April 2012 Outturn Offerings

Character and contradictions 

Cask No. 27.96                     

Campbeltown, Argyll 

The nose was sweet, nutty and buttery, with heather, fig and honey, but the salt, Swarfega, hair grease, garage and harbour aromas suggested a Campbeltown fisherman going out on the town. A splash of water made it even more aromatic – sweet barley, walnuts, pepper, oven chip trays and brown sugar-glazed, clove-studded ham. The unreduced palate was big, intense, woody and sweet, with tobacco and manuka honey in hessian bags. With water, we found Madeira cake (bolo de mel), clove, ginger, pistachios in honey (baklava) and salt – a dram of distinctive character and some happy contradictions from the independent Campbeltown distillery. 

Drinking tip: A campfire dram – or after sailing 

Colour: Dark honey                                          
Cask: Refill gorda                                             
Age: 13 years                                      
Date distilled: May 1998
Alcohol: 57.2% 

$110 

Spritzy, lively and stimulating 

Cask No. 3.181                     

Islay,LochIndaal 

The central aroma was lightly citric (lemon shortbread, pineapple cake, lemon squeezed on scallops) but either side of that bright window hung heavier drapes of smoke, ferry-boat ropes, sugary espresso dregs and railway stations. To taste, it was spritzy, lively and stimulating, tickling the mouth with fruit pastilles and buttercup linctus – the after effect was drying, like chewing burnt sticks and licking ash. The reduced nose had lemon barley water, cake mix and ladies hats – perhaps a Womens’ Institute meeting? The reduced palate combined delicious sweetness and smoke with a tangy, tart, lemony bonus. The Queen visited the distillery in 1978. 

Drinking tip: To wake up or refresh the palate 

Colour: Translucent primrose                           
Cask: Refill hogshead                                       
Age: 15 years                                      
Date distilled: October 1996
Alcohol: 60.5% 

$115 

A charming evocation of summer 

Cask No. 5.33                       

Lowlands,Western Lowlands 

The nose was a fresh and charming evocation of summer – apple pie, cinnamon, rhubarb and custard, pineapple juice, lime, papaya, pear and banana. To taste, we found it a sweet and citric mix – lemon curd on digestive biscuits, sherbet lemons, grape skins, flying saucers, etc. – but along with that, some varnished pine and green beans. The reduced nose was very pleasant, with light vegetable oil, cider or perry, cranberry juice, icing sugar and a forest glade with boulders, after the rain. The reduced palate found Empire biscuits and pleasant creamy textures – exceedingly drinkable. From a distillery just west of Glasgow. 

Drinking tip: To relax – maybe after a bath 

Colour: Palest misty sunrise                             
Cask: Refill hogshead                                       
Age: 10 years                                      
Date distilled: October 2000
Alcohol: 60.4% 

$95 

A cheeky treat for afternoon tea 

Cask No. 36.54                     

Highlands, Speyside 

Summery themes develop from the start with rich blossom honey, hay, toffee, raisins and a range of sumptuous puddings – crème brulee, tarte tatin and stewed apples with a hint of cloves. Fresh tobacco with pencil shavings emerge and to taste the tannins come to the fore in a rich syrupy sweetness. With water, the tobacco and honey are joined by tea leaves, hay barns and golden syrup on hot buttered toast. To taste, the water adds fresh laundry but is shorter than you might expect. Go careful with the amount that you add. The distillery takes its name from the local Corbett. 

Drinking tip: To accompany a delicious cake at afternoon tea. Or instead of it! 

Colour: Freshly baled straw                              
Cask: Refill ex Sherry butt                               
Age: 23 years                                      
Date distilled: May 1988
Alcohol: 59.2% 

$155 

Elderflowers dangling in June 

Cask No. 77.27                     

Highlands,Northern Highlands 

The nose was sweet, fresh and appealing – warm dessert wine, peardrops, lavender-flavoured iced gems, lemon bonbons, sugar-crusted pansies and dusty barley sacks. The unreduced palate was ‘clean as a whistle!’ – like peeled twigs dipped in syrup, then lots of floral impressions and hints of menthol and bath salts in the finish. The reduced nose had attractive, syrupy sweetness; sponge-cake with lemon icing and Battenberg cake; also freshly laundered linen. The reduced palate suggested traditional lemonade and elderflowers dangling in June – fresh, sunny and bright, right to the sherbet tingle at the end. The distillery lies near the town of Beauly. 

Drinking tip: Perfect for a summer garden party – or a good introduction to single malts for the uninitiated  

Colour: Moonlight on a golden chain                
Cask: Refill hogshead                                       
Age: 11 years                                      
Date distilled: March 2000
Alcohol: 55.2% 

$100