 year old 55% £107.95
A dead ringer for a grain whisky, which must be down to the stills I would imagine. The nose opens with an immense hit of herbaly-sweet oak, earthy-sweet malt and vanillin’s which have a very grainy character. Absolutely gorgeous if you love this sort of whisky. Overtime a demerara sugar note emerges. The palate is soft and oak as the nose suggests but there is plenty of complexity to interest – sweet barley and malt followed by earthy orange, light honey, Demerara sugar and alcohol. Intense, piquant and exceptionally long with a botanical laced finish. Superb length which fades beautifully.
A drop of water emphasises the buzzy, sort of grainy notes as well as bringing out some chocolate-coffee and buckets of wood spices. On the palate it softens the alcohol and allows the sweet juicy barley to shine, coated with luscious, maturing honey. Still pretty intense and there is still a veritable shed load of vanillin’s but a sort of resinous/ bark note creeps in. Amazingly good!
Glen Garioch 21 year old 43%
An aromatic nose with a soupcon of leafy sherry cask and oodles of lovely mature honey with that trademark subtle hint of violets. The aromas have a lovely rounded toastiness with leafy spices and vanillin’s adding complexity. Surprisingly there is a touch of alcohol prickle, but by and large it’s a very good nose.
The palate is soft and honeyed with mature honey coated barley and dusty hickory spices, abetted by a subtle sherry character. Deliciously fruity although the alcohol is a touch piquant it has a lovely bitter/ sweet balance. Lovely length with a mouth watering finale.
Knockando 1995 (12 year old) 40% £30.95
A crisp, youthful nose of cereal/ barley along with hints of perfumed orange, peat and brine. It seems younger than the last time I tasted this whisky, which was I think the 1992 distillation.
The palate is soft, yet quiet dry and again young and cerealy. A bit high toned with crisp barley and slightly honeyed fruit. Good length with a touch of spice in the finish. I think the palate is not as full as I remember it.
Well that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed the newsletter.
Regards
Chris Goodrum
http://www.gauntley-wine.co.uk/
