This week Joe Ellis reviews Benromach Origins Batch 4 Port Pipes.
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www.ralfy.com really enjoys a ‘virtual’ visit to the Isle of Skye with Whisky Review 503 – Talisker 18yo @ 45.8%vol
Glenfarclas 1966 Fino Casks, not your average sherry cask
The folks at Glenfarclas are best known for producing whisky of a very specific style: sherry matured. They’ve done many releases with a nod to other styles, but the core of what they do is rich and heavy whisky, showing the classic sherry-matured style. However, every now and again, they find some interesting casks and release something that shows another side of the distillery’s character. The most recent of these special releases is the Glenfarclas 1966 Fino Casks.
The type of sherry usually associated with the classic sherry-cask-matured style is oloroso, a rich and dark wine, packed with dark-fruit flavours. This character usually comes through in whiskies aged in oloroso casks, but oloroso is far from being the only kind of sherry.
There’s a lot of casks in the Glenfarclas warehouse…
The three casks that were vatted to produce this release were purchased in 1966 by George S Grant, father of current distillery chairman John LS Grant, from an Edinburgh-based cask broker. They were simply classified as ‘sherry casks’, filled and then left in the warehouse to mature. Almost five decades passed before someone in the warehouse was tasting cask samples and noticed there was something different about them – they definitely weren’t oloroso casks. Research was done, and George S Grant’s extensive records pointed to a pair of sister casks, which when tasted showed the same character. The difference? The casks had previously contained fino sherry.
Fino is much lighter and typically drier than oloroso, with a zesty bite. It’s not usually matured for long, and does so without contact with the air, helping to maintain its pale colour and fresh flavour. As such, its time in a cask seasons the wood in a very different way to the heavier oloroso, giving quite a different character to whisky later matured in the cask. It’s rare to see fino casks used for whisky these days, since the Spanish export regulations changed in 1981 and forbade the use of wooden casks to transport sherry – it was these transport casks that were commonly used to mature whisky once the sherry had been emptied. The lack of detailed records before that change also means that distillers often don’t know the style of sherry that was in a cask – many fino casks have almost certainly been vatted away without anyone realising.
Fortunately someone at Glenfarclas caught these, giving us a chance to try something very different from what you might expect in a traditional, old, sherry-cask matured whisky.
Nose: Almonds, vanilla toffee and honeysuckle to start, almost like a young and sweet bourbon-cask dram. Darker flavours then start to make themselves known, with nutmeg, cinder toffee and milk chocolate. Nutty and yeasty notes develop, along with citrus oil and dry toast. Sweetness builds as it sits in the glass, with maple syrup, subtle nail varnish, toffee, sweet grape skin and white pepper.
Palate: Sharper and fresher than expected from the comparatively soft and gentle nose, with old oak, leafy ferns and barrel char balanced by peach, ripe pear, boiled sweets, citrusy honey and lemon zest. More depth of flavour comes from dark liquorice and sweet woody spice.
Finish: Old oak, sharp woody spice, nutmeg and sweet butter. It hangs around for a while, with toffee and zesty citrus notes lingering.
Comment: Further demonstration that guessing what a whisky will taste like simply from the previous occupant of a cask is hard. There is some fino-sherry character to the whisky, but it’s run through with honey, toffee and fruit, with a sweetness not often found in a dry sherry. Fortunately, the wine left lots of character in the wood, which we can now taste in the whisky.
The 1966 Fino Casks is the first in a new series from Glenfarclas, celebrating the family’s history. There will be six bottlings, one for each of the six generations that have been involved with the distillery, from founder John Grant to current brand ambassador George S Grant. They’re keeping quiet on what the rest of the series will involve, but for now, this first edition is available on The Whisky Exchange website.
November 2014 Release – Springbank 12 y/old Green & Rare Springbank 25 y/old
As we have been saying for some time now Springbank are releasing a new 12 year old expression called Springbank Green. It’s an organic barley but we hope you will find it’s the best of its kind on the market with its distinctly rich aroma of soft peat smoke being a notable difference to other Springbanks of the same age.
The second and no doubt most anticipated is the rather rare Springbank 25 year old matured in Sherry & Bourbon casks then for the last few months married in a port wine cask. Only 180 bottles in the UK
Whisky Tasting & The 2014 Chiltern Street open evening 27.11.2014 12 noon – 9pm
We will be marking the beginning of the Chiltern Street Christmas season with another open day tasting session.
We will have some of our favourites open as one would expect such as The Tasting Room London’s favourite Miltonduff 20 & Clynelish 24. We will also have a very limited supply of Springbanks January 2015 special release of 17 Year Old Sherry Cask and depending on availability Springbank Green.
Also at this tasting we hope to have some of the Macallan Malts available so we can help you discover the new range from one of the worlds most iconic distilleries.
The whole of Chiltern Street will be hosting sampler events or meet and greet sessions so you can discover the amazing variety of shops in our neighbourhood. I am sure a lot of you will have seen or read about Chiltern St being the coolest place in London as celebrity after celebrity has been photographed arriving or leaving Chiltern Fire House, The top restaurant and boutique hotel in the masterfully restored Fire Station across the road from our store.
WHISKY TASTING
At Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop & Tasting Room London
If you wish to attend one of our tasting sessions in 2015 then you can buy a tasting voucher online for yourself or as a gift.
Once your ready to book then simply call us on 0207 935 6999 to check availability and give us the vouchers unique number.
Whisky Ramblings Via Video #97
Mark Dermul, Belgian Whiskyblogger, tries a vatted – sorry, blended – malt from Compass Box: the Eleuthera – Greek for ‘freedom’. The whisky was created by John Glaser, four time winner of the Whisky Innovator of the Year Award, mind you! Mark shot the video in Paris, the City of Lights.
Paul John prize draw winner, and more competitions to come…
As mentioned on the blog previously, we’ve recently run a prize draw with our friends at Paul John: everyone who bought a bottle of Edited, Brilliance, Peated Selected Cask or the Classic Select Cask was entered into a draw to win a £500 shopping trip on The Whisky Exchange website. Our trusty random number generator was fired up and a winner chosen.
Paul John prize draw winner, Mags Brolly
We’d like to congratulate Mags Brolly of north London on winning the prize, and also on her excellent choice in festive spirits, including another bottle of Paul John whisky.
It’s not our only prize draw – we are giving away bottles of Grey Goose vodka and Rémy Martin XO Excellence Cognac, and a huge £1,000 shopping voucher giveaway in conjunction with the folks at Chivas Brothers is now up on the site. Click through those links to find out how to enter, and keep an eye on The Whisky Exchange website, as we’ve got even more up our sleeves…
www.ralfy.com examines the different experience of a 40% malt and a cask strength malt with Whisky Review 502 – Isle Of Arran 12yo cask malt @ 53.9 %vol
Kilchoman Land Rover Tour – making tracks
It’s been more than two years since we last held a Kilchoman tasting at TWE Vinopolis, which showcased the first releases of 100% Islay and Machir Bay, along with the precursor to Loch Gorm. With the first six-year-old whiskies now released by the distillery, we were delighted to see how things are progressing.
The Kilchoman team have been travelling around Europe in a Land Rover, holding tastings as they go
This autumn, founder Anthony Wills’s three sons embarked on a tasting tour of Europe in their new Land Rover, although as George pointed out, his younger brothers James and Peter got the better deal: ‘They spent four weeks visiting eight countries in September; I got two weeks around the UK in November – it’s not quite the same!’ Monday 10 November was the turn for us to host one of the legs, and for one night only, Peter joined George to take charge of proceedings.
Peter Wills from Kilchoman
The first spirit ran off the Kilchoman stills at the end of 2005, but as with many new distilleries, most of the production in the early days was sold to private customers (at around £1,000 per cask) to generate revenue until the whisky had reached the required three years to be released. As a result, the casks used for the current core range date from 2007-8. Peter took us through the three core expressions (100% Islay, Machir Bay and Loch Gorm), along with this year’s limited releases of Port Cask Matured and Original Cask Strength, to give us a real snapshot of the distillery’s current offerings.
Kilchoman 100% Islay 4th Edition, 50%, £63.95
The lightest style of Kilchoman, 100% Islay is made using barley grown and malted on-site. Peated to 20-25ppm, this is aged for around five years in ex-bourbon barrels from Buffalo Trace, of which the majority are first-fill.
Nose: Sweet, with cream, vanilla and nutmeg joined by a hint of smoke.
Palate: Sweet and creamy with lemon and lime combining with vanilla and peat smoke towards the end.
Finish: Medium in length with the peat smoke slowly building, although staying at a low intensity.
Comment: It’s been a while since I tasted this, and it’s even better than I remember. The extra 4% abv (compared to the rest of the range) helps the creaminess of the spirit to shine through – an excellent example of gently peated Islay.
Kilchoman Machir Bay 2014 Edition, 46%, £39.45
Machir Bay is aged in a combination of 90% ex-bourbon barrels and 10% ex-oloroso sherry casks for five to six years. Peated to 50ppm using barley from Port Ellen maltings.
Nose: Sweet, vanilla intermingles with lemongrass and a hint of peat.
Palate: Rich and creamy, with the initial sweet vanilla turning into dark chocolate, spicy clove and peat smoke.
Finish: Medium-long, with dark chocolate, clove and peat smoke.
Comment: This displays the best of both worlds: creamy, sweet vanilla from the bourbon barrels and dark chocolate and clove from the oloroso casks. These flavours are then beautifully integrated with the peat smoke – an exceptional whisky for the price.
Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2014 Edition, 46%, £57.95
Aged exclusively in ex-oloroso sherry casks for five years, this is peated to 50ppm. The most sought-after whisky in the range, this annual release sells out within weeks.
Nose: Sweet toffee and butterscotch combines with BBQ smoke and oranges.
Palate: Rich and creamy, yet also elegant, with orange, dark chocolate, sweet nutmeg spice and well-integrated peat smoke.
Finish: Medium in length, with sweet nutmeg and gentle peat.
Comment: I’m a big fan of sherry-matured smoky whiskies and this never fails to disappoint. It’s hard to believe it’s both only five years old and (technically speaking) so highly peated. Beautifully integrated, with all the flavour components in the right place.
Kilchoman 2011 Port Cask Matured, 55%, £69.95
One of the distillery’s ongoing experiments with different cask types (they have Madeira and Sauternes casks in the warehouses, too), this sold out almost immediately after release in September. The success means a follow-up is planned, but as no-one knew if the experiment would work, you’ll have to wait at least another three years.
Nose: Red-fruit rich (strawberry and raspberry), with a hint of peat in the background.
Palate: Warming yet surprisingly elegant for a whisky at 55% abv. The red-fruit notes from the nose are more intense, with red cherry appearing. Again, the peat smoke is very much in the background.
Finish: Medium in length with strawberry and the light peat smoke joined by milk chocolate.
Comment: If I’d tasted this blind, I would have said it was both older and lower in alcohol. For me, Kilchoman have bottled this at the right time – matured for much longer, the wood influence would have started to become overpowering. A stunning (and rare) example of port-matured peated whisky.
Kilchoman Machir Bay Land Rover Tour 2014, 58.8%
A special bottling limited to just 30 bottles to be sold at each of the 13 legs of the UK tour, this is a cask-strength edition of Machir Bay (peated to 50ppm and aged in ex-bourbon barrels (90%) and ex-oloroso sherry casks (10%)). Please note this bottling is only available through our London shop and will not be sold on our website. At the time of writing, it has a few bottles left – please call 020 7403 8688 to check availability.
Nose: Ripe plums, with more stewed fruit appearing with time. Vanilla and clove are joined by a hint of peat smoke.
Palate: Big and bold, with notes of plum, black cherry, dark chocolate, clove and peat smoke.
Finish: Medium-long and slightly drying, with spicy clove and peat smoke.
Comment: It is easy to see the family resemblence to the standard 46% version. The flavour profile is similar, but with everything turned up a notch in intensity, although, as seems to be the distillery’s trademark, it is so well integrated that the peat smoke isn’t overwhelming.
Kilchoman Original Cask Strength 5 Year Old, 59.2%, £68.95
Released last month, this cask-strength bottling was aged in a total of 35 ex-bourbon barrels for five years, of which most were first-fill. Peated to 50ppm, this should be the most powerful whisky of the evening.
Nose: Creamy with vanilla joined by tropical fruit notes of pineapple and mango with the peat smoke, once again, in the background.
Palate: Warming, with a creamy texture and notes of sweet vanilla, honeydew melon, backed up by peat smoke and an intense maltiness.
Finish: Long, with the peat slowly building.
Comment: A great whisky for the forthcoming colder nights, this is warming, and while the peat is more pronounced than the five previous whiskies, at no stage is it overpowering.
This tasting was further evidence that Kilchoman has great potential for the coming years, and I can’t wait for the first 10-year-old (or older) release, when we can compare them with similar-aged releases from their neighbours. A staple of our Islay whisky offering, it’s easy to forget the oldest Kilchoman releases are just six years old. Onwards with the tour…
Port Charlotte Islay Barley
Distilled at Bruichladdich using 100% Islay-grown barley harvested in 2008. Matured by the shores of Loch Indaal this is a Scotch of flawless provenance.
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