www.ralfy.com tracks down a little unusual and singular treasure with Whisky Review 543 – Glenfarclas 15yo 103Proof @ 58.6%vol (TWE)

This week Joe Ellis reviews Old Pulteney 21 Year Old.

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We’ve come a long way in the last 200 years. So this Ardbeg Day, as well as looking back into the past, we donned our jet packs and glimpsed the future of Ardbeg. And we have to say, it looks fantastic.

15,000 of you made this one not only the best, but the biggest Ardbeg Day ever, at 135 events around the world.

Japan had a time travel tunnel, the US had Shortie Circuit racing, while in Germany five cities competed against each other with games involving drones and robotic barrel racing, amongst other things.

Here on Islay, we welcomed friends old and new for futuristic food, music, and of course, drams of Ardbeg Perpetuum. Take a look at the pictures from around the globe and share your own at facebook.com/Ardbeg and Twitter @ardbeg_com using #ArdbegDay.

So how can we possibly top Ardbeg Day 2015? You’ll just have to wait until next year to find out…

Mickey Heads

Committee Chairman

SA’S SINGLE GRAIN WHISKY LAUNCHING IN THE USA 

The multiple award-winning Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky – South Africa’s first and only premium, 100% single grain whisky – is making its United States debut this July in Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri.

Andy Watts, master distiller, has just arrived in the USA where he will introduce Bain’s to consumers and media in selected parts of Illinois and Minnesota.

Lee-Anne van Wyk, Bain’s Global Marketing Manager, says the plan is for Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky to roll out across the USA over the next couple of months.

“Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky showcases South Africa’s ability to produce a premium, specialist whisky that reflects a unique taste of place, while holding up to award-winning, world-class standards,” said Lee-Anne van Wyk,. “The whisky is elegant, lightly flavoured and a refined spirit that is overdue for the American consumer who appreciates a smooth, easy-drinking whisky and is interested in trying new products.”

Named World’s Best Grain Whisky at the 2013 World Whiskies Awards, Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky is skillfully crafted at the James Sedgwick Distillery, in the historic farming town of Wellington, South Africa.  The inimitable single-grain whisky owes its delicate aroma and distinctive flavours to the finest-quality South African grain and double maturation in carefully selected first-fill bourbon casks – first for three years before being re-vatted into a fresh set of casks for a further 18 to 30 month period. 

The exceptional interaction between spirit and wood produces an incredibly balanced whisky with vanilla, toffee and floral aromas and flavours, and a hint of spice softened by the sweet undertones of the oak casks in which the product is matured.  The result is a warm and extended mouth-feel, with an exceptionally smooth finish.

For more information about Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky in USA visit the website especially created for the launch www.bainswhisky.com

Ledaig Dusgadh 42 – still life 

The now-retired stills at Tobermory
Every so often, a truly historic bottling comes along. One recent release that deserves that accolade is Ledaig Dùsgadh 42 Year Old.

The Isle of Mull’s sole distillery was reopened under the Ledaig name in 1972 after four decades of silence. Today known as Tobermory, the distillery’s former name is reserved for the peated whisky it produces.

500 bottles of Dùsgadh (Gaelic for ‘reawakening’) have been released, comprised of some of the first spirit to run from the then-new stills. It has been aged in a variety of casks, including the final 12 years in an oloroso sherry cask.

After 42 years, the stills were retired last year and this bottling has been released to commemorate their life. Some of the copper from them has been used in the handcrafted packaging, which includes a card entitling the buyer to a bottle of 10 Year Old Déanta (‘done’ in Gaelic), a whisky to be released in 2024 using some of the final spirit from the same stills.

Let’s see what it tastes like:

Ledaig Dusgadh 42 Year Old, 46.7%

Billy’s Tasting Notes

Nose: Big, rich, elegant and old. Polished oak tables sat on old oak floors, with forest floor notes behind – damp earth, green leaves and bark. Savoury notes dominate, with an umami meatiness taking centre stage, but there’s still a touch of marzipan sweetness with burnt raisins hiding in the wings. As it sits in the glass, some comparatively lighter notes develop, with apple juice, apple sauce and warm leather car seats appearing, along with spiced pastry and red berry compote.
Palate: Sweeter and oilier than expected from the nose, with a thick mouthfeel joined by butter icing, marzipan and candied apple. Spice builds, with clove and cinnamon giving a gentle tingle, before rich raisins and sticky black liquorice take over. From there things go savoury, with wood smoke and the forest notes from the nose balanced by lingering dark chocolate.
Finish: Spice and earthiness, with riverbank loam and green grass accompanied by black pepper. As the greenness hangs around, become sharp, before sweet liquorice builds and then fades, leaving a hint of anise and menthol.
Comment: Dense, with a lot to get through. It’s a dram you can spend a very long time on, and you will be well rewarded if you do. It has layers of flavour, going from the weighty to the very weighty, with a gentle seem of smoke running through the middle. You don’t often get to try a whisky of this old-school style, and it’s always a treat when you do.

I’ve been lucky to try many historic, cult or long-aged whiskies and sometimes they don’t live up to their reputation, but this one does. For an official bottling at more than 40 years of age, it’s reasonably priced, too. A superb tribute to the faithful stills that produced the distillery’s two brands for more than four decades.

FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (June 30, 2015) – Buffalo Trace Distillery just completed two big construction projects, having finished a 5,500 square foot expansion of its Visitor Center and having completely renovated the historic Old Taylor House, the oldest structure on the Distillery’s property.

The Visitor Center

Buffalo Trace did a vertical expansion of its Visitor Center by expanding upward into the second floor where there is more room to grow as needed.

A newly constructed grand staircase made of white oak leads to the beautiful new space, which is complete with four additional tasting bar areas and a new meeting and event space. At the top of the grand staircase, guests are welcomed to the second floor by a huge mural of a landscape of the Distillery. A collection of historic article clippings and photos from the Distillery archives can also be viewed on the wall at the top of the stairs.

Future additions from the Distillery archives are already being planned for the second floor, including the construction of a vault. The vault will be built into the back wall to hold rare, old bottles and display them in a unique, interactive way for guests to view. Display cases featuring old bottles and artifacts will also be installed on the second floor, including one dedicated to the Single Oak Project.

By expanding upward, the first floor now has ample space for Gift Shop merchandise and features a new checkout counter and dedicated spirits space. Additionally, new bathrooms have been installed on both floors.

“We are thrilled to have completed this expansion,” Marketing Services Director Meredith Moody said. “The new space looks beautiful, and having this additional space will allow us to accommodate more guests in our Gift Shop to allow for our rapid growth of tour visitors.”

Old Taylor House

The Old Taylor House sits on the Distillery property today as not only the oldest structure at the Distillery, but the oldest residential building in Franklin County, Kentucky. Constructed in the late 1700s, with the second floor added in the 1800s, the house was originally built for Commodore Richard Taylor who served as superintendent of navigation on the Kentucky River and who was great-grandfather to Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr.

Since its inception, the two-story house has held many different roles, including being a residence, first aid clinic, and even a laboratory for the Distillery.

After a long life of good use, the house had begun to deteriorate, but has now been fully restored to preserve its rich history.

Evidence of that preserved history can be seen in details throughout the house down to the horsehair that was used as a bonding agent in the original construction of the walls.

The renovated house features beautiful hardwood floors and fresh paint throughout, and is lit by hanging Edison bulbs. The second floor lab displays old beakers and artifacts once used in the house.

“We’re so excited to have been able to restore such a significant piece of our history,” Moody said. “The restoration looks beautiful and we look forward to utilizing this space for many more generations.”

The Distillery intends to incorporate the restored house into some of its existing tours.

A joint grand opening for the Visitor Center and Old Taylor House will be held in early July.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich tradition dates back to 1786 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee.  Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is a National Historic Landmark as well as is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won seven distillery titles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. It was named Whisky Magazine 2010 World Icons of Whisky “Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year.” Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 200 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com

Happy 4th of July to our friends in the United States of America!

Octomore 07.1 – smoke and mirrors

If you’ve met Bruichladdich’s Jim McEwan, or even heard tales of him, then you’ll know that he’s not a man to do things by halves. His final Islay Festival tasting at the end of last month packed more than 400 people into the distillery’s warehouse, with crowd-surfing the only way to get out once it had started, and he spent the rest of the day surrounded by crowds wanting to get a photo.

Jim McEwan’s final toast. For now…

Now that his retirement is less than a month away, the last releases of his tenure as Bruichladdich’s all-round whisky guy are appearing. The whisky in the distillery’s portfolio that most captures Jim’s attitude to whisky making for me is Octomore, and the latest edition feels like a culmination of his plans.

Octomore is Bruichladdich’s super-peaty whisky. While the distillery is famed for its unpeated spirit, Islay’s reputation for smoke led to the reviving of two old names: Port Charlotte, named after a distillery in the next village to Bruichladdich, which closed in 1929; and Octomore, named after the farm that looks over Port Charlotte, and the source of the water Bruichladdich use to dilute their whiskies before bottling. While Port Charlotte whisky is peaty, Octomore ups the smokiness to ridiculous levels – as Jim told me when I spoke to him recently: ‘I decided to make Octomore to shut everyone up for ever’.

Octomore Farm (Bruichladdich is out of shot to the left…)

Octomore 07.1 is actually a step back in peatiness from the previous releases, with the barley only peated to 208ppm¹, a reduction from Octomore 06.3’s 258ppm. However, as super-fruity 06.3 showed, more peat doesn’t necessarily mean more smokiness in your whisky – how you treat the barley after it has malted can produce a wealth of different flavours. 07.1 continues the trend of the 6th edition, going for complexity and depth of flavour rather than just a slap of peat smoke.

OCTOMORE 07.1, 5 YEARS OLD, 208PPM, 59.5%

Nose: Burning straw, damp grass, freshly crushed grain, liquorice root, sour fruit chews and sweet peat smoke.

Palate: Very sweet, with barley sugar, candy sticks and butter toffee, but also hot – cinnamon, clove and a hint of red chilli. Behind the heat we find the classic Octomore core: maple-glazed ham, baked apple, lime and smoke. The smoke is softer than expected, but covers the whole gamut of flavour: burning logs, peat fires and cold iron stoves.

Finish: Ashy to start, with sweet smoked meat and apple wood lingering.

Comment: Big and smoky on the nose, but much more restrained on the palate, sweetness dominates but is balanced by well-integrated smoke and savoury meatiness.

A fitting send-off for Jim, with the whisky that he created to make a point moving beyond some of the less subtle early releases, and becoming a balanced and complex dram in its own right. Good work, Mr McEwan.

¹ ppm: phenol parts per million – a measure of how much peat smoke has infused into the barley during malting. Most malt used by Islay distilleries is in the 25-45ppm range.

Bernheim Original 7 Year Old Small Batch D&M Exclusive Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey 

The palate is clean with tropical fruit notes, pepper spice and a clean wheat and honey dominated finish. If your part of the world sees a hot traditional summer, this could be your summer jam 

$32.99
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Kilkerran Work in Progress 7 – Bourbon Cask

Kilkerran 54.1%% vol. / 70cl