ISLAY ADVENTURES & ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

As part of our Islay celebrations, we’re releasing a charismatic new bottling, 3.245 Big personality (no pussy-cat), to go with Unfiltered Magazine’s newly published short film The Homecoming, in which the team brings our Feis Ile 2015 bottling (3.243) home – touring 8 distilleries, before hitting our Islay House garden party. Watch it here >

Plus – enjoy the benefits of being an email subscriber with the first look at our July previews and online exclusive bottlings. Bring your bottle home before they all sail over the horizon…

ISLAY ADVENTURES

Peated

3.245 Big personality (no  pussy-cat) £62.40

A deep, rich nose – tarry ropes, wetsuits, sneakers, leather, Germolene, syrup of figs, Branston pickle, seafood barbeque embers and struck match. The palate has a big personality – salty, smoky and sweet – burnt raisins, bonfire ash, treacle, sherry, anchovies and biltong.
– Refill ex-sherry butt
– 17 years old

ORDER NOW FOR DISPATCH IN EARLY JULY  Buy >

JULY PREVIEWS

Old & dignified

7.114 Ode to Grown up George £110.00

George tied the knot. Hearts broke. Red lipstick, damson jam and ripe pineapple. Controlled and classy, reclining on a Chesterfield with exotic figs and habanero jam. Mellifluous, heather honey tongued. This whisky previously inhabited an ex-bourbon hogshead.
– Second fill ex-port barrique
– 25 years old
12 bottles released for preview*

Buy >

Lightly peated

66.68 Bon Appétit £45.90

Smoky bacon crisps, pork cracklings and streaky bacon next to new pine and lavender on the nose neat, whilst in the taste a bacon butty with maple syrup. Water released minty /salty aromas and ‘La galette des rois’ on the palate.
– Refill ex-bourbon barrel
– 11 years old
20 bottles released for preview*

Buy >

Expect your next update email on Friday 3 July

Browse New Outturn >
Browse All Bottlings >

*We release a small number of bottles as a preview – it’s one of the perks of being an email subscriber! But don’t worry if you don’t get one tonight; the majority of bottles are released with the rest of the Outturn.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

HAPPY CANADA DAY, eh?

anCnoc 18 Year Old and 1975 – Modern Tradition

Knockdhu is a strangely anachronistic distillery. Founded in 1894, at the time it was a thoroughly modern facility, with a steam engine, railway sidings, and all mod cons. However, not much has changed since then, with a single pair of stills producing spirit in an old-fashioned way.

Some casks, chillin’

When I visited a few years back, the first thing I noticed was the clash between the approach at the distillery and the more modern way in which it was packaged. From the whisky’s name – anCnoc rather than the more traditional sounding Knockdhu – to its almost monochromatic packaging, it’s a thoroughly modern product, even though it is made at a distillery with little automation. It’s what you might expect from a distillery whose motto is ‘Modern Tradition’.

Their two most recent releases show off the dual nature of the distillery – the modern and the traditional.

First up, is anCnoc 18 Year Old. It starts with 16 years of maturation in ex-bourbon casks, before a two-year finish in first-fill European oak, ex-oloroso casks.

anCnoc 18 Year Old, 46%

Nose: Fresh apple – both sweet and gently sour – grainy vanilla fudge, freshly crushed malt, cooked sweetcorn and a touch of plasticine. Light fruity notes burst out of the glass when freshly poured, with darker flavours developing over time: candied lemon, pineapple, mango cream and dried tropical fruit trail mix slowly turn into flamed orange peel and raisins. Butterscotch sits behind, with spice and nuttiness growing over time, especially after adding a splash of water.

Palate: Sherbert-filled Refresher chews and lemon-zest sharpness to start, softening to toffee and spiced sponge cake. Dry cinnamon bark and ground cinnamon heat are joined by cracked black pepper and orange zest, with a background of stewed fruit.

Finish: Lemon, toffee and gentle spice. Cream and mango develop, making way for nutmeg, cinnamon and a gently dry lingering spice.

Comment: A whisky that does wonders with some time in the glass. Starting with the fruity anCnoc character that is shown mostly in the younger expressions, the two years in oloroso casks make themselves known after a few moments, with darker, richer and spicier flavours building but not overpowering.

Finishes are a relatively new thing in whisky, at least when it comes to telling people about them, and this combination of sweet and fruity spirit, with a richly sweet backbone, is to me a very modern style of dram.

Secondly is something special: anCnoc 1975, bottled at 39 years old in November 2014. It’s a vatting of three American and European oak butts, seasoned before filling with sherry. I’ve talked about sherry casks on the blog before (parts one, two and three), and while the sherry is important, the influence of the type of oak used shouldn’t be underestimated.

anCnoc 1975, 44.2%

Nose: Chocolate-covered cherries and toasted orange peel, with tobacco leaves and fruit, tropical and orchard, creeping out from behind: pineapple, apple, pear, orange and sharp mango. There’s wax polish, dry leaves and soft spice – nutmeg and hint of cardamom – as well as some vanilla, sappy touches and a bit of Jaffa Cake jelly.

Palate: Barrel char and layers of spice dominate at first, with an old spirit rancio character developing behind. Damp leaves, forests after a rainstorm and leafy ponds sit on top of more traditional anCnoc fruitiness, with apples, sour cherries and lemon slowly making their way forward. The richer notes balance things out, with sweetened espresso (maybe a macchiato), toffee and chocolate Rice Krispie cakes joined by a hint of mint.

Finish: Lingering sandalwood and incense, thickly peeled apple skin, apple boiled sweets, green leaves and damp earth. It calms to a gently earthy note, with candied sweetness and lingering hint of Polo mint.

Comment: This whisky tastes old, but with the damp and dark flavours from old oak providing a solid base. However, the anCnoc spirit will not be kept down, and fruitier notes poke their head above the parapet to provide a counterpoint and occasional flash of freshness.

This for me is an old-fashioned dram. Heavy, old-fashioned spirit, produced over a decade before the current owners took over the distillery, matured for a long time in large casks. This combines the influence of the oak with that of time, using casks that will allow the spirit to mature on its own, as well as through interaction with wood. An impressive and weighty dram, thoroughly different to the 18 Year Old, but still containing something that’s unmistakeably anCnoc.

This week Joe Ellis reviews Old Pulteney 17 Year Old.

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 Our June auction is now live and ends on Monday 6^th July 2015!

View June Auction

This is an incredible auction with over 1,250 bottles on offer. We have a few highlights for you this month, starting with this insane Macallan Lalique, at 62 years old and only 400 decanters produced this is one of the rarest and oldest Macallans ever bottled!

This month’s ultra-rare-interesting-curio is this McBrayer 1913 Bourbon , bottled in 1923. This antique bottle is a real slice of American whiskey history, most likely distilled at the lost Cedar Brook distillery, this stunning bottle pre-dates the days of Prohibition.

Our single cask highlight of the month is this Glenfiddich 1958 Private Vintage, Distilled over half a century ago this is a very old whisky from the single malt masters.

As Karuizawa releases are becoming scarcer, we have a trilogy of Samurai single casks. All three are fantastically presented depicting Samurai, distilled in 1984 and matured for 30 years before bottling! 

Please remember! There is no registration fee, our commission structure is very competitive and we offer worldwide shipping. For our terms and conditions please click here.

With close to 20 years of experience in the whisky industry, Whisky Auctioneer specialises in auctioning whisky whether it be fine, old, rare, collectable or affordable. Formed in 2013 and based in Perth, central Scotland, we aim to be the most comprehensive website for the buying and selling of whisky online.

http://www.whiskyauctioneer.com/

Happy Bidding!

Bowmore 25 Year Old Burns Malt

1990 vintage single refill bourbon barrel bottled June 2015. A delicious example of the Islay favourite bottled at natural cask strength.

Buy – $196.85

Laphroaig – a significant birthday

This year’s Islay Festival is one of anniversaries and milestones. Along with Kilchoman’s 10th birthday and Jim McEwan’s retirement there are a pair of big-number celebrations: the 200th anniversaries of the founding of both Ardbeg and Laphroaig. We’ll have more about Ardbeg tomorrow, but for now we’re going to focus on Laphroaig.

It’s no secret that I’m a big Laphroaig fan. In fact, if you’re reading this on the day that it hits the blog – Tuesday 26 May – I’m probably at the distillery and almost certainly drinking Laphroaig. While I’m partial to a dram or two of their whisky, it’s only since starting at TWE and learning the finer points of whisky drinking from my former colleague Tim that I truly learned to appreciate Laphroaig’s whisky. Tim’s well known for his obsession – and his love letter here on the blog shows the depths to which he has fallen – but he’s not an isolated case, and the distillery has a long history.

The distillery during Feis Ile 2014

Founded in 1815 by Alexander and Donald Johnston, the distillery stayed under family ownership until the 1950s. Donald took sole ownership in the 1830s, but tragedy struck in 1847 when he died after falling into a vat of boiling ale. Neighbours Lagavulin stepped in to help, which planted a seed of rivalry between the two distilleries. While Donald’s son Dugald started managing Laphroaig in 1857 when he hit 21, Lagavulin remained the sales agent for the whisky he produced. In 1907, the Johnstons decided to take back the agency and Lagavulin owner Peter Mackie took the matter to the courts. Laphroaig won, and Mackie retaliated by blocking their water supply. They ended up in court again, and Laphroaig were victorious for a second time.

Mackie was not to be beaten and built a new distillery in the grounds of Lagavulin: Malt Mill. It had copies of the Laphroaig stills and was intended to produce a spirit to rival his neigbours. It wasn’t a great success, and by 1962 all of the distilling equipment had been removed – the buildings are now the Lagavulin visitors centre. While it may not have beaten Laphroaig, it has become a mythical distillery – helped to wider fame recently by Ken Loach’s film The Angel’s Share – with various old bottlings claimed to be whisky produced there.

Bessie Williamson at Laphroaig in the 1960s

In 1954, Ian Hunter, a cousin of founder Donald Johnston’s daughter Isabella, died, leaving the distillery to his PA and secretary, Bessie Williamson. She arrived at the distillery in the early 1930s and had been day-to-day distillery manager since the beginning of the Second World War.

When Williamson took over as owner, Scotch whisky was starting to explode. She’d seen the way the tide was turning, and was one of the key figures in promoting Scotch overseas, becoming the Scotch Whisky Association’s US spokesperson in 1961. While she sold her stake in the distillery to Long John in the 1960s and 1970s, she continued as managing director until she retired in 1972, an influential 40-year career in the whisky industry behind her.

Sales and acquisitions continued from the 1970s up until the present day. Last year, as part of the Suntory acquisition of Beam Global – who bought Laphroaig from Pernod Ricard, who in turn bought it from Allied, who had bought it from Long John – Laphroaig became part of the newly created Beam Suntory, and a stablemate of rival Bowmore, based just a few miles down the road.

Throughout its modern history, the core bottle of the Laphroaig range has been the 10 Year Old. It’s a Marmite dram, medicinal and smoky in a way that’s a shock to those not used to it. While its character has changed over the years, as production has varied and tastes have changed, it’s still the flagship, showing off what the distillery has tried to do in each era. Here’s where they are currently:

LAPHROAIG 10 YEAR OLD, 40% ABV

Nose: Singed lemons, cresosote-painted fences and pink shrimp sweets. There’s wood smoke and bung-cloth, with TCP and seaspray, as well as sweetness – toffee and candied citrus peel.

Palate: Oily on the palate, with charcoal and coal stoves to start. It’s not as sweet as on the nose, with layers of smoke, brine and hints of smoked fish. The initial dryness gives way to some gently fruity notes, with waxy apples joined by candied lemon and bitter Seville orange.

Finish: Barrel char, cinnamon spice and hints of fruit. A bonfire sits on the tongue, slowly fading to sweet anise.

Comment: Not as fruity as some of the older bottles, focusing on the core Laphroaig medicinal character with wood smoke as backup. Intense, distinctive and definitely Laphroaig.

We look forward to seeing what the distillery’s 200th anniversary brings, with a 15 year old already sold out and the promise of more to come. Hopefully while you read this, I am sat on the pier at Laphroaig with a glass of something special in my hand. Don’t worry, I’ll probably fall in the sea in a moment and karma will be fulfilled.

CRAGGANMORE-GLENLIVET DISTILLERY 1999 16Y/O 46%

Nose: Raisin butter, pears and red apple skins. Some strawberry notes and very creamy.

Palate: Some meat notes, Parma ham and very herbal. Some coriander, black pepper and toasted fennel seeds.

Finish: Lingering cold meat notes with lots of juicy fruits. A real summertime whisky.

GLENGOYNE DISTILLERY (Sherry cask) 2001 14Y/O 46%

Nose: Rich, meaty sherry notes. Very intense with some treacle notes and lots of dark fruits.

Palate: Thick and chewy with lots of sherry, and hints of balsamic vinegar. Black cherries, chocolate orange and a background creaminess.

Finish: You can chew this all night. A big whisky. Toffee, blackberries, treacle and golden syrup. Proper Whisky!

GLENLIVET (MINMORE) DISTILLERY 1973 42Y/O 40.2%

Summer 2015 Small Batch a rare vintage from one of the greatest of all speyside distilleries.

Nose: Soft and juicy. Peaches, passion fruit, soft lime notes and also kiwi and watermelon.

Palate: More juicy fruits. For such a delicate whisky this feels very thick. Olive oil, hints of Sauvignon blanc and lots of syrupy fruits.

Finish: Dried citrus fruits with some soft woodiness. Creaminess grows but mingles with lots of thick tropical fruits.

GLEN KEITH-GLENLIVET DISTILLERY 1973 42Y/O 45.8%

Summer 2015 Small Batch. A very limited vintage

Nose: Herbal; honey glazed ham with mulled wine, blackberry jam and vanilla pods.

Palate: More jammy fruity notes on the taste with growing spices of cloves and cinnamon.

Finish: Dried bananas and lime pickle come through with natural yoghurt and strawberries.

www.ralfy.com visits an old friend with Whisky Review 542 – Ardbeg 10yo malt re-reviewed 2015

£25M NEW SPEYSIDE MALT WHISKY DISTILLERY OPENED BY FIRST MINISTER 

Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, has moved to secure future malt supplies with the launch of the Dalmunach Distillery. The £25m state-of-the-art operation has been opened on the site of a former silent distillery on the banks of the River Spey.

Dalmunach Distillery, named after the nearby pool in the River Spey on whose banks the new facility sits, was officially opened today by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.  The completion of the distillery in Carron sees the culmination of an investment package which has increased Chivas Brothers’ malt whisky distillation capacity by 17% as it looks to support long-term global demand for its brands.

Situated on the site of the former Imperial Distillery which was mothballed in 1998, Dalmunach has been built using the latest innovations and environmental expertise such as heat recovery technology. It is the most energy efficient distillery within Chivas Brothers’ portfolio, with a 20% efficiency improvement over traditional distilleries. Chivas Brothers recently won The Sustainability Award at The Drinks Business Green Awards with Dalmunach praised for its design efficiency.

Dalmunach is capable of producing up to 10 million litres per year, with the high quality Speyside style spirit used in bestselling blended whisky brands within Chivas Brothers’ portfolio, which includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s and Royal Salute.

Every element of the distillery design, including the unique still shapes, has been geared to producing the very highest quality Speyside malt whisky with a rich, fruity character, a vital ingredient to the highest quality blended Scotch whiskies.

Local Speyside companies were heavily involved in the Distillery’s construction and five permanent employees have been recruited.

Laurent Lacassagne, Chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers, comments: “Today is the latest culmination of our ongoing investment to satisfy the growing demand for our brands.

“Dalmunach Distillery is an excellent example of securing the future of the industry by respecting its heritage and it’s fitting that the remnants from the old Imperial Distillery have  been built into an extremely efficient distillery with an architecturally stunning design.  It is a real pleasure to see this piece of land in Carron which has had a role in whisky making all the way back to 1897 play a future role in whisky production.

“With the opening today, over the last three years we have expanded our malt whisky distillation by 17% as part of an annual capital expenditure commitment of £60m per annum.  This investment continues and we have already begun work on significantly increasing capacity at The Glenlivet.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, said: “Scotch Whisky is one of Scotland’s iconic brands and is in huge demand all over the globe due to the exceptional quality the industry produces. It is hugely important to the Scottish economy and its protected EU status means it has an unmatched international reputation.

“The Dalmunach Distillery is one of a 115 across Scotland and it is a sign of continued investment from Chivas Brothers. It’s also fitting that this facility opens in the Year of Food and Drink as we celebrate and promote the magnificence of our natural larder.

“We want to work with firms to sustain and build on the success the industry enjoys – this distillery will play its part in that and will also contribute to the continued growth of Scotland’s economy as a whole.”

The distillery architecture of Dalmunach has been inspired by the shape of a sheaf of barley reflecting the core ingredient of single malt whisky. It houses eight unique copper pot stills, with a tulip shape used for the wash stills and an onion shape used for the spirit stills, replicating those from the Imperial distillery which was situated on the site from 1897 until 2012. In a departure from tradition, the stills have been positioned in a circular design that provides a unique aesthetic for the future.

Other original features from the previous distillery have been carefully incorporated to ensure a sense of heritage remains intact. Red brick from the original mill building has been reclaimed to create a feature wall in the new entrance area, and wood from the original washbacks has been used to form an entrance ‘drum’ and adorn the gable walls of the new tun room which contains 16 new stainless steel washbacks. A new 9.5m diameter mashtun has been installed which draws spring water for production from the site’s original water sources. Dalmunach also features a unique hexagonal spirit safe housing four safes with a waterfall feature which is a first in the Scotch whisky industry.

The Dalmunach Distillery will not be open to visitors but will be visible from the nearby Speyside Way walking trail. Great care has been taken to ensure the external façade of the distillery is in-keeping with its surrounding environment and the traditional architectural style of the region, thus providing an interesting and fitting new viewpoint for passers-by.

The design and construction of the distillery was overseen from start to finish by Douglas Cruickshank, who stepped back from his role as Chivas Brothers’ Production Director two years ago to concentrate on the new build until its completion.

Douglas commented: “All the people involved are justifiably proud of their part in this very successful project. Dalmunach is a shining example of the collaboration of many functions within Chivas pooling their knowledge, experience and creativity to deliver a modern distillery that has surpassed all expectations in respect of visual impact, plant performance, energy efficiency and spirit quality.”

The completion of the project is a fitting end to Cruickshank’s career which began at the age of 15 at the Imperial Distillery, he now takes retirement having come full circle restoring distilling to the same location after a 16 year slumber.

Notes:  

Contractors employed during the construction of Dalmunach Distillery: 

Company                                                                              Responsibility

Architects                                                                              Archial, Inverness

Robertsons Construction Northern ltd, Elgin                  Main contractor

WR Simmers, Keith                                                             Structural steel

Forsyths Ltd, Rothes                                                           Copper (stills, condensers, safes)

LH Stainless Ltd, Keith                                                       Process pipe work & vessels

Briggs of Burton Plc, Burton on Trent                              Mash tun

Advanced Electrics Ltd, Keith                                           Electrical installation (ex. still house)

John McNicol & Co, Glasgow                                           Electrical installation (still house)

Buhler Ltd, London                                                             Malt handling & milling equipment

Kerr Compressors Engineers Ltd, Glasgow                  Compressed air equipment

Cochrane Ltd, Annan                                                         Steam boilers

McCormacks, Rothes                                                         Scaffolding

Blyth & Blyth, Glasgow                                                       Civil Engineers

About Chivas Brothers

Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, the world’s co-leader in wines and spirits. Chivas Brothers’ award-winning portfolio features some of the world’s most revered Scotch whisky brands including Chivas Regal, the world’s first luxury whisky and the no.1 Scotch whisky in China; Ballantine’s, Europe’s no.1 Scotch whisky; The Glenlivet, the world’s no.2 single malt whisky; and Royal Salute, the world’s only exclusively prestige Scotch whisky range. The portfolio also includes two of the world’s leading English gins – Beefeater, the world’s most awarded premium gin, and Plymouth gin – plus a selection of highly acclaimed single malt whiskies, including Aberlour, Longmorn, Scapa, Strathisla and Tormore. The range is completed by a collection of blended Scotch whiskies which includes 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport Scotch.

http://www.chivasbrothers.com/ 

The Dalmunach achieved shortlisting for the:

–          Architects’ Journal AJ120 Building of the Year – AJ120

–          Commended in Commercial Building of the Year – Scottish Design Awards