The Peat Monster Wins Again!  
 
Our friends at Malt Advocate Magazine last month awarded The Peat Monster ‘Best Blended Whisky of the Year’, a category that included both blended Scotch whiskies (made of malt & grain whiskies) and vatted malt whiskies (that is, 100% malt whiskies) which is, of course, what The Peat Monster is.

What John Hansell, Malt Advocate publisher, said underscores our premise for carefully blending whiskies from different distilleries and different cask types:

“This whisky demonstrates the layered complexity that can be achieved by marrying whisky from different distilleries… . I particularly enjoy the rich maltiness and oily texture that provide firm bedding and flavor contrast to the classic Islay notes—tar, boat docks, brine, smoked olive, seaweed, and kiln ash. More subtle cracked peppercorn, mustard seed, and citrus fruit add complexity, leading to a long, warming finish.” 

You can find The Peat Monster at your local specialist Scotch whisky retailer or via our online shop in the UK:

http://www.compassboxwhisky.com/

Glen Elgin 16yo (58.5%, OB, 9000 Bts, +/-2008)

A bit of a rarity; an official bottling from Glen Elgin and also at a higher strength of 58.5%.  The undiluted nose is sharp at first but then shows mild citrus, honey, bees wax, hints of pine resin, some slight hints of malt and oak spice. It’s pleasant. As it spends more time in the glass it opens up further. With water the nose changes considerably and becomes meaty with hints of Bovril followed by some fruit (Lychee) but the Bovril/maltiness remains in the back ground. The undiluted taste is strong, resin-y, fruity with a solid firm back ground plus some good sweetness and then the Bovril which upsets the apple cart some what. Some honey saves the day however. The diluted taste is meaty, sweet and fruity. Very much unlike the undiluted sample. Hints of the Bovril in the back ground. It unclear if the Bovril is helping or hindering. The finish shows malt and a creaminess that is quite pleasant, long and warming at first but then some unhappy bitter notes creep into the picture.

All in all mildly confused; some good, some challenging moments.

£55 at the Whisky Exchange London http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/

Score 80 points

NEW: THE BALVENIE FORTY

Malt Master David Stewart has revealed that 2010 will see the debut of a new expression, the first 40 year-old ‘marriage’ from The Balvenie. Produced in a small batch of 150 bottles, The Balvenie Forty will be available in selected Duty Free outlets from July.

http://www.thebalvenie.com/

John MacLellan, former manager of Bunnahabhain distillery has now accepted the postion of manager at Kilchoman distillery, also on islay.

Anthony & John & Bottle

Visit Kilchoman Distillery at http://www.kilchomandistillery.com/

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America Introduces New Membership Benefits

Members gain access to the largest selection of single cask, single malt whisky in the world.

Sunrise, FL, May 17, 2010:  The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America (SMWSA) today announced its new Membership Program.  Membership in this unique whisky Society now comes with added benefits. Membership is a must for those serious about their whisky. From the novice to the most sophisticated connoisseur, it is a perfect gift for Father’s Day or any other day.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was founded in 1983.  The Society’s Tasting Panel, a group of independent whisky connoisseurs and experts, meets regularly to nose, discuss and score each whisky sample brought before them.  Rigorous and impartial, the Panel only elects to bottle whisky that meets its highest standards. Individual casks are bottled at cask strength.  Undiluted and not chill filtered, these bottles are offered exclusively to members and cannot be purchased commercially either in liquor stores or restaurants.  Since no two casks are alike and each cask yields only about 250 bottles, once the contents of a cask are consumed, the distinctive flavor and character of its whisky can never be replicated. 

The new Membership Program begins with the Society’s exquisite membership kit, which contains four carefully selected 100ml single cask, single malt Society offerings. Chosen by some of the most knowledgeable whisky experts in the world, these four whiskies are just a taste of the finest and widest range of single cask, single malt whiskies to be found anywhere and are only available to Society members.  The membership kit also contains an elegant Members’ Handbook, Society Notebook and copper lapel pin.

The membership kit is only the start of member benefits.  Members, and up to three guests, will receive a warm welcome at Members’ Rooms in Leith, Edinburgh and London as well as the opportunity to stay at the original home of the Society in one of its flats at The Vaults in Leith.  Members also receive Unfiltered, the Society’s innovative and informative magazine which contains a wealth of information and news about Scotch malt whisky, the people who make it and those who drink it.  In addition, members are invited to one-of-a-kind events throughout the United States including Members’ Tastings and The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza®.

Of course, the biggest benefit of all is that members have exclusive access to the largest selection of single cask, single malt in the world.

Alan Shayne, president of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America, Ltd. said: “Within the whisky category, single cask, single malt whisky offers the widest variety of flavor available.  The type of wood, how many times the cask has been used, where in the warehouse the cask is stored, how long the whisky is aged—all these factors and more go into making each cask a unique work of art.  Tasting single cask, single malt whisky is a constant adventure.”
 
For those experts and devotees who wish to learn more about the pleasures of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, visit www.smwsa.com.

The initial fee for membership in the Society is $229 which entitles the member to all benefits for the first year, and includes the beautiful Society membership kit with four 100ml single cask, single malt Society offerings. Annual membership dues thereafter are $60 and entitle members to all benefits of the Society including access to the special offerings of the Society’s whiskies throughout the year.

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

In the mid-‘70s, a group of friends in Edinburgh gathered to sample and savor single malt whisky, drawn straight from the cask.  The friends filtered the cask’s contents through muslin and poured the liquid into old whisky bottles.  To their delight, they discovered that single cask whisky had more character and flavor than the whisky they routinely knew.  Also, the influence of the wood was immediately and abundantly clear.  The group went on to compare and contrast more single malt whiskies.  The amazing revelation was that even casks that had been filled with the same spirit, from the same still run, revealed their own unique characteristics.  The group realized that the spirit in each cask was one of a kind and could never be repeated.  Once the contents of a cask were consumed, the unique whisky would be gone from the world forever.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was formally founded in Leith in 1983.  The Scotch Malt Whisky Society offers its members exclusively the widest selection of single cask, single malt whisky found anywhere in the world.  The Society has now grown to 13 international branches, reflecting its worldwide following. 

In 1993, Alan and Madeleine Shayne launched The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America, Ltd., which now has members in every state. Their goal was to introduce Americans to the world of single cask, single malts and raise awareness of the amazing variety and expressions available in the category of Scotch whisky. Many years ago, their family owned one of the premier distilleries in Scotland. Today, they have brought a rare opportunity to members of the SMWSA.

Help Colin Sinclair set up The Whisky Tasting Company; he’s participating in the The Shropshire Star’s Star Idea Competition 2010.

He needs your vote!

VOTE WHISKY! VOTE COLIN!

http://tinyurl.com/WhiskyTastingCo

Caol Ila 12yo 1992/2005 (50%, Douglas Laing OMC, C#1830, 388 Bts., D10/’92 B05/’05)

Another single cask bottling by Douglas Laing & Co, without chill filtration and ‘no colouring’ and from a refill hogshead. The nose reveals good peat smoke, burnt twigs, hints of Dettol and iodine. So far it’s an Islay lovers delight. There is also cocoa, wafts of a lumber yard (think of piles of saw dust and freshly cut cedar), malt dust, sweet vanilla and some hints of junipers. Nice and solid. The taste is a crescendo of peat smoke backed by the juniper and then the sweetness along with some apples, the burnt twigs an then some more peat smoke. Excellent! Some water creates whirls and eddies in the glass and changes the whisky some; smoother and sweeter but the peat smoke is still the dominate characteristic and it’s very good. A little water goes a long way and improves it quite a bit. The finish is creamy at first, peated and then wood spice along with Fry’s unsweetened cocoa and then the creaminess once again. It is big, long and warming. There is loads of peat smoke for those that want it. After nearly 10 minutes the finish is still quite evident but has now changed to elastoplast bandages. 

A cracker of a Caol Ila and shows the brilliance of a refill hogs head and peat smoke.

Score 88 points

Many thanks for the sample Rich!

… www.ralfy.com ‘whisky reviews’ now on Episode 131 Part  B which focuses on a walk through Kilchoman Distillery, Islay, under the guidance of new Manager John Maclellan.

This is an interesting insight into Islay’s smallest and most recent ‘craft’ Whisky maker.

Best Dram Club Dinner Thursday, May 27.

Martins West in Redwood City

Martins West , 831 Main Street, Redwood City is a Gastro Pub focusing on quality and sustainability, with an ever expanding Whisky Selection.  Read (on their menu) their interesting story on how they acquired all the beautiful decor from recycled structures. The decor, the stories behind it are all real nice, but the main reason I pick an establishments is for the food. The whisky selection is less important because we can always arrange to have the whiskies we want brought in. (Case for next months dinner.)  Martins West already has an excellent Whisky selection which is rapidly expanding. The food is prepared with the highest quality of ingredients and care. However, we have a dilemma we need your assistance with. We have put together a Whisk(e)y dinner featuring the West (High West) and Europe (Compass Box). What we need help with is determining if the Whisk(ey) enhances the food, or if the food brings out flavors in the Whisk(e)y.  We have a five course dinner, with each course being paired with a Western Whiskey, or a Scotch, or both as you are guided through this multinational tasting. All this at a $70 cost including tax and tip.

$65 for Best Dram Club Members. Purchase tickets in advance to reserve your spot. Seating is limited.  Check our Website for updates and to purchase tickets:

http://www.whiskiesoftheworld.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=107

Menu:

Scottish Eggs and Caramelized Haggis Tartlette
Pork Rib Rarebit with celery and pickled beet
Petite Chicken Roast with spring vegetable champ and cider jus
Shepherds Pie – slow cooked lamb shank & goat cheese whipped potatoes
Sticky toffee pudding with almond date salad and brown butter ice cream

Whiskies:

High West: Rendezvous, Bourye, Silver Whiskey, Straight Rye 
Compass Box: Asyla, Oak Cross, Peat Monster, Spice Tree
 

Note: Recent ADI Blind Tasting Competition:
Best rye: High West Rendezvous Rye
Best un-aged whiskey: High West Silver Whiskey – Western Oat (tied for first)
Best blended: High West Bourye  (Best Craft American Whiskey!)

SPECIAL 2010 ISLAY FESTIVAL SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY BOTTLINGS ANNOUNCED BY DIAGEO

Following the tradition of recent years, Diageo has announced that two limited-edition single cask bottlings of its Islay single malt Scotch whiskies will be sold to personal visitors only at this year’s Islay Festival of Malt and Music (22-29 May: http://www.theislayfestival.co.uk).

Diageo’s single-cask Festival bottlings are highly prized, and often sell out within the week of the Festival to the hundreds of aficionados who flock each year to this famous celebration of West Coast single malt whisky.
The 2010 bottlings will be from a Lagavulin™ cask filled in August 1994 and from a Caol Ila™  cask filled in August 1999. Both malts have been bottled at natural cask strength, and will be priced at £74.99. The bottles will be rationed to one per visitor.

The Lagavulin special bottling will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis at the distillery, starting on the distillery’s open day, Saturday 22 May. The Caol Ila bottling will be sold with effect from Monday 24 May which is the Caol Ila open day.

Billy Stitchell, long-standing distillery manager, whose family connections with Caol Ila distillery go back many generations, personally chose the Caol Ila special bottling. The Lagavulin bottling was chosen once again by warehouseman Iain McArthur, renowned among enthusiasts for his sell-out warehouse tastings.

This year’s single cask bottling of Caol Ila is taken from a European oak ex-sherry cask, which has provided just 558 70cl bottles of Single Malt Scotch Whisky at 61.9% ABV.

The Lagavulin has been drawn from a European oak cask hand-picked from stocks stored at the famous Port Ellen warehouse. This edition, bottled at 52.7% ABV, consists of 528 bottles.

Nick Morgan, Diageo’s Scotch Knowledge and Heritage Director, said: “We are pleased to acknowledge the efforts that whisky lovers from all over the world make to visit Islay each year.

“These two hand-picked single cask bottlings are both fantastic examples of Islay whiskies. And I would like to think of them being savoured and enjoyed by our guests once they have made their long journey home.
“Islay is a very special place and I think it’s wonderful to be able to take a very unique part of it home with you.”

During the Festival, a series of special events will be held at both Lagavulin and Caol Ila distilleries, including tastings with the distillery manager and warehouse demonstrations. There will be also be tours of the Port Ellen Maltings.

Festival website: http://www.theislayfestival.co.uk/ . See also www.malts.com .