Ralfy talks Highland, Lowland with Ralfy Review 683 – Glengoyne 18yo @ 43%vol
FIVE SAZERAC CANADIAN WHISKIES NAMED MEDAL WINNERS AT 2017 INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRIT COMPETITION
NEW ORLEANS, lA. (Sept. 7, 2017) – Judges awarded five Canadian whiskies from the Sazerac Company with high honors at the 2017 International Wine & Spirit Competition, awarding two of them Silver Outstanding medals, and another three Silver medals.
Those awarded “Silver Outstanding” medals were:
Silver Medal winners were:
The International Wine & Spirit Competition, held in the United Kingdom, is one of the most prestigious of its kind. The IWSC Annual Awards Banquet will be held at the Guildhall in London in November.
Complete results for the 2017 International Wine & Spirits Competition can be found online at www.iwsc.net
About the Sazerac Company
Sazerac is one of America’s oldest family owned, privately held distillers with operations in Louisiana, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, New Hampshire, Maryland, California, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Australia and Canada. For more information on Sazerac, please visit www.sazerac.com.
A Bold New Bottling From A “First Growth” Distillery 2002 Balvenie 14 Year “Peat Week” Single Malt ($99.99) “Balvenie’s next step on the path to single malt royalty and another sign of a distillery in full ascension.” – David Driscoll, K&L Assistant Head Buyer
Balvenie’s adherence to both age-stated malts and transparent production details, along with what is clearly a crowd-pleasing style, has put the brand into a unique position: it’s equally popular with those in-the-know and those who really don’t care about knowing. That’s definitely a great place to be in today’s market as many in the industry think the brand is well on its way to becoming the next Macallan—a first growth in the single malt Scotch pantheon of malts. With the new 2002 Balvenie 14 Year Old “Peat Week,” the Speyside distillery has strayed a bit from its smoke-free character, but to make an overtly peaty, Islay style whisky would be out of character for the brand and it’s definitely not the character of the whisky (despite the fact that Balvenie describes it as “heavily peated”). What David Stewart and the gang have produced, however, is a vintage-dated whisky, produced entirely from the one single week of peated whisky distillation at Balvenie back in 2002 (the first peated run in more than fifty years at the distillery) that perfectly expresses the ease, grace, and utter drinkability of the Balvenie house style. Aged entirely in American oak barrels, there’s no sherry influence like the brand’s Doublewood expressions, but rather lush golden grains, honey with sweet barley, peaches in syrup, and vanilla extract. Faintly, underneath all those lovely aromas, is just the tiniest hint of peat, accenting the soft and supple mouthfeel with graceful brush strokes of campfire smoke and smoldering brush. Made in limited quantities, our staff is head over heels for the new Balvenie “Peat Week” as is clear from the reviews below. We think it’s Balvenie’s next step on the path to single malt royalty and another sign of a distillery in full ascension.
For more on this exciting new release, check out our recent Spirits Journal post.
2002 Balvenie 14 Year “Peat Week” Vintage Single Malt Whisky (750ml) ($99.99)
This limited edition Balvenie is the result of one single vintages production distilled entirely in the year 2002. David Stewart and Ian Millar began experimenting with peated whisky years ago and in order to avoid tainting the standard Balvenie spirit they allocated an entire week exclusively to peated whisky production. Each year the distillery produced a tiny amount of these peated whiskies, so each bottling is by it naturally very limited. This particular bottling, the first available stateside, is not chill filtered and aged exclusively in American Oak casks.
David Driscoll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 01, 2017
What attracted me immediately to the 2002 Balvenie was the subtle and haunting nose. Aged entirely in American oak barrels, there’s no sherry to be had here. Instead you get a noseful of lush golden grains, honey with sweet barley, peaches in syrup, and vanilla extract. Faintly, underneath all those lovely aromas, is just the tiniest hint of peat. The second thing that I loved about the whisky is that it’s all finish. The mid-palate flavors are where the peat picks up (30 ppm) and remember we’re dealing with Highland peat here, not Islay peat. There’s a compositional difference between the two and the resulting flavors are profoundly different (if you remember the old Glenmorangie Finealta). There’s no brine or medicinal character here, just soft brush and faint campfire smoke in low levels, hanging onto the underbelly of the malty core. Everything about the drinking experience is understated until you get to the end, and then: whoooooosh! A wave of rich vanilla and sweet smoke comes racing through your nostrils and over the roof of your mouth, lingering for a solid five minutes after lapping up onto the shore of your lips. With the 2002 Peat Week, Balvenie has proven to me yet again that it can excite experienced drinkers while still maintaining a big tent approach. Nothing about this whisky is difficult to understand, but there’s so much to unlock for those who enjoy the analysis. We’re witnessing the ascension of a great distillery in peak form.
Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 07, 2017
This is a very good single malt. In the nose there is a medium amount of peat with some nice malt aromas. In the mouth it is soft and pure with interesting malt flavors that are balanced out with some smoke. The smoke flavors do not dominate but are integrated with the malt. The Balvenie Peat Week is easy to drink and enjoy and should please single malt fans.
Andrew Stevens | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 07, 2017
I had a few interactions yesterday in which I was attempting to describe and explain to customers about the new bottling from Balvenie and I admit I was struggling. One interaction in particular was a challenge because the customer wanted me to compare it to other whiskies. I had to try and explain that this one was simply different, delicious but different. In some ways this is clearly a Balvenie, I get the rich vanilla, grassy hay, and nutty notes on the nose, but with a savory herb and sweet peat component. The whisky is full bodied and has wonderful richness to it, but then there is this scrub brush campfire note that twines throughout it that does not taste like almost anyone else’s peated Scotch. It is neither salty, nor briny, and the smoke is gentle, but definitely present. It is a seriously intriguing bottle and although I am not sure where to categorize it, I will happily continue to drink it and think over that question.
Andrew Whiteley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 05, 2017
Gorgeous. Matured exclusively in American Oak and it shows. The vanilla and caramel on the nose is crystal clear. I often find myself thinking about precision in wine, but not whisky. The nose here is exact. There is a beautiful fresh peaty quality and homemade cookies straight from the oven. It’s an aroma to get lost in. The palate is full and rich in a way I don’t expect given the pale straw color and nose, luscious even. Finish is gently sweet and smoky. Make me a BBQ sauce that tastes like this and I’ll make you rich. A special bottling from Balvenie’s heavy peating week at the distillery.
Chantel Carroll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 02, 2017
This Scotch was everything I wanted it to be, and then some. What an amazing and rare treat. Integrated smoke, subtle vanilla, and sweet malt on the nose. The palate was rich with caramel, salinity, and toasty grains. It then finished with fresh stone fruit and honey. The characteristics were so gracious, yet blended together so well. This Scotch is a reminder of why I love this Spirit, so much!
Alex Schroeder | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 01, 2017
One of the best whiskies I have tasted in some time, this is a rare peated offering from Balvenie, where they set aside one week each year to heavily peat their barley for such bottlings. On the nose there is mentholated smoky sweetness, barley and oak. On the palate, the peat smoke is so well-integrated it is almost absorbed completely into the flavor profile, which has a sweet, savory malt base. It is so good, round and complete that I anticipate the bottle emptying very quickly, despite its hefty 49% abv level.
Ryan Woodhouse | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 01, 2017
Wow this is pretty cool. I figured I knew the Balvenie whiskies inside and out but to be honest this is my first experience of the “Peat Week” bottling. From the wealth of information on the tin this particular batch was distilled the same week I met my (to be) wife…and we’re now just about to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! I love how this bottling combines the soft, round approachability of Balvenie with a beautiful smoky note that is subtle and not overpowering. Maybe the elegant integration of the smoke is due to the different source of peat (Highland vs. Islay) or perhaps it’s just the skill and know-how of the folks at Balvenie. Either way this is a crowd pleasing malt that is sure to make lots of people happy…whether you’re looking to geek out on the incredible transparency provided by the distillery about these single batches or just looking for something to sip in the evening as summer turns to fall.
This is an excellent example of a beautifully aged, single cask Bowmore. Douglas Laing have tirelessly selected this extremely rare whisky for us to taste.
Nose: Sear air, gentle peat and soft parma violets.
Palate: Smokey and rich with vanilla and fudge.
Late 80s Bowmores are a shop favourite, and with time these will be harder to find. This week it is at this exclusive web price.
Web Exclusive Price: £255.95
With an incredible selection of whiskies and other fine spirits there is certainly something for everyone – whether you are looking to collect, invest, enjoy!
BATTLE OF THE BLENDS
The Battle of the Blends Tasting will be on Sunday Sept 17th at 3pm in the Maple Room at the Strath! Nine blended whiskies for $30. More information can be found here.
The price will also include a ticket for Dram S05, which will be available to sample in store. To find out more about Dram S05 click here. Email whisky@strathliquor.com to reserve your seat now!
Cheers,
ADAM BRADSHAW
Whisky Curator
& SMWS Ambassador
250-370-9463
whisky@strathliquor.com
New Loch Lomond Inchmoan 10 Year Old GTR exclusive Single Malt set to land at Cannes
Loch Lomond Group’s Global Travel Retail (GTR) range is expanding with the addition of a new GTR exclusive Single Malt Scotch whisky – the Loch Lomond Inchmoan 10 Year Old.
The new expression, which will only be available to duty free and travel retail shoppers, is to be launched at the 2017 TFWA World Exhibition and Conference in Cannes.
During the event, Loch Lomond Group, which owns the award-winning Loch Lomond, Glen Scotia and Littlemill Scotch whisky brands, will also be announcing details of a new ultra-premium expression which will be its oldest-ever release.
The group is attending the annual TFWA event for a second year in a row. Last year it chose the Cannes global gathering to unveil plans for its new bespoke GTR range for both its Glen Scotia and Loch Lomond Scotch whisky brands.
The Loch Lomond GTR Scotch whisky collection, which is packaged in distinctive travel-retail specific gift tubes that underline the quality and provenance of the liquid inside, was first launched at Glasgow Airport in February 2017 and quickly became its top-selling Scotch whisky brand.
Since then, the Loch Lomond GTR Scotch whisky collection has gone from strength to strength and is now available in 11 World of Whiskies throughout UK airports including branches in Edinburgh and London Heathrow.
Both the Glen Scotia and Loch Lomond GTR Scotch whisky ranges have also been rolled out to the Nordic region where a new partnership with Stockholm based distributor Five Eyes, part of the Solera Bevarage Group, will target further growth. Each of the GTR ranges continue to gain listings in Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East.
The Loch Lomond Inchmoan 10 Year Old Single Malt 1L global travel exclusive is distilled at the group’s Alexandria distillery, where it takes its name from Inchmoan Island located in Loch Lomond. Inchmoan means ‘the island of the peat’ in Scottish Gaelic as for centuries mainlanders used peat cut from it as a source of fuel.
Rich and smoky, the Loch Lomond Inchmoan 10 Year Old GTR exclusive Single Malt is born from a combination of malt whiskies from the distillery’s traditional swan neck and unique straight neck stills to create an unconventional peat character with depth and balance. It is designed to complement the existing Loch Lomond GTR collection which includes the Loch Lomond Inchmurrin Madeira Cask Finish, light and packed with fruit character and the beautifully balanced Loch Lomond 12 Year Old.
André de Almeida, managing director of Global Travel Retail at Loch Lomond Group, said: “The Loch Lomond Inchmoan 10 Year Old GTR exclusive Single Malt will be a fantastic addition to our existing GTR range and provides travellers with an even greater choice of flavours from Loch Lomond Group whiskies. What’s also exciting is that it showcases the wide range of flavour profiles that we can achieve at our Alexandria distillery thanks to our unique stills.
“We are extremely proud of the success to date of the Glen Scotia and Loch Lomond GTR Scotch whisky collections and we look forward to working with partners who are keen to offer consumers something different for them to discover, and grow their sales in the process.”
The Loch Lomond Inchmoan 10 Year Old GTR exclusive Single Malt 1L will be available from travel retail outlets early 2018 and priced at £42.
For further information, visit www.lochlomondgroup.com
Notes:
About the Group / Loch Lomond Whiskies:
@LochLomondMalts
About Glen Scotia:
@glenscotiamalts
Although it is what is inside a bottle that counts, there are times when love at first sight can strike between a drinker and a whisky.
We have to admit that the release of the first Antique Lions Of Whisky series – dubbed ‘The Birds’ – earlier this year caught our intention. A homage to the gorgeous Moon Import whisky releases of yesteryear, three of Europe’s top independent bottlers and whisky merchants have come together under the banner of Antique Lions Of Spirits to offer whisky drinkers something quite special.
The Oak Barrel is excited to announce that we’ve managed to secure two full sets of the release. One of those is currently on the shelf in our store’s temperature controlled vault and the other is being reserved for a tasting evening in mid-October.
ALOS was formed by Jens Drewitz of Germany’s Sansibar alongside Italian whisky merchants Max Righi (Silver Seal) and Diego Sandrin (Whisky Antique).
This release is a homage to the Moon Import bottlings prominent in Europe in the ‘90s and ‘00s. Often beautifully stylised, the resultant series has some of the best packaging we’ve ever seen.
The whiskies have been selected to have an ‘old world European’ style, so expect them to be soft, elegant and fruity with fantastic poise.
There are less than 300 bottles of each of the expressions in this first Antique Lions Of Whisky ‘The Birds’ and even less of complete sets.
Inside each one of the beautifully presented boxes, the trio explain the series in their own words:
“What you are holding in your hand, our dear friend, is the result of a meeting amongst friends, Jens Drewitz (Germany), Max Righi (Whisky Antique) and Diego Sandrin (Lion’s Whisky) each in love with whisky, each eager to create and produce something that people can enjoy, something that will not forfeit quality for profit, we wanted to give you an experience that you will cherish, therefore we have carefully selected these single casks and decided they were the best we could find at this time.
“We also wanted to give homage to Maestro Mr Mongiardino for the inspiration of his label design in the past Moon Import series and were fortunate enough to find the beautiful plates of these beautiful 1800s drawings.
“Hopefully ALOS will continue to release high quality and beautiful products for you, this all depends on feedback, if we are successful in pleasing you then we will continue.
“Thank you for choosing this bottle as part of your whisky journey, may you be blessed by years and years of good life and good drams.”
The series consists of six expressions – five 28-year-old 1988 vintages from highland and Speyside distilleries Mannochmore, Blair Athol, Tormore, Glen Moray and Fettercairn and a 41-year-old 1975 from an un-disclosed Speysider matured in an ex Fino-sherry cask.
We will be opening all six bottles in an intimate and very special tasting event at The Oak Barrel, which may not be repeated around the world. The night will be hosted by The Oak Barrel’s Scott Fitzsimons, a self-proclaimed lover of Diageo workhorse and other under-appreciated distilleries.
Tickets are strictly limited and we cannot do a second night, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
What We’ll Be Trying:
Antique Lions Of Whisky Glen Moray 1988 29-Year-Old
Antique Lions Of Whisky Tormore 1988 29-Year-Old
Antique Lions Of Whisky Fettercairn 1988 29-Year-Old
Antique Lions Of Whisky Mannochmore 1988 29-Year-Old
Antique Lions Of Whisky Blair Athol 1988 29-Year-Old
Antique Lions Of Whisky Speyside 1975 41-Year-Old
WHAT: Antique Lions Of Whisky – ‘The Birds’ Tasting Night WHERE: The Oak Barrel, 152 Elizabeth St, Sydney 2000 WHEN: Tuesday 17 October, 6.15pm for a 6.30pm start PRICE: Members $90 / Non-Members $100 TICKETS: [BUY MEMBERS] [BUY GUEST]
The Oak Barrel is one of Sydney’s oldest bottle stores, having remained independent since its foundation in 1956. Specialists in single malt whisky, small batch wine and craft beer, they hold regular tasting events in their CBD Cellar Room. Home of the Sydney Whisky Fair, the store was named ALIA Australian Bottle Store of the year in 2016 and Highly Recommended in the 2018 Icons Of Whisky Awards.
Diageo Special Releases 2017 – the tasting notes
Autumn is almost here and the Diageo Special Releases 2017 are rapidly approaching. It’s an exciting group of whiskies this year: along with the regular Port Ellen, Brora, Caol Ila and Lagavulin, there’s also the oldest whisky Diageo has ever released, a whisky made with experimental yeast, whisky from a closed distillery, a bicentenary bottling and the first blend to appear in the Special Releases. They’re available to pre-order now on our Diageo Special Releases 2017 page.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out our Diageo Special Releases: What are they? post to find out more. I was very privileged to be invited to a preview tasting, giving me the chance to try this year’s complete range of Special Releases and chat with Diageo master blender Maureen Robinson about the whiskies. Here’s what I found out.
The most straight down the line of the entire 2017 range: a 24-year-old whisky matured in European oak ‘bodega butts’ – casks seasoned with sherry or sherry-like fortified wine. It’s the first appearance of Blair Athol in the Special Releases and the blenders have gone for the style of whisky that the distillery is best known for: big sherry.
Nose: Sour apples, green leaves (tarragon and mint) and chocolate with a hint of sandalwood. Sultanas and raisins build along with candied peel and brown sugar. Water brings out orange zest, candy necklaces and floral hints.
Palate: Rich and rounded with toffee and caramel sauce drizzled over singed fruit cake. Light notes of sweet baked apple float over the top, along with light, spicy fruit cake. Darker and more savoury notes of damp earth and green leaves hide underneath. Water dials up the savoury notes, revealing barrel char and bitter cocoa but balancing it with sweet cream.
Finish: Treacle toffee and lardy cake leading to lemon oil and apple skins.
Comment: I said it was ‘straight down the line’ but the character isn’t quite what I expected: a combination of sweet and savoury that delves more into the herbal and darker side of sherry-cask character.
Brora 16th Release 1982 34yo, 51.9%, 5,000 bottles, £1,450
The second most feted bottling in the line-up, and increasingly the one that whisky fans get most worked up about. There’s a solid number of bottles this year, with 18 American-oak hogsheads making up the vatting, but the question remains: will we have another Brora in the Special Releases next year? I know that I ask that every year, but the chance of the answer being no is rising every time…
Nose: Damp hay, earthy notes and farmyard hints lead to gentle smoke and waxy apples. Cooked apples mix with stewed lemons and then overripen, sitting on the edge of mulchiness. The earthy notes reappear along with chocolate and hints of menthol.
Palate: Perfumed apple blossom explodes across the palate only to be rolled over by apples, chocolate and a touch of chilli spice. Damp forest rancio builds with sweet nuts, gentle smoke and Dutch liquorice.
Finish: Sweet liquorice and cocoa fade to orange and lemon, and then fragrant earth. Very long.
Comment: I’m a sucker for Brora and this didn’t disappoint. It balances waxiness and farmyards, with the smoke sitting further back than in some years.
Another regular in the line-up: the yearly unpeated Caol Ila release. This is a vatting of refill American-oak hogsheads filled across 10 different dates and is the oldest Special Release Caol Ila for a while. The 18-year-old peated Caol Ila has long been a favourite of mine, but how does the unpeated version measure up?
Nose: Pine and pastry: Christmas biscuits hanging from the tree. Herbal notes run through the middle with black pepper and a hint of sea spray. Water amplifies the maritime notes and pulls back the pine to reveal sweet apple sauce and cinnamon sugar.
Palate: Softer than expected from the nose, with chocolate-covered caramel digestives, Garibaldi biscuits and apple sauce to begin. A big grind of black pepper pops up in the middle of the palate, followed by stewed peaches and honey. Sweetness builds, backed up by a wisp of smoke, leading to a plateau of fragrant apple blossom, apples and honeysuckle. Water brings out more fruit and a piny sherbert tingle.
Finish: Intense apple with hints of bacon. Toffee and black pepper slowly fade to leave chocolate.
Comment: A surprisingly restrained Caol Ila, but with layers of complexity. The distillery never quite gets rid of all the smoke when they switch to unpeated spirit and the lick of peat at the back helps balance everything.
This was the final whisky to be revealed and is part of a tradition that has popped up over the past few years: one of the bottles in the range always seems to have been created specifically to annoy whisky geeks. The Collectivum is a blended malt whisky, vatting together spirit from all 28 of Diageo’s operating malt distilleries to create the first blend in the Special Releases. There’s been lots of speculation on the price, with assumptions of something rather big after the past couple of years of NAS Clynelish releases, but at £150 it’s surprisingly reasonable.
Nose: Chocolate cornflake cakes, red berries and waxy apples to start. Custard and cocoa sit underneath and a sprinkle of candied lemon lies on top.
Palate: Quite hot to start – it takes water well – with intense cinnamon and nutmeg spiciness. Orchard fruit comes in through the middle, surrounded by lemon and orange. Spice fades and then builds again, with liquorice and hints of smoke at the back.
Finish: Damp leaves and spice fading to chocolate milk.
Comment: A densely packed dram that needs time to reveal itself. A drop of water helps – while it’s great that the Special Releases are bottled at full strength, this one definitely needs a drop to show its full potential.
The fourth release of whisky from Convalmore, which closed in 1985. This one was matured in refill American-oak hogsheads and was all distilled on the the same day in 1984. Maureen pointed out that Convalmore fulfilled a very specific role when open, producing fruity and waxy whiskies for blending, but unfortunately during the 1980s’ downturn it was surplus to requirements and closed. Since then, its star has been rising and rumours of casks running out have been circulating.
Nose: Waxed apples and blanched almonds start, with mixed nuts jumping in with a squeeze of lemon. Zesty and floral touches sit on top with umami richness lying beneath. Water drops in orchard fruit, floral notes and a touch of acidity.
Palate: Really soft to start, with salty touches and lots of nutty notes: peanuts and creamy almond milk. Sweet candy necklaces follow with sweet-and-sour candied lemon peel. Water adds layers of creaminess and a hint of bitter barrel char.
Finish: Sweet cream and oily lemon zest. Char at the end.
Comment: The nuttiness surprised me, but works really well with the classic cream-and-apple character.
An experimental whisky from Glen Elgin, put together from a combination of European-oak bodega butts and hogsheads, and refill butts. Some of the spirit was distilled from wash fermented using pombe, a yeast more commonly used to make millet beer and first isolated in Africa – pombe is Swahili for beer. I’ve had a look around to find what flavours pombe is known to create, and opinion seems split, as it’s rarely used: more esters, fewer esters, more acidity, less acidity. I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Nose: Apple boiled sweets, toffee apples and freshly sliced apples to start – a big bowl of appley flavour. Lemon and honey roll in behind that along with foam bananas and a touch of tangerine.
Palate: Sweet and sharp at first, with candied lemons and sherbert. That steps to one side to reveal a pool of rich runny and crystallised honey surrounded by grippy apple skin. Darker woody notes appear around the edges along with a sprinkle of desiccated coconut.
Finish: More honey is joined by nutty hints: almonds, almond skin and toffee-covered hazelnuts.
Comment: I’m not sure what the pombe adds (if anything), but this had loads of fruit, with a tasty honey-and-apple core.
The most affordable bottle in the range as well as the most popular entry each year. Traditionally it’s a youthful and intense Lagavulin showing off the maritime side of the distillery’s character. However, with last year’s celebratory 8-year-old release still on the shelves, does this offer something different?
Nose: Mulchy leaves and meaty peat smoke with ash and mineral-laden smokiness building behind. Coal stoves emerge from the smoke with a layer of sweet peat on top, and a flash of mint. Water releases a burst of sea-spray and gentle oiliness.
Palate: Salted peanuts and green leaves surrounded by clouds of sweet peat smoke. Coal dust and char appear, with sharp apple, lemon and a touch of ash close behind. Water brings sweetness and an underlying layer of rich chocolate.
Finish: Citrusy smoke fades to coal dust. Liquorice and black pepper remain.
Comment: A full-on Lagavulin built around punchy smoke – sharper and more focused than the 8yo, but with an extra layer of richness and complexity hiding underneath.
The now-expected grain-whisky release in the Special Releases, this Port Dundas is quite special: it’s the oldest whisky that Diageo have ever released, beating the Glenury Royal 50yo from 2003. The distillery closed in 2009, the same year that I discovered that I really liked its whisky, and has since become a favourite of grain-whisky fans. This release is made up of nine refill American-oak hogsheads, all filled on the same day.
Nose: Classic old grain to start, with flashes of nail varnish overtaken by fresh ripe blackcurrants and a hint of Ribena sweetness. Concentrated coconut leads to a centre of dark-chocolate-covered Bounty bars, clove and freshly mown grass. Golden rum and candied lemon slowly develop, providing extra sweetness. Water adds vanilla and a hint of bittersweet black treacle.
Palate: Soft and sweet to start, with golden-sugar-dusted dark fruit cake. Berry fruit builds, both the blackcurrants from the nose and sharp redcurrants. The vanilla rolls in, with cream and egg-custard tarts backed up by a milk-heavy caffè latte. Water adds in further layers of fruit, from sweet Ribena down to dark blackberry compote.
Finish: Blueberries, toffee and egg custard start, dying away to leave Portuguese custard tarts.
Comment: A classic old grain with a combination of elegant and well-developed flavour from the long ageing, and fresh and zesty fruit that keeps it singing despite its old age.
The biggest name in the yearly line-up and the most expensive bottle in the range. Each year I’m surprised that not only does Diageo have casks left, but that they’re still tasting really good – will the Port Ellen 17th Release be the final one? This is a vatting of eight casks, refill American-oak hogsheads and butts filled on two dates.
Nose: Seashells, wax and sweet apples. Foam strawberries follow, along with incense and charcoal-grilled pears. Surprisingly fresh to start, with marzipan and earth notes slowly building. Water brings back zestiness, with lemon butting up against coal dust.
Palate: Soft smoke to start, with dry peat, coal and leather. Sugary notes appear, with stewed apples covered in sweet custard. As that starts to fade, it’s replaced by damp leaves, surrounded by more smoke and a handful of coal dust. A drop of water amplifies the smoke and adds further damp leaves to the fire.
Finish: More leaves, but spread across damp tarmac. Sweet apple appears and slowly fades to leave cocoa and a touch of minerality.
Comment: A refined and elegant Port Ellen, with the classic seaside/leather/citrus notes and enough sweetness through the middle to balance the flavours.
The final bottling (alphabetically) in the list and a celebratory one: it’s Teaninich‘s 200th birthday this year. More recently, the distillery has been in the news due to a huge expansion, doubling capacity, and for its mash filter – a device that replaces the more traditional mash tun – as it was, until recently, the only whisky distillery using one. This whisky, however, is from before all of that, back when the distillery was half the size and still used a mash tun. A look back at what Teaninich used to be like before all the more recent changes.
Nose: Rhubarb-and-custard sweets, sherbert lemons, green leaves and a lick of oak spice. Apples, pears and hints of nectarine follow, with spun sugar gently placed on top. Water adds a spritz of zest: lemony citrus and sharp apples.
Palate: A big hit of syrupy sweetness kicks things off, following by caramel and candied lemons. Herbal notes creep in along with butter toffee and Granny Smith toffee apples. Water adds in layers of caramel, a hint of cider toffee, more cream and lemon.
Finish: Lingering bakes apples die away, leaving behind lemon oil and freshly sawn oak.
Comment: The whisky that started our preview tasting and a great aperitif. Layers of fruit and spice, all of which changes with a drop of water.
All of the above are now available to preorder on our Diageo Special Releases 2017 page.
You can find all the previous Special Releases that we still have in stock here.
You can find our previous write-ups of the Special Releases here: 2008 pt1/2008 pt2, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.
We’re excited to welcome a new US whiskey disitillery to our family of SMWS bottlings. Say hello to the spicy and sweet 133.1 Speakeasy sneaky peeky. An intensely interesting cask with layers of intruiging fruity sweetness – pineapple, lemon, orange chocolate cake, coconut curry. Attractive, clean and elegant, we’re sure members will have fun exploring this whisky.
133.1
Speakeasy sneaky peeky
5 Years
Bottles are available online from 9am tomorrow and from our Members’ Rooms in Edinburgh and London. We would like as many members as possible to sample this new distillery bottling, with this in mind bottles are limited to one per member.
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
