Arran tasting – island life

The island distillery of Arran was the inspiration for our latest TWE tasting, hosted by sales manager Louisa Young. Although it was only founded relatively recently – in 1995 – Arran is well known among whisky drinkers, and is currently planning to build a second distillery on the island. We tried five whiskies from Arran’s core range, and the extra treat of choosing our favourite from two cask samples, the winner of which will be bottled as a TWE exclusive later in the year.

The distillery

In Their Own Words – Louisa Young

‘Our founder, Harold Currie, was a bit of a character. While chairman of St Mirren Football Club, he got a phone call in the middle of the night from the new manager, who said he didn’t think he could do the job – it turns out that manager was Sir Alex Ferguson!’

‘When Arran distillery was built in 1995, there were not that many small craft distillers at the time. But now in Scotland, it seems that every single day there’s a new distillery trying to get planning permission’

‘We’ve put in planning permission for a second distillery on Arran, in the far south of the island, where we want to make a heavily peated spirit. And if we get it, it would take the number of distilleries on Arran to two!’

‘“Scotland in miniature” is how Arran is described. Down in the south of the island, it’s like the Lowland region, while up north, it’s more barren with fewer people living up there’

‘Our Cask Finishes range are very popular. We get our Sauternes casks from Suduiraut, our port casks from the Symingtons, and our Amarone casks from Allegrini’

‘Our current distillery manager is from Islay, which might explain why the peating level of our Machrie Moor went up a bit’

WE TASTED

• Arran 10 Year Old – clean and fruity, with peach, melon and orange to the fore
• Arran 14 Year Old – beautiful balance between elegant fruit and rich toffee and sponge cake
• Arran 18 Year Old – spicy Seville oranges, stem ginger, nutmeg and toffee
• Arran Port Cask Finish – clean and refreshing, with just a hint of red-berry fruit
• Arran Machrie Moor (6th Edition) – peated to 20ppm with a kick of bonfire smoke along with a zingy, citrus kick

We then moved on to two Arran cask samples. Both were tasted blind, and – in a TWE first – the voting couldn’t split them. Both whiskies received 17 votes each, so the likelihood is that both will be bottled as TWE exclusives! The first, a 1997 aged in a refill sherry cask, was exceptionally clean and fruity, with plenty of apple, lemon and red-fruit notes. The second, a 2002 matured in a first-fill sherry cask, was bigger and richer, with Christmas-cake spices and savoury notes of cardamom and coriander seed. Keep a look out for them towards the end of the year.

BEST #TWETASTING TWEET

Excellent peaty #whisky 20ppm @Arranwhisky Machrie Moor great balance sweet & peat also in cask strength #twetasting pic.twitter.com/Ob1K7a5gIP

— L E O (@leomcauliffe) June 21, 2016

WHISKY OF THE NIGHT

For me it was the 18 Year Old. The classic Arran fruitiness given extra depth with rich spiciness.

ARRAN 18 YEAR OLD, 46%

Nose: Big, rich aromas of nutmeg, toffee, stem ginger and Seville oranges, with an added note of grilled banana.

Palate: Mouthfilling texture, zingy and spicy, with orange oil and ginger, with a smooth layer of toffee that adds richness.

Finish: The rich fruit and spice linger.

Comment: Absolutely delicious – the fruit and spice are beautifully balanced.

Thanks to Louisa for being an excellent host, and we look forward to trying the whiskies from Arran’s second distillery, which will be heavily peated – very different from the typical Arran style.

You can see the full range of Arran whiskies available at The Whisky Exchange here.

HAPPY CANADA DAY, eh?

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #135

Mark Dermul, Belgian Whisky blogger, tries a new Dutch single malt. Dutch single malt? That is not something you see every day. DenHool is triple distilled from summer barley grown by a Dutch famer who has now installed his own equipment. The whisky matured on bourbon casks and PX sherry casks and is a surprising treat.

https://youtu.be/8Fh4HIqcm6Y

Malts for the Collector’s Cabinet

This week we are bringing you some of our favourite collector’s items in our range. With single malts from Talisker to Ladyburn and everywhere in between, there is something for all tastes.

Free delivery available on all orders over £75 Next day delivery available

The Macallan 30 Year Old

This 30 year old expression from the Macallan Highland distillery is described as “heady and aromatic” and as with all the Fine Oak series, it is matured in a combination of both ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks. Showcasing a lighter style of Macallan than the Sherry Oak series, with more distillery character coming through, this expression is bottled at a strength of 43% abv.

£1,850 Buy Now

Ladyburn 1974 40 Year Old The Whisky Shop Exclusive

Hailing from Scotland’s shortest-lived distillery, this 40 year old is one of the rarest malt whiskies in the world. Built on the site of William Grant & Sons’ Girvan grain distillery, Ladyburn produced malt whisky for less than 10 years from 1966 to 1975 before being demolished. One of the last remaining casks from Ladyburn, Cask 89/199 No.74 was filled in 1974 and aged in the warehouses at Girvan until its 40th birthday on 21st November 2014. This Whisky Shop Exclusive is limited to only 157 bottles.

£2,597 Buy Now

Glenfiddich Rare Collection 1992 Single Cask The Whisky Shop Exclusive

Hand-selected by The Whisky Shop and Glenfiddich Malt Master, Brian Kinsman, this expression was chosen to celebrate the founding of The Whisky Shop in 1992. The very first release from the Glenfiddich Rare Collection, this single cask is available exclusively from The Whisky Shop and is limited to only 200 bottles. Matured in a refill bourbon cask distilled on the 13th March 1992, bottled at 55.6% abv. This whisky really shows off the Glenfiddich distillery character, with lots of sweet, fruity notes with apple and pear and just a hint of oak and spice.

£1,200 Buy Now

Tobermory 42 Year Old

Only 650 bottles of this limited edition Island Single Malt have been produced by the Tobermory Distillery of Mull. Presented in a striking box with a rotating door that reveals the bottle with a backdrop of the famous Tobermory harbour painted by Angus Stewart and containing some of the first spirit to be made at the distillery when it reopened in 1972, this expression is sure to make a welcome addition to the discerning collector’s cabinet. For those who open the bottle, intense sherried whiffs of tobacco smoke, liquorice, chestnuts and cocoa powder await. The taste is rich and luxurious with dark chocolate, coffee and spicy dried black fruits, while the finish is long, dry and spicy.

£2,500 Buy Now

Talisker 1953 24 Year Old Connoisseur’s Choice

While Queen Elizabeth II was crowned this Single Malt was being distilled on the shores of Skye. This amber toned whisky was matured for 24 years and bottled in 1977 at 43% abv. The nose is reminiscent of Winter on the shores of Skye with seaweed, pepper and some saltiness. The palate has maritime pepperiness running through with salt, phenol and some suppressed chili spice notes. The finish is medium long with salt and pepper aspects being revealed.

£3,000 Buy Now

Glenfarclas 1994 The Whisky Shop Exclusive

Bottled exclusively for The Whisky Shop and limited to only 1200 bottles, this expression from the family-owned Glenfarclas distillery is our very own award-winner! Scoring an impressive 95.5 in the 2016 Jim Murray Whisky Bible, this Speyside Single Malt received the coveted Liquid Gold Award. The nose has intense layers of sultanas and dessert wine, the palate offers juicy grape, toasted oak, sauternes and marmalade, while the finish is medium with notes of cocoa and vanilla.

“…not far off God’s gift to present day sherried malt whisky” – Jim Murray

£84 Buy Now

Ardbeg Dark Cove

A deliciously dark expression from the Islay distillery, this limited edition was released to mark the end of Ardbeg Day during the 2016 Islay Festival of Music & Malt. Matured in ex-bourbon and dark sherry casks, this expression harks back to the days of illicit stills and whisky smugglers hoping to avoid the notorious Excise Men. The nose entices with dark chocolate, rich treacle toffee and distant bonfires, while the palate is smouldering with charcoal and wood polish, with raisins and dates emerging from the shadows. The finish is long and spicy with cured ham and squid ink noodles lingering.

£110 Buy Now

June auction is now LIVE!

Our latest auction is now live and will end on Tuesday 5 July.

Yet again, there’s a strong selection of Japanese and Scotch whisky. From Japan, we have many vintages of Karuizawa, some very rare Hanyu Card Series bottlings, including the Joker Monochrome, as well as Yamazaki 1990 Sherry Butt.

We also have 27 Manager’s Dram bottles; they were never released for sale but only given to members of staff – look for the missing one in your collection. For peat lovers, we have a fantastic lot: 11 bottles of Bruichladdich Octomore from 01.1 to the first 10 Year Old bottling, while fans of sherry-matured whisky can bid on four great vintages of Glenfarclas from the 1950s.

And once again there is a strong line-up of miniatures: Macallan 1975 Fine & Rare with a very rare neck label, Macallan Private Eye, a few Cadenhead’s sets and many more. Good luck with your bids!

• Ardbeg 30 Years Old
• Bunnahabhain 1968 Auld Acquaintance
• Caol Ila 1978 Samaroli
• Glendronach 1971 & 1972
• Glenfiddich 40 Years Old – Bot.2002
• Glenlivet 1946 – 40 Years Old G&M
• Johnnie Walker Directors Blend 2009, 2012 & 2013
• Karuizawa 1968 Whisky Live Taipei 2012
• Macallan 1989 Fine & Rare
• Macallan Private Eye
• Old Fitzgerald Bot.1970s

You can bid in two ways: either increase the highest bid by a fixed amount, or place your maximum bid straightaway – ideal if you can’t be online on the last day of our auction. Be the first to bid!

This week Joe Ellis reviews the Bladnoch Connoisseurs Choice 1993 Vintage.

https://youtu.be/Y_Ojw_v3tsE

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Maureen Robinson has been working in the whisky industry for nearly 40 years

Maureen Robinson is a master blender for Diageo’s whisky team, and is involved in both blended Scotch and single malts, as well as helping to choose the eagerly awaited Special Releases each year. She is also a judge at whisky competitions, and was made a Keeper of the Quaich in 2012. Here, she shares some views on her role:

‘For the first nine years at Diageo, I learned about the science of whisky, then I moved on to working with blends’

‘Seeing something you’ve created is a real thrill’

‘Just now, the thing I really like doing is the Special Releases; it’s such a thrill to find these old whiskies. The idea is to release whiskies from distilleries that are closed, but also to show some experiments from our brands that are unique’

‘Putting a blended whisky together, to me, is like doing a single malt – you have all these flavours coming through. Each of our whiskies has their own character‘

‘How does a new product come about? Normally, we get a brief that we need something new, and I’ll start to think what that could be. I’ll go through lots of samples and mix the whiskies together. Sometimes it might not be how I envisaged it, so then I start playing with different percentages and different woods’

‘As a blender, NAS [Non Age Statement] whiskies open up new horizons. People say NAS means “young whisky”, but it doesn’t – it’s a balance between young and old. I do get a bit annoyed when people dismiss them’

‘Throughout history, there’s always been pressure on whisky stocks, but the current environment now is really healthy’

‘Diageo has a vast stock of whisky; at any one time, it has eight million casks’

‘With blends, sometimes you get it right on the first attempt; sometimes it takes 15!’

NEW TO THE PARTY

Breckenridge Bourbon TPS Private Barrel – This is a first for us at TPS, a Private Barrel Bourbon from Colorado! Breckenridge has gained some solid notoriety in recent years and we couldn’t be happier for having been offered barrel samples from them. It’s full of nice caramel and baking spice notes yet it is wonderfully smooth. If you haven’t yet tried a bourbon from the rocky mountain state, this is an excellent introduction. It’s now open to try at our Spirits Library!

Stalk & Barrel Rye – Canadians take their rye whisky very seriously. This Rye from Stalk & Barrel has now won the 2014 Canadian Whisky Awards ‘Best New Whisky’ and ‘Gold Medal’. It’s aged a minimum of three years, and has all natural color and is non-chill filtered. This is a well-rounded and deliciously sip-able rye.

Mikkeller Spirits! – Yes, you read that correct. Mikkel, one of the biggest names in the beer world, has delved into the spirits game. We have the two whiskies from the Mikkeller Black Series, and each has an initial for the type of cask it was aged in; R for Rum, and O for Oloroso Sherry. There are also two vodkas, one dry hopped with Citra Hops and the other with Simcoe Hops. Rounding out the spirits is a nice botanical gin. We tried, and loved, the Series O Whisky. These are receiving great reviews and are a must for any whisky collector or Mikkel enthusiast.

Reisetbauer Single Malts – Hans Reisetbauer is one of the greatest living distillers in the world, and maybe of all time. He has won accolades for his Eau-de-vies so many times that he was asked to stop entering them into certain competitions so as to make it fair for the rest of the contestants. The barley is all from his personal estate, and the new make is aged in Austrian Chardonnay and Trockenbeerenauslese (intensely rich and dry dessert wine) casks. Simply stated, these are single malt whiskies to rival the quality level achieved by the greats of the reigning king of single malt, Scotland. That being said, expect a rollercoaster ride of new flavors and taste progression that is unlike any Scotch, American, Japanese, or Taiwanese single malt you’ve had.

Blackadder Black Snake No. 5 – This is the newest iteration in the Black Snake lineup, and is a vatted single malt finished in Pedro Ximinez (PX) sherry butts. There is both lightness of fruit and richness from the dessert sherry cask used. As always, Blackadder does not add coloring, nor does it chill filter the whisky.

Amrut Single Malts are Back! – Only the Amrut Single Malt and Fusion were available to order, and we are excited to have them back in stock. To anyone not in the know, these are stellar Single Malt Whiskies from India, and arguably the best India has to offer. To anyone in the know, get here fast because they surely won’t last too long.

Tweeddale 12yr Blended Scotch – This is the third batch of Tweeddale Blended Scotch. The blend is comprised of 18yr old sherry butt aged grain whisky, and eight different single malts between 12 and 21 years old. This is a fantastic blended malt.

 Crown Honey – Smooth Canadian Crown Royal with some sweet honey flavor. For all Crown Royal and/or honey lovers, this is a new must try.

www.ralfy.com crosses the Atlantic for Whisky Review 589 – High West Campfire & Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon