Whisky Intelligence has reproduced (with permission) The Gauntleys Whisky Newsletter for June 2004; 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.  However as you may have noticed we are nearing the end of the series of his excellent newsletters. Enjoy this one !

Dear Whisky Customers

Welcome to this current newsletter. So what’s in this newsletter? Firstly I have a soap box to get on…….

COMMENT

I like the whisky magazine, really I do, and normally top 10 whisky lists  produced by Dave Broom et all are just a bit of fun. But their latest list of the 90 top Distillery bottled Scotch Whiskies that appears in the latest edition of the magazine, well, left me scratching my head in disbelief.

Ok I know what you are thinking I’m just miffed that the Bruichladdich 20 year old only just scrapped in at number 89, but that is not my main gripe. However if you are going to tell me that the 10 year old Glenmorangie (No 77) and the 12 year old Craggenmore (No 26) are better whiskies, then I’m surprised to say the least.

No, my biggest problem with this list is that In my opinion you must have a level playing field, you should only compare like with like, ie 10 year old versus 10 year old, or by retail price. The only good reason for a list of this type is to fill their letters pages with “why wasn’t my favourite malt in the list” letters.

And what was the No1 malt I hear you ask. Springbank? Talisker? Ardbeg?. No it was the 18 year old Macallan – Really?! And with 4 entries in the top ten it, according to the magazine it cements its place at the top of the Premier League of Whisky distillers. Hmmm, call me cynical, but doesn’t this just give credence to their continued churning out of limited edition bottlings with inflated price tags, that only a handful of very wealthy and/or privileged few will ever get the chance to taste. I mean what was the point of including the 50 year old Millennium bottling in the list.

Ok rant over, here’s what’s been happening in Gauntleys world of whiskies….

BRUICHLADDICH

Just released is the second bottling in their Links Series. The ’16th Hole Augusta’ is a 100% Refill Sherry matured 14 year old. Retailing for £36.95. Limited to 18,000 bottles world wide it is a lovely, fresh, crisp, floral nose similar to the 10 year old with the addition of a subtle sherry background. Unmistakably Laddie with honeysuckle, apples, pear, salt and a whiff of creamy bourbon. First up on the palatte is the subtle sherry fruit, then that saline Laddie freshness, citrus, oil, bourbon and lashings of spice. Tangy and long with hints of digestives, finishing with a salty flourish.

Also I was privileged to taste their two peated malts the Port Charlotte and the Octavulin. As these two malts were only distilled last year, they won’t be commercially available until at least 2013, by which time it will be interesting to see what level of complexity the oak adds to them. So for nothing other than curiosity value here are my tasting notes.

Port Charlotte (Distilled 15/10/03, sample drawn 5/5/04)
As expected it had that ‘straight off the still’ pungency with quite a lot of smoky-peat flavours, yet beneath this there was an underlying fruitiness – apples, honeysuckle, all that you would expect from Bruichladdich. A drop of water brought forward its natural oils and smoothness, while subduing its peatiness. I think I can see this being similar to the Bruichladdich links, in so far as it will be a classic Bruichladdich but with a back drop of gentle smoke/peat.

Octavulin (Distilled 7/11/03, sample drawn 5/5/04)
Whoar, this is an all together different animal. Very complex even at this young stage. It is deeper, more intense and oiler than the Port Charlotte. It has a remarkable cereal sweetness and huge globs of earthy-peat, soil and dunnage floors. Fat and rounded but still with that characteristic Bruichladdich delicacy. A small drop of water brings out its animal/ farmyard nuances and tames the peat, making it more earthy in character. The finish is stunning, it last and lasts. Once this had had a bit of oak influence it is going to be a storming malt – Can’t wait!

JOHN McDOUGALL

I have had the opportunity to taste the new additions to the Golden Cask series that I mentioned in my last newsletter, which appear below. Also and here is the good bit we have decided to offer a discount to our whisky customers to support the launch of these fantastic new  malts, details of which again are below.

SPEYSIDE

Aultmore 1989 58.3% – Special Price £38.95 saving £3.00
(Cask 3076 filled 21/09/89 – 14 year old)
A lovely, soft, cereal, earthy nose with hints of peat, biscuity fruit and salt. Aromatic with a developing floral character – white flowers, honeysuckle. The palate has elegance, purity and a wealth of biscuity white fruits, tangy acidity & spice notes. Complex and serious with an earthy/ smoky character and a long, dry finish.

Tomintoul 1992 63.5% – Special Price £35.95 saving £2.00
(Cask 3058 filled 20/5/92 – 11 year old)
Superb complexity on the nose. Intense grassy and earthy initially. Next up comes bourbon, toffee, caramel and sweetish malt, with a delightful floral edge. On the palate it is smooth yet intense. The flavour build on the tongue. Cereal, wheat, grass and fruit. Wow, this is stunning. The middle displays a huge depth of sweet malt with the ever present cereal nuances, and finally the bourbon arrives on the finish. I certainly wasn’t expecting a malt of such complexity.

HIGHLAND

Glen Moray 1990 62.1% – Special Price £39.95 saving £2.00
(Cask 4561 filled 15/5/90 – 13 year old)
Quite a lively, soft, earthy, summery apricot fruit scented bouquet. Lots of earthiness, a touch waxy and subtle Bourbon oak (much less than on the previous bottling). Luxuriously smooth and complex on the palate, full of rich apricot fruit, earth, cereal, fudge and restrained Bourbon oak. Adding a touch of water reveals hidden dimensions to this glorious malt, emphasising its apricot and yellow fruit and brining out the most glorious perfume hints on the nose. I loved the earlier bottling of this malt, but this is even better.

Macallan 1989 57.1% – Special Price £38.95 saving £2.00
(Cask 2810 filled 23/2/89 – 13 year old)
I do like Macallan, my earlier comments have nothing to do with the quality of their malt, but rather their marketing/ cost. That is why I am always interested in private bottler’s versions because they offer such better value for money and this one doesn’t disappoint.

Powerfull, big, characterful and aromatic, with a huge amount of oily/ waxy orange fruit aromas to the fore. Stunning depth and purity, with a background of earthy, delicate sherry and a vague whiff of Bourbon oak. The palate is oily, rich and smooth. Very complex, very long, with a mouth wateringly intense middle and finish. Water brings out the spiciness and earthiness of the orange fruit and adds a lovely creaminess to it character. Absolutely superb.

LOWLAND

Bladnoch 1988 56.4% – Special Price £41.95 saving £3.00
(Cask 2644 15 year old)
John has selected a rather fantastic cask from Raymond Armstrong. Floral and delicate with a depth of citrus – orange, lemon and lime fruit with a hint of Bourbon. Smooth, fruity and earthy with a delightful soft creaminess. Water emphasises the oak and brings out straw, perfume, oriental spice, white peach notes. Superb complexity with a nice cereal sweetness overall.

ISLAY

Caol Ila 1991 59% – Special Price £43.95 saving £3.00
(Cask 13197 filled 18/9/91 – 12 year old)
And saving the best until last. This Caol Ila provides on hell of a wake up to the senses. Big and phenolic, with medicinal peat, iodine, tar, rope and pungent, oily citrus fruit. Damn this is good (written several times in my initial tasting notes!) There is absolutely no let up in the intensity on the palate – earthy, medicinal peat, plus an ‘off the still’ pungency. Without water it is an almost painfully overwhelming expeirience, yet as it fades into a charcoal fruitiness I can’t help thinking:
Damn, you’ve been Islay’d

AND SPRINGBANK (er sort of!)

As you are all now well aware of, a whisky newsletter just isn’t complete without Springbank cropping up in it. On Thursday 25 March saw the opening of the refurbished Glengyle Distillery, the first new distillery to be opened in Campbelltown for over a century.

Glengyle distillery was closed in 1925 and after various false starts to revive the plant from outside investors, J&A Mitchell & Co Ltd bought the empty, dilapidated buildings in November 2000. Around 60,000 litres of spirit will be produced this Spring season using floor-malted barley from the Springbank distillery. The spirit after maturation, will be bottled as a Campbeltown Malt called Kilkerran, which is derived from the original Gaelic name for the area of Campbeltown.

CONTACT

We would welcome any comments you would like to make about this newsletter, any of our products, or how we can improve our service. Please note that any comments in this newsletter are attributed to the author and not necessarily the views of Gauntleys of Nottingham. Please feel free to contact us on rhone@gauntleywine.com

Sincerely
Chris Goodrum

Visit Gauntleys of Nottingham at http://www.gauntley-wine.co.uk/

We have re-launched our website with the aim of making it easier to navigate and find the information which you are looking for.  There is now more information available and direct links to the new on-line shop, subscribing to this blog and providing feedback to us. It now comes with more familiar drop-down menus and has slide shows and two small videos to view.

We would appreciate any feedback that you have, even if you preferred the last site.

We have plans to improve the site further and I will keep you informed of progress as the changes are made.

Last week was a celebratory week for us as we did well at The San Francisco World Spirits Competition with the 21 year old winning a double gold medal and the 40 year old winning a gold medal.  Following the awarding of 94 points in Jim Murray’s 2010 Whisky Bible for the 21 year old it is pleasing to see that it is being acknowledged as an outstanding whisky in it’s own right and on a par with it’s two older siblings.

Back home in Scotland, on Thursday we won an award for export development for our success in expanding availability of the new range to 13 new markets and already this year we have added more markets to that list with plans for more.

We will also be publishing a book detailing the history of Glenglassaugh and this will be available from the shop, where copies can be personally signed by Graham and/or myself if desired. We will shortly be publishing a high quality book covering the history of Glenglassaugh from its beginnings in 1875 up to the present day and its recent revival. The book will be in hard-back format and of extremely high quality and a landscape format which allows a complete re-print of an original specially commissioned article by celebrated Victorian whisky author, Alfred Barnard, to be included.

The retail price will be £19.99, excluding delivery, and the books should be available from the distillery after 14th April. Alternatively there will be a paperback version available at £14.99 plus delivery.

If anyone wants to pre-order one of these books then this can be done via the on-line shop.

Slange

Stuart

Visit Glenglassaugh at http://www.glenglassaugh.com/

Springbank OB WB 1919 / 51yo 46%alc.

From Richard at LFW;

You should have bought this before July 2003, it was just £10,000 then, I did warn you, but you ignored me, between then and January 2009 you could have got one for £14k. Now look what your investment would have done. I did tell you, but did you pay any attention? More fool you., now this is the last bottle remaining to be sold, hurry while stocks last!

If you buy one make sure you drink it, musty and gingery, a bit like rummaging about in yer grannies garret – Sam Browne belts?

Price excluding VAT: £42,553.19
£50,000.00 Including VAT at 17.5%

Buy yours today at www.lfw.co.uk 

Makes the Morltach 70yo Generations look like a complete deal at £10,000

April 8th Thursday 7:00 PM and April 11th Sunday 4:00 PM Single Malt Tasting.

Ladies’ Choice Tasting, Gentlemen always welcome! Let Cortney, Jeni, Rachel and Corilee regale you with their fave whiskies. Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, Bunnahabhain, Tullibardine, more! $50 per person.

Contact the Dell at  patg@dundeedell.com

5007 Underwood Avenue
Omaha, NE 68132-2235, United States
(402) 553-9501

Ralfy posts episode #122 in which he reviews Sainsbury’s Single Malt Irish Whiskey. The Irish journey continues…

Visit Ralfy at www.ralfy.com

Our friends at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America have released their ‘Early April’ edition of “OUTTURN” which features their excellent bottling list.

Visit the Society at http://www.smwsa.com/

New Single Cask releases

April 2010

Dear Customer,

This month we are offering two (2) new OLD MALT CASK releases, two (2) new PREMIER BARRELS, as well as 1 (one) OLD & RARE, and one (1) CLAN DENNY Grain.

The OLD MALT CASK Tasting Notes follow:

OMC 1824 Bunnahabhain 13 Year Old
Nose: Fresh, with stewed strawberries + cookie dough
Palate: Opens sweet and flowery + fresh pears+ vanilla tablet
Finish: Short, attractively soft + an orange tang character (J)

OMC 1822 Dailuaine 27 Year Old
Nose: Fresh and clean, opening to pear, wood shavings and grist.
Palate: With vanilla caramel, citrus and loads of barley.
Finish: Barley sugar + honey + light smoke and spice (F)

The OLD & RARE Tasting Note follows:

OAR 0095 Macallan 32 Year Old Wine Finished
Clean, still fresh, on the nose with a distinct honey (plus may be liquorice) and gristed style. The palate is full of sweet barley juice, some more evident light liquorice influence, with a hard candy/barley sugared character. The
finish is spiced – warmingly so – still sweet, and runs late to tail with a dry kindling smokiness. (F)

The PREMIER BARREL Tasting Notes follow – with our normal apologies for their extreme extravagance.

PBR 0074 Bowmore 9 Year Old
Most bodacious Bowmore! Savour this syllabus of sumptuous saltiness – its suffusion of stylish smokiness – this sea shanty of seaweed and seafaring sorcery …. Hello Sailor! (F)

Visit the extreme extravagant Douglas Laing at  http://www.douglaslaing.com/

Dew of Ben Nevis 12yo (40%, OB, +/-2009)

A famous name in the world of Scottish blends and one has to presume, this blend contains a good amount of Ben Nevis (Ben Nevis is a wee mountain)single malt. From the Ben Nevis (the distillery is located in Fort William on the west coast of Scotland) distillery website;  This whisky is so rich in malt content that many people think of it as a malt whisky. As part of his whisky Tasting evenings our Danish importer has in the past conducted ‘blind’ tastings using our “12 Years Old Deluxe” blend and having the audience compare it with some of our larger competitors more famous blends, of the same vintage. The tide of opinion favoured the Ben Nevis whisky each time this challenge was tried. This product sells particularly well in our Visitors’ Centre and also on the internet with many orders being repeats. This product gained a gold medal from Monde in 2000.

The nose is not very forth coming at first and it takes some hand warming to bring out malt and fruit with some wood notes hovering in the background. The official notes are correct; it does not nose like a blend, it’s not a huge collection of aromas but they are pleasant. After a while in the glass and the hand it opens up further and it increasingly pleasant. Warm birthday cake, toffee, mild hints of orange and bees wax. The taste is malty and sweet and really, really very nice. Wow! There’s a temptation to start drinking and abandon the tasting notes altogether. There’s a solid back bone to the sweet malt notes of wood and tobacco (but not over whelming). This all very good. The finish is warming, fragrant and long with the spicy oak notes riding the crest of the wave before being over taken by the malt and the sweetness at the very end.

Richard Joynson at Loch Fyne Whiskies is correct “Good value deluxe dramming, buy two”.

£22

Score 85 points

 
PRESS INFORMATION
 
WHISKY CONNOISSEUR DAVE BROOM VISITS THE GLENLIVET AHEAD OF SPIRIT OF SPEYSIDE FESTIVAL 2010
 
Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, recently hosted whisky writer and connoisseur Dave Broom at The Glenlivet Distillery, as he prepares for his Whisky Master Classes at the forthcoming Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, which takes place from 29th April – 3rd May 2010.
 
Broom was welcomed by The Glenlivet Master Distiller Alan Winchester and his Master Class co-host Brand Ambassador Ian Logan. Together they selected an exclusive range of whisky samples to showcase at the tasting, including award winning expressions of The Glenlivet as well as some cask strength samples which are rarely made available.
 
Alan Winchester, Master Distiller of The Glenlivet comments; “It’s a real honour to have a whisky legend of Dave’s calibre here at The Glenlivet Distillery. We have chosen a selection of elegant and mellow malt whiskies, which perfectly reflect the quality and excellence of The Glenlivet range. Both Ian and I are really looking forward to welcoming Dave back here again in a few weeks time, during what is set to be a fantastic Spirit of Speyside Festival 2010.”

 
Since 1824 the wild and remote setting of Glenlivet has been the home of the single malt which inspired a region. Crafted in the remote LivetValley, it is the only whisky with the unchallengeable right to be called The Glenlivet.
 
Dave Broom’s Whisky Master Class will take place on Friday 30th April from 09.30 -11.30 and Saturday 1st May from 14.30 – 16.30. Tickets cost £20.00 and can be booked at www.spiritofspeyside.com.
 
-Ends-
 
Note to editors:
 
The Glenlivet Distillery offers free tours on Monday to Saturday 09.30-16.00 and Sunday 12.00-16.00. There is a Coffee Shop selling refreshments and light lunches.
 
For more details at www.maltwhiskydistilleries.com and www.theglenlivet.com
 
Other events at The Glenlivet for the Festival include:
 
• The Sma’ Still which will be run again, by popular demand, by Hamish Proctor, The Glenlivet Distillery Manager on Saturday 1st May around 13.00. Taste a dram of the new spirit as it flows from the still. Free of charge
• Two walks along the Smugglers’ Trails will set off from the Distillery with support from the Crown Estate Rangers.
 
o On Friday 30th April at 14.00 the 6km “George Smith Smugglers’ Trail” will follow the River Livet (“Smooth-flowing One”) to the remains of DruminCastle, built in the 14th century by the Earl of Buchan, the notorious “Wolf of Badenoch”. The route also passes the former home of George Smith, whose knowledge of the glen and its natural whisky-making resources was unrivalled. Tickets cost £3.00
 
o On Saturday 1st May at 09.30 you can follow in the footsteps of Robbie MacPherson, Smugglers’ Trail, one of the most notorious whisky smugglers, and enjoy commentary from expert guides and a dram on the way. The walk will be led by Alan Winchester, Master Distiller for The Glenlivet and Rangers from the Crown Estate. The 11km trail from The Glenlivet Distillery passes the 16th century BlairfindyCastle, leads to the summit of Cairn Daimh [570m] and continues to the site of George Smith’s original distillery in Upper Drumin. It returns close to Josie’s Well, the natural spring which bubbles hourly 3,500 gallons of pure, ice cold water for making the whisky. Tickets cost £5.00
 
o Stout boots and waterproof jackets are recommended for both walks.
 
 
Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard – the world’s co-leader in wine and spirits. Chivas Brothers is the global leader in luxury Scotch whisky with a portfolio that includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Plymouth Gin, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport.
 
Visit our new corporate website at www.chivasbrothers.com