Whisky Intelligence has reproduced (with permission) The Gauntleys Whisky Newsletter for July 2005; a small sample of scotch whisky archeology. The author, Chris Goodrum, has some excellent insights of whisky, which makes for excellent reading on a Sunday. Enjoy!
Dear Whisky Customers
So summers finally here and so is the latest newsletter. I have been planning to write this awhile ago, but things like exams, holidays and the writing of our port offer have delayed it somewhat. So what have I been tasting recently?
There are some new additions to the Duncan Taylor range, a new range called ‘private cellar’ bottled by the Speyside distillery, the Irish list has had a summer make over, my report on an interesting evening tasting Glenmorangie, Glen Moray and Ardbeg, a new bottling from Bruichladdich, a tasting of the Jon, Mark and Robbo’s easy drinking range, a sneak preview of some new bottling’s by John McDougall, Blackadder and the Misson V series from Murray McDavid, along some other bits and pieces, including a signatory tasting session and a surprise from Wales!
DUNCAN TAYLOR
My good friends at Duncan Taylor sent me a mixed bag of new goodies to try recently including some samples of their recently bottled single grain distilleries. It seems that there are some fantastic old casks from these distilleries knocking about, along with some not so good, and these are becoming a very popular alternative to single malts. Many of them are extremely old and have a tendency to resemble old cognac’s or rums with their complex array of flavours. I wasn’t convinced by their 1978 North British, but the 1965 Invergordon, 1979 Carsebridge (which I was told was the first time this has been bottled as a single), and the 1973 Strathclyde were absolutely stunning (tasting notes to follow). They also sent two new bottling’s from the whisky galore range, a 1986 Bourbon Cask Macallan, which was very spirty, winey and a bit simple and got me thinking that maybe Macallan needs some sherry to make it interesting. This thought was completely dismissed when I tasted a 15 year old cask bottled by Raymond Armstrong for the Bladnock forum, which was absolutely stunning and I was reminded that Jim McEwan bottled a superb couple of casks for the first Celtic Heartlands series, and not forgetting the rather nice 13 year old from John McDougall (more later) so I guess it is all down to cask variability. Then I tasted their new bottling’s of 1965 Tomatin and 1967 Tamnavulin, and was rightly blown away by the quality of them. Always nice to finish on a high note.
Tamnavulin 1967 (37 year old) 46.7% £80.95 Cask 1018
Very deep and dark in colour. The nose is huge, a big, overwhelming oloroso sherry nose full, then comes waves of complexity, creamy white chocolate, orange, earth and wood notes. Dry on the palate, full bodied with roasted nuts, oloroso sherry, dried fruit and more nuts for good measure. Very intense and tangy alcohol yet with a delightful softness. Extremely long with hints of coal; tar and peat on the middle descending into a rich orange/ dried fruit pudding mix and a lingering smokiness. Wow!
Tomatin 1965 (40 year old) 47.6% £116.95 Cask 1903
Clean, deep and complex on the nose, full of dried fruit, nuts, lanolin, wood oil, wax polish, oodles of ginger and spiced fruit cake. Dry on the palate, medium-full bodied, very soft, succulent rich, moist fruit cake, ginger, raisins, intense tangy alcohol. Very long finish with the bourbon oak coming through on the finish.
Carsebridge 1979 (25 year old) 56.4% £68.95 Cask 32901
Clean, slightly spirity on the nose, earthy and creamy with lanolin, wax, delicate chocolate orange and a touch of toasted caramel. Dry on the palate, light-medium bodied, full of orange peel, vanilla, peppery spices, earth and wax. Lovely soft alcohol and a wonderful oily mouth feel. Slightly floral and a long finish with that earthy/ grainy intensity prevalent.
Invergordon 1965 (38 year old) 51.6% £69.95 Cask 15537
A lovely, perfumed nose of violets and winter flowers, delicate yet pronounced, followed by an intensity of vanilla dusted sweet citrus fruits, a complex melange of spicy red wine infused fruits and a whiff of toasty oak to finish – simply sensational. The palate is medium-sweet, with a cognac-esque quality to it. Full of dried citrus and grain. This opens into an intense wine infused creamy middle with a slight suggestion of spice and ends with the floralness that the nose evokes. Delicate, interesting and very long.
Strathcylde 1973 (31 year old) 62.8% £82.95 Cask 74061
Clean, quite spirity but with an appealing aroma of citrus and vanilla, a touch of gooseberry and sugar cane, a drop of water brings out delicious aromas of tropical fruit, coconut and orange oil. Dry, yet rich and spicy on the palate with layers of oak and subtle tropical fruit unfolding, followed by pine, cereal and ginger. Lovely balance and a crisp clean finish. Very rum like.
SPEYSIDE DISTILLERY – PRIVATE CELLAR
Speyside distillery have added a new range to their portfolio. With the success of their Scott’s Selection range, they have decided to create a range of whiskies bottled at 43%. Personally I think this is a good idea, because the quality of their whiskies is superb, but natural strength, single cask bottling’s are not cheap, so this should encourage more customers to try their malts without having to spend over ?50 (with the exception of the 1970 North of Scotland). I have therefore decided to stock the following from that range.
Glenrothes 1986 43% £38.95
Light, fresh and delightfully floral on the nose with strong cereal notes. Dry on the palate, quite delicate with an intensity of creamy, nutty, malted barley flavours and a light peated note. Very long and creamy with almond flavours persisting.
Macallan 1985 43% £45.95
Clean on the nose, displaying some maturity. Initial aromas of sherry fruit give way to earthy orange with a touch of smoke, cinnamon and ground spices. Dry, medium bodied with an intensity of mouth filling, slightly smoky sherry fruits, earth and dried fruit notes. Lovely depth with spicy orange fruit coming through on the finish. Very more-ish.
North of Scotland Single Grain 1970 43% £50.95
A clean, aged nose, slightly spirity with that grain intensity. Great depth and complexity of seeped dried fruit, marzipan, earth, orange peel, bourbon oak, vanilla and cr?me caramel. Dry on the palate, medium bodied with slightly oily, rum like, dried fruit, wax polish, earthy apricot, vanilla, raisins and sultanas. Very long and complex finish.
NEW IRISH
I thought it was about time that our Irish whiskey list had a make over, so after doing some extensive reading and talking to the experts and doing a bit of tasting. Here is the new list.
COOLEY DISTILLERY
Connemara Cask Strength 60.0% £37.95
Clean and oily aromas of buttered kippers, gentle smoke and sweet peat. Creamy and luscious on the palate with a hint of bitter peat and a suggestion of spice.
Clonmel Peated 8 year old 40%£29.95
Bottled by the Celtic Whisky Company.
A clean, peated nose with some soft, sweet malt. The palate is greeted with bone hard peated malt with a slight sweetness followed by soft malt and a build up of peat flavours which fill the mouth with smoke and hickory, then finishing with a caramel and toffee sweetness. As Jim McEwan would say ‘a real roller coaster ride’.
Clontarf Single Malt 40% £20.95
Clean and citrus on the nose with coal smoke and toasted toffee malt. Elegant on the palate, which deceptively fades for awhile then returns with vanilla and spice flavours. The original bend of this malt was created by Jim Murray when he was a consultant blender, and a apparently stays very true to his original recipe. Needless to say he rates it very highly.
Clontarf Black Label (Single Grain) 40% £17.95
Hard, crisp and enticing on the nose, but it is softened by gentle oak and toffee. On the palate it has a wonderful mouth filling array of spicy fruit, topped off with a caramel richness. Very long. Another first class grain whiskey.
BUSHMILLS
Bushmills 16 year old ‘Three Woods’ 40% £46.95
Aged in bourbon and sherry cask, finished in port wood
The nose displays a whole fruit basket of aromas including ripe apples, pomegranates and grapes. On the palate there is wave after wave of juicy mouth watering spicy fruit, vanilla and a touch of cocoa. Incredibly sophisticated.
Knappogue Castle 1994 40% £34.95 Bottled by Castle Brands Inc
A clean, crisp nose, slightly grassy with cereal, vanilla oak and zesty lemon fruit. Dry on the palate, again very clean with a harmonious delicacy of grassy, citrus fruit, cereal, malt, light spice and bourbon oak. Very long, very clean, balanced finish with a slight suggestion of cocoa and butterscotch on the roof of the mouth. Stunning!
MIDLETON DISTILLERY
Midleton Very Rare 2002 £104.95
Each year this ‘experiment’ in quality changes a little and thus each release is vintage dated. One thing you can count on is that it will always be elegant, impeccably balanced and perilously drinkable. Distillery manager Barry Crocket wouldn’t put his signature on every bottle if he didn’t think so.
On the nose it is a magical melange of rich, smooth fruit, vanilla and sherry oak. Very smooth and succulent with vanilla, apricot and citrus flavours with hints of tangerine, sherry and spice. This is superb whisky which ambles on and on.
Old Midleton 1967 (35 year old) 41.1% £149.95
A nose of butterscotch and delicate fresh oak. The palate is full of fresh pears, toffee, vanilla ice cream, walnut oil, white peach and a ‘crunchy’ nutty centre. Very long with an oily, gentle toasty, biscuity, oakiness.
JAMESONS
Jameson’s Gold 40% £44.95
A stunningly huge honey, barley flavoured Irish whiskey. A portion of the blend is aged in new oak and has given it a remarkable boost in oak flavour, which is has been balanced with just the proper proportion of sherry aged whiskey. If it could talk it would give a lecture about how to achieve a bittersweet balance with the final drier bitter note reminding you of some decent age. Jim Murray calls it the most complex malt of them all.
Jameson’s Red Breast 12 year old 40% £29.95
An unhurried nose of ripe fruits, lazy spice and pot still sharpness. Superbly complex on the palate with mouth watering barley notes on a field of clean sherry. Long and lingering with spicy toffee and sherry notes.
SIGNATORY TASTING
I have not looked to stock the Signatory range purely because they are quite readily available elsewhere and I physically do not have the shelf space for another bottling companies range, but it is always nice to keep up to date with what they are offering. So when my wife returned from a shopping trip to Edinburgh, she brought me back a signatory miniature selection pack to taste. The pack included single cask bottling’s of 13 year old Sherry Linkwood, 14 year old Sherry Mortlach, 12 year old Rosebank, 8 year old Caol Ila, 8 year old Ledaig, and 6 year old Springbank and the results were somewhat mixed.
The Linkwood was rather pleasant, nice and crisp with amontillado sherry, the Mortlach was rich and sherried and slightly marred by a touch of sulphur, the Rosebank had a lot of bourbon oak and nothing much else. Then oh dear, we really went down hill fast – the Caol Ila was too young and one dimensional, all soap, coal tar and smoke, but no fruit, the Ledaig was far too young and curiously a bit buttery, with no fruit, flavour or peat, and horror of horror was the Springbank, absolutely no character whatsoever, a touch of Bowmore-esque soot, and nothing else.
I know that there is currently a fad for bottling young, but the Caol Ila, Ledaig and Springbank should never have been bottled, and I can’t believe a company with their reputation would have bought, let alone bottled these casks.
GLENMORANGIE, GLEN MORAY AND ARDBEG TASTING
I recently attended a tasting of these three illustrious distilleries, hosted by the Ardbeg d istillery manager Stuart Thomson and rather enjoyable it was too. Proceedings began with the 30 year old Glenmorangie. Now I know that this is a highly regarded whisky with a price tag of over ?175, but it really did nothing for me, it was disappointingly simple, smooth, quaffable with a good length with some coffee/ chocolate notes on the finish, but dare I say it unexciting. Next up was the 1975 Tain L’Hermitage finish, which had a lovely nose, rich, a touch spirity with spicy red wine, toffee, oak and nuts, and then it all fell apart on the palate, lean, hard and granity after a big, very sweet start. With a price tag of over ?120, it was beginning to reinforce my belief that the distilleries output really isn’t that exciting, but my faith was restored by the Burgundy Wood finish, which retails for a mere ?32.95. It was glorious, the best of their wood finished by a country mile (tasting notes later).
Next came the 16 year old Glen Morey finished for 4 years in Chenin Blanc casks. The nose was quite nice but bit too sweet with candied banana aromas, but again it let itself down on the palate, which was rather vapid, strangely buttery, like a late harvested wine without the botrytis flavours. The next offering was a complete curio, the Serendipity. The story behind this bottling is that someone had opened the wrong tap in the bottling plant and had mixed some 12 year old Glen Morey (about 20%) with some 17 year old Ardbeg, whether that is true or whether it is just a marketing spin, it is an interesting curio, quite sweet with tangy citrus fruit a delicate peat/ charcoal and a touch of coffee and malt. As far as I’m aware it is only available from the distillery.
Then it was time to bring on the Ardbeg. First up the Stunning Uigeadail, which I’ve raved about in the past, see the tasting notes below. It was a touch sweeter than I remember it with more Seville orange marmalade. Next up was the 6 year old ‘Very Young’ which again I have raved about and finally came the highlight of the evening. It came in the shape of a 1975 (30 year old) Single Cask Fino Sherry matured Ardbeg. Now before you ask where and when you can get this, it hasn’t been bottled yet, if it was to be bottled, which I’m pretty sure it will be, it will retail for around, are you sitting down, ?714.00 per bottle!
Glenmorangie Burgundy Wood Finish 40% £32.95
A clean, crisp complex nose of dried fruits, figs cinnamon. It shows a huge amount amount of sweet, juicy fruits with the bourbon oak gentle wafting through. Dry on the palate, silky, soft and smooth with waves of sweet red berry fruits, nice tangy, spicy middle, lovely length with lots of pinot fruits on the finish.
Ardbeg Uigeadail 54.2% £42.95
Quite a rich and fruity nose, a superb marriage of bourbon and sherry oak. Clean, quite youthful aromas of sherried fruit, gentle almost restrained medicinal peat, Seville orange marmalade, bonfires on the beach, seaweed, soil, cocoa and parma violets. Initially the sweet, smooth, coastal sherry fruits dominate the palate, then comes the peat/charcoal/soot and soil, slowly building in the mouth. The rich fruit returns with a touch of vanilla oil and fades into a lovely long cocoa, smoky finish.
Ardbeg 6 year old ‘Very Young’ 58.3% £31.95
Very pale in colour. Very pungent and almost overwhelming aromas of earthy-peat, charcoal, drift wood bonfires, more smoke and all things Islay. This is not mucking about, it’s an ‘in yer face’ Islay malt. Yet it is not all smoke and peat there is a beguiling citrus fruitiness beneath (a quality which set the Murray McDavid bottling above the previous distillery ones). There is no let up on the palate. Intense, raw (yet smooth), lots of smoke, peat and charcoal fires, combined with a lovely depth of slightly sweet, tangy citrus fruit. If this whisky was a celebrity it would all itself ‘ Jordan’ and crash your party.
Ardbeg 1975 Fino Sherry Cask
A clean, oily nose which is quite peculiar, high toned and not what I would expect from an old Ardbeg, fishy with sawdust, fino sherry (obviously), soft acetone, light peat and orange fruit. Dry-ish on the palate again high toned, oily, fishy and salty. It has a wonderful balance between the dry, sweet and sharp flavours, a huge coastal influence and a very long length, crisp and clean until the very end.
JON, MARK AND ROBBO
This range has been out for awhile now and I have avoided them purely because of their marketing. The whole demystifying/dumbing down/ Richard Branson-esque/ We’re hoopy guys kind of thing kind of left me cold, and I much preferred the more cerebral approach of John Glazers Compass Box range. However when they sent me some samples I agreed to ignore all of that and just concentrate on what was in the bottles – and what was in the bottles was rather good, also with them being packaged in 50cl bottles made them seem like excellent value for money.
The idea was conceived by David ‘Robbo’ Robinson, the master distiller from Macallan and two enthusiastic whisky loving brothers Jon and Mark, who agreed that their world needed a smooth whisky that tasted exactly the way they liked and cut out all the waffle that always seemed to go with whisky (their words not mine). After a boozy night in Bristol they agreed upon three flavours. Rich spicy, smoky peaty and smooth sweet, and put together blends which showed these characteristics. In actual fact there was going to be four in the range a smoky one and a peaty one, but they couldn’t seem to get them right, until one enterprising soul poured them both together and lo and behold the smoky peaty one was born. My personal favourite is the smooth sweet one, which as far as I’m aware is the only blend of Cooley Irish whisky and Scotch (Bunnahabhain). Anyway here are my notes, and at ?14.95 each I think they are a real bargain.
Smooth Sweet One 50cl 40% £14.95
A blend of 70% Cooley in first fill Bourbon oak and 20% Bunnahabhain in American Oak Fino Sherry Cask.
Clean, youthful, initially the creamy, grassy, citrus Irish greets the nose, followed by toasty, malty, slight spice and coastal notes. Dry and light on the palate with fruity citrus, oak, flowers, a touch of lemon, toffee and menthol. Lovely balance, quite long with the coastal notes on the finish.
The Rich Spicy One 50cl 40% £14.95
A blend of 50% Tamdhu in Sherry cask, 10% Tamdhu in Bourbon oak, 10% Highland Park Sherry cask, 20% Glenrothes Sherry Cask, and 10% Bunnahabhain Sherry cask.
Clean, youthful with pronounced Oloroso sherry aromas, followed by orange fruit, nuts and gentle spice – A pleasant, rich perfume. Dry, medium bodied with Oloroso sherry, fruit, spice and a slight smokiness. Nice finish and a tangy length. This was apparently modelled on the Macallan Gran Reserva – Probably should have been called the rich sherried one!
The Smoky Peaty One 50cl 40% £14.95
A blend of 5% Caol Ila Refill Bourbon Cask, 12% Laphroaig Refill Bourbon Cask, 17% Bunnahabhain American oak Sherry Cask, 9% Bunnahabhain Refill Bourbon Cask, 26% Highland Park Sherry Cask, 14% Highland Park in American Oak, 9% Ledaig Refill Bourbon Cask, and 8% Bowmore Refill Bourbon Cask.
Clean and youthful with lots of smoke, gentle peat and an underlying soft fruitiness, with the Bowmore character prevalent. Dry on the palate, medium bodied with lots of delicate Highland park flavours, a touch of smoke and peat, with the Bowmore announcing its arrival on the middle. very long finish with the coal and charcoal flavours lingering.
NEW LADDIE
After upsetting the independent sector with their Oddbins only bottling of 3D, Bruichladdich have brought out a peated malt, purely for the independent market. The Infinity is a superb vatting of three different vintages of Bruichladdich, including a fair dollop of the Port Charlotte, all matured in Refill Sherry Casks. It is a beautifully balanced whisky of finesse and maturity underscored with beguiling power.
All I can say is welcome back and all is forgiven!
Bruichladdich Infinity 55% £40.95
A youthful nose of rich, oily, lusciously spiced, honey, dates and dried fruit, with a deep marmalade complexity of mature sherry notes, all set against a gently earthy/peat/sea air background. Medium bodied with the youthful peat of the Port Charlotte greeting the palate initially, followed by waves of Oloroso fruit, earth, salt, smoke and honeyed oranges. Smooth and long with malty wood flavours on the finish. Water brings out the floral honeysuckle aromas and softens the palate emphasising its creamy spiciness and its coastal character especially on the finish.
A WELSH SURPRISE
I suppose the biggest Welsh surprise was that their rugby team finally won the Grand Slam. I remember the great days of the 1970’s when this was a regular occurrence, but of late they have been more in contention for the wooden spoon. Anyway the Penderyn Distillery have created a special bottling of their 46% Madeira Finished Whisky in special packaging complete with all the signatures of the victorious Welsh Rugby team – So if all you rugby fans would like a memento of this special occasion it will only cost you £35.95
The other surprise was that my good friends at the distillery sent me a sample of the Oloroso Cask whisky that was bottled for St David’s day this year, and wow, it blew me away, this is a seriously good cask from Brecon by the sea!
Penderyn Oloroso Cask 60% £99.50
A clean, elegant, big nose of complex, earthy sherry fruit, nicely balanced with salt(!?) and vanilla notes. On the palate it is superb, full of mouth coating, oily, unctuous, complex sherry fruit, demerara sugar fading into a very salty middle, tangy alcohol with the Oloroso/ nutty Manzanilla notes coming back on the finish. Lovely length with coffee notes on the aftertaste. The addition of a little water makes the nose sing, emphasising its almost coastal freshness! On the palate it smooths and brings out hidden layers of dried fruit and almonds, but lessening the sherry impact. Seriously good.
A SNEAK PREVIEW
I am aware that this issue of the Newsletter is getting rather long, and I could go on forever, but sometimes somethings are better left until later. So I’ll just give you a sneak preview of what should be in the next issue. I should hopefully have full tasting notes on the new arrivals from Blackadder, John McDougall and the Misson V series from Murray McDavid, and the new distillery bottlings mentioned. Here is what to expect.
BLACKADDER
Linkwood Raw Cask 1989 (16 year old) 58.7% £46.95
Strathisla Raw Cask 1989 (14 year old) £50.95
Aberlour Raw Cask 1990 (12 year old) 60% £45.95
Craggenmore Raw Cask 1989 (15 year old) 57.9% £48.95
Caol Ila Raw Cask 1990 (15 year old) 57.3% Finished in ex-Glen Grant Sherry Cask £50.95
Blackadder Smoking Islay 55% £37.95
Blackadder Peat Reak 46% £26.95
Ledaig Raw Cask 1992 (13 year old) 46.1% £42.95
Lochranza Arran Raw Cask 1996 (8 year old) 55.8% £39.95
Jura Raw Cask 1990 (15 year old) Finished in ex-Longmorn Sherry Cask £50.95
MURRAY McDAVID MISSON V
Rosebank 1989 (16 year old) 46% £60.95
Macallan 1986 (18 year old) Port Wood Finish £64.95
Linkwood 1983 (22 year old) 46% £65.95
Auchentoshan 1981 (24 year old) Mourvedre Cask Finish 46% £65.95
Glenturret 1978 (27 year old) 46%£72.95
Glenlivet 1974 (31 year old) 46% £73.95
JOHN McDOUGALL
Glen Moray 1990 (14 year old) 62.1% £39.95
Balblair 1990 (15 year old) 61.5% £39.95
Macallan 1992 (13 year old) 56% £38.95
Glengarioch 1984 (21 year old) 53% £54.95
Bowmore 1999 (6 year old) – Price to be confirmed
Tobermory 1996 (9 year old) 60%£34.95
NEW DISTILLERY BOTTLINGS
Glengoyne 15 year old Scottish Oak 43% £42.95
Inchmoan Distillery Select 4 year old 45% £26.95 – This is the very first bottling of this whisky peated to 40ppm at the Loch Lomand distillery, with only 400 bottles available.
Laphroaig Quarter Cask 48% £27.95
Talisker 18 year old 45.8% £42.95
I hope this has given you plenty of stuff to read. If you have any comments or would like a bottle or two of anything in the newsletter please let me know.
Sincerely
Chris Goodrum
Visit Gauntleys at http://www.gauntley-wine.co.uk/
