Paul

Paul McLean co – owner of MCLEANSCOTLAND talks to a guest on tour recently 

What was your first tour?  for friends from USA.  Och many years ago, they wanted a tour where they wouldnee have to drive on the wrong side of the road, I obliged!

Do you like what you do?  aye!  I get paid for enjoying myself in my own fantastic country! What better?

Who is your hero? My Dad (sadly departed). 

What keeps you going?  well many things really, it’s my job and only income, I have to make a living somehow so may as well do something I love doing. The love of the job keeps me going, showing people my country and not least; Liz keeps me going! A slave driver so she is!!! 

What is your favourite part of Scotland?  aye a hard one as its all brilliant. I would say definitely the west coast. 

Who or what is your “big thing in life”?  er, that’s a hard one to admit to. I would say two things – a person and my country! Say no more. 

You have tattoo’s that we have seen, what are they?  right arm; clan crest and Liverpool & Celtic, referring to my two football teams and my clan. Left arm, a Scottish thistle and Dalriada, and “sons of Kilkenny” for my mum. 

Yes that’s another question – what is your accent?  another hard one, half Irish, half Scottish and half Scouse, work that one out! I have lived in England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

We see you with a pipe band, what do you play?  nothing, they won’t let me near any pipes or drums! They made me the band manager because I have got them some gigs and take care of the coaches, ferries and any hotels needed.  I am not the manager any more, the band got a new Pipe Major, he does all that himself now, but I still go to all major band events when possible.

Where are your family?  Mum and Stuart are in Liverpool, Scott is in Wirral. In laws and outlaws are all over the place, mainly Ireland. My Dad is drinking whisky on a cloud with others (the angels share). He fought in WWII in Burma, he was a special forces Chindit. He survived the war only to be killed at work in Liverpool in an explosion. He was a carpenter my Dad. Dad was a McLean, Mum is a Daley. 

Ah yes, is that why you do Irish tours?  Aye, I love taking tours in Ireland, so different from Scotland, but still Celtic!

Is it true you only offer whisky tours now?  No not at all, only recently we had numerous tours for couples, wee and large groups, not dedicated to whisky, we do everything here!

But you do like a dram?  Oh yes, several to be honest, I can’t do whisky tours properly without some research can I? Scotland has over 100 distilleries, whereas Ireland has 5 or 6 you can actually get into – at the moment, watch this space!

What do you keep as sacred?  My special friends, my country, my Dad my mum and boys. And a few special bottles of whisky I have hidden away!

Paul’s guest (Finland) saw an interview with Paul a while back and wished to add on some questions.

www.mcleanscotland.com

info@mcleanscotland.com

BACK IN STOCK…
(items we’ve carried in the past that have just arrived again)

Canada – Other Spirits

• Royal Canadian Small Batch Canadian Whisky 750ml (Elsewhere $30) ( Price: Hidden )

Scotland – Single Malt Scotch

• Arran Sauternes Finish Single Malt Whisky 750ml – 5 available ($69.99)

United States – Bourbon and Rye

• Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey 750ml ($42.99)

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com/
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

The Big Whisky Interview…

Paul McLean interviews a bottle of Laphroaig Select 

Where do I start? … well hello Mr Select, it is good to meet you.  Please – tell me, where were you born?

Select: I am an Islay production, born and bred Islay, off Scotland’s west coast. My ancestors are also from Islay, I can trace them back to 1815.

Paul: Tell me a wee bit about yourself.

Select: I like to think I am special, even though a part of a big family. I have a large part of me that is Scottish, a part American; I have been left alone to contemplate for 6 months in a warm warehouse. I also have some European in me – I am sweet really with a powerful aroma.

Paul: You have that certain Islay colour about you. Have you been in the sun?

Select: No, mine is a natural colour, very complex in my taste. I do love giving pleasure to people, I am a FRIENDLY KIND!

Paul: What do you know of your ancestors?

Select: 80-90 years ago, Ian Hunter was one of the biggest influences in my life as he was one of the first distillers to travel to bourbon county in the USA. He later married this ‘new’ style with European (I have a hint of Spain in me also). I have a grand history!

Paul: How old are you?

Select: Ah, I cannot say, all I will say is that I am well matured. I am a blend of family members.

Paul: You obviously like meeting people. Where can they find you? 

Select: At the moment I am on a world tour, starting in Australia and parts of Europe, and soon to be visiting the US later this month. I will be touring the world – give me time.

Paul: Many thanks for your time Mr Select, much appreciated.

Paul wishes to thank Vicky at Laphroaig and all the team on Islay in the help of this interview. The “interview” ended with a dram, and grand it was, a dram for sharing and a dram to savour slowly looking out over the sea that surrounds Laphroaig distillery. 

Select; Bottled at 40% ABV, Laphroaig tell me that the new single malt offers the trademark ‘peat reek’, an additional layer of complexity and depth brought about by the fusion of the maturation styles and different woods. Master Distiller John Campbell said; “Select is an exciting and unique expression that brings together the best of Laphroaig’s flavour profile”. Who are we to disagree? 

http://www.mcleanscotland.com/

http://www.angelswhiskyclub.com/

Some of the best tasting whiskies fit for any budget – we have something for everyone right here at Loch Fyne Whiskies!

North British 1989 Carn Mor Black and Gold 24 year old.
Click to buy £230

Highland Park 1989 Carn Mor Black and Gold 24 year old.
Click to buy £350

Glenrothes 1989 Black and Gold Carn Mor 24 year old.
Click here to buy £290

Glen Keith Signatory 1992 21 year old.
Click here to buy £80

Arran 18 year old Old Malt Cask Selection.
Click here to buy £95

Bunnahabhain Signatory 2002 11 year old.
Click here to buy – £80

Glengoyne 10 year old 40% Alc

Tomatin Decades 

A Master’s Masterwork 

Tomatin is one of the highest ,at over a thousand feet, and larger, 5 million liters capacity, distilleries in the Scotch Highlands 

After working his way up its ranks, Douglas Campbell became its Master Distiller before assuming his emeritus role as its ambassador traveling the world promoting the brand.

2011 marked his fiftieth year at Tomatin. To celebrate, he chose some of his favorites of the best casks from each decade he served, going back as far as 1967.

From them he blended this limited edition malt. It is a whiskey born of art and emotion, a Master Distiller’s summation of his brilliant career.

A wonderful single malt of depth and intricacy, it will bring pleasure to those fortunate enough to own a bottle.

It comes in a nice presentation box and very nice as a gift. A whisky of this age and origin should cost hundreds of dollars, but we offer it for much less. 

But there are only 8 bottles of this special once in a carrer malt. 

Tomatin Decades 

Nose: A lovely sweet maltiness gives way to juicy, fruity aromas of fresh peach, apple and pear with gentile hints of  dried apricot, and raisins. Delicate flowery notes sit on top of rich pine and robust oak wood. The hint of distant smoldering fire wafts in the background. 

Palate: The taste buds are tantalized by intense flavors of tropical, rich Christmas cake, aniseed, cinnamon and creamy fudge. 

Finish: Mellow and memorable, like the man himself.  

$137 – Special Sale $119  

Len Rothenberg 

Federal Wine & Spirits
Email: info@federalwine.com
Phone: (617) 367-8605
Web: http://www.federalwine.com/

www.ralfy.com examines savoury-peatiness with Whisky Review 471 – Ledaig 10yo @ 46.3%

This week Joe Ellis compares Johnnie Walker Black Label 12yo to Chivas Regal 12 

http://youtu.be/fjQBD8OrIL8 

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Benromach – 10k or not 10k

Distilleries come in all shapes and sizes and I recently took a trip to one of Scotland’s smallest: Benromach.

Located in the town of Forres in the north of Speyside, the distillery dates to 1898. One of the victims of the distillery closures of 1983 (which saw eight distilleries including Port Ellen and St Magdalene cease production due to lack of demand), it lay dormant for 10 years before being rescued by independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail in 1993, with production recommencing five years later.

The Benromach 10k was about to start, but I was in a hurry to taste some whisky

My visit coincided with the Benromach 10k run, so the distillery grounds were busier than usual, but my group was marshalled around by retired aircraft engineer Jim.

The distillery produced just 140,000 litres of alcohol in 2013, but by employing just one extra person (with no other expansion in the production process), they plan to increase capacity by about 80%, with the aim of making 240,000 litres this year. To put their size into context, it took them eight years to produce their first million litres (this was reached on March 27 2006) – Glenfiddich take just a month to do the same.

One rare, but welcome, aspect of the distillery tour is that there is an on-site ‘museum’, where they have various pieces of equipment on display that you can take pictures of.  Although some of the equipment on display is of a different style than those used in the production process at Benromach, it’s useful to be able to see and take photographs of them.

The Benromach ‘museum’ – not all the same shape and type as the distillery use though

The distillery has an old Boby mill (rather than the Porteus example in the museum), which dates to 1913 and is by far the smallest I’ve seen. They ran it for 90 minutes a day last year, but have now doubled that in their quest to increase production.

The small size of the distillery is highlighted by the fact that the entire production from mashing to distilling takes place in a single room. This includes four washbacks, made from larch, resized from the pre-1983 examples, in which a 90 hour fermentation occurs. There are two stills – a 7,500-litre wash still and a 4,500-litre spirit still. Both have almost exactly horizontal lyne arms, producing a medium-to-robust spirit.

All spirit is filled into casks on site, at the industry-standard 63.5% abv, and matured there too. Around 60% is filled in sherry casks, with the remainder into ex-bourbon (save for a bit of experimentation and small amounts of other woods, such as port pipes) – the distillery’s weekly production equates to approximately 18 sherry butts, 35 hogsheads or 44 bourbon barrels worth of spirit. Currently there are 7,500 casks maturing on site and, with the increase in production, two new warehouses are under construction. When the angels have had their share, the casks are sent to Gordon & MacPhail’s bottling plant in Elgin, 13 miles east of the distillery.

After the tour it was back to the small (but perfectly formed) visitor’s centre for a couple of drams:

Benromach 10 Year Old 43%.

Newly repackaged with the box resembling the surface of the distillery’s stills, this is a combination of whiskies initially aged for nine years – 20% in sherry casks and 80% in bourbon casks. These whiskies are then married for a final year in sherry wood. Gordon & MacPhail wanted to produce a traditional style of Speyside whisky at Benromach, and the 10 Year Old is peated to around 11ppm as a result.

Nose: Toffee and butterscotch with hints of liquorice and green apple.

Palate: The liquorice and green apple continue from the nose, joined by a maltiness, smoke and spicy cardamom and white pepper.

Finish: Warming, with the fruit and spice slowly dissipating to leave a delightful malty smokiness.

Comment: Benromach have succeeded in their aim of going back to the classic Speyside style of the 1960s, and the whisky has a very traditional feel about it.

Benromach 2003, Origins 4, Port Pipes, 50%.

Bottled in 2013 at around 10 years of age, this was fully matured in port pipes and is peated to 8ppm – I’m a big fan of port-wood-aged whisky, but this is my first experience of a smoky example.

Nose: Red-fruit-heavy nose, with blackberry and black cherry present.

Palate: Sweet cherry, liquorice, spicy black pepper and a hint of orange zest coming through on the mid-palate.

Finish: Warming finish, with the smokiness increasing and a spicy aftertaste.

Comment: It’s rare to have a smoky, fully-matured port-wood whisky, but I don’t know why it’s not done more often – the sweetness and the peat balance each other very nicely.

A big thanks to Jim for taking me round and to Susan for organising – who knows, I may be back next year for the 10k!

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – Benromach – 10k or not 10k

www.ralfy.com skips the Polo match to present Whisky Review 470 – Teelings Single Grain Whiskey @ 46%