Whisky Online Blog

Just a quick post today as I’m off on holiday tomorrow for a week and a bit and there is still some packing of stuff to be done. Today I thought I would choose a piece of music to suit a whisky I tried very recently in the great Bon Accord pub in Glasgow. It was over a week ago and I’ve been racking my brains since trying to think of something to pair it with. The whisky in question was this little joybeast:

This GG fizzes with flavour like a sherbet jacuzzi (whatever one of those might be).

I had seen this Glen Grant kicking about in a number of places in recent years and always been curious about it, its 75cls so presumably was bottled in the early nineties and distilled sometime in the early sixties. Already this is alluring enough but it didn’t prepare me for what I found in the glass. Given it blind I might have said Glen Grant/Mortlach/Strathisla/Macallan but more importantly I would have sworn it was some kind of pre-war distillate. I’ve never smelt anything with that combination of peat, fruit, menthol and rancio that was distilled after 1947. It had something devastatingly old-school about it. One of these whiskies you feel guilty for not drinking while in a gentleman’s cigar club, sporting a monocle and discussing the problematic upkeep of the serving staff at your manor in dorset. For a while I considered trying to be really clever and find some sort of obscure, juxtapositional indie band to pair it with, I listened to things like Mumford & Sons and fleet Foxes, then I thought maybe Radiohead or The Bees. I realised it was time to re-evaluate this angle when I was staring blankly at various online videos of Lady GaGa trying to fabricate some tenuous link between a beautiful, thrillingly retro malt whisky and a be-frocked, all prancing, all singing diva that looks like the accidental product of a meldown at the handbag factory. She’s like the Joker realised by Gucci. Anyway I decided to just go with what felt right not what seemed clever and in five minutes I came up with this.

Ragtime is a very difficult style to play, at least it is on the guitar, I couldn’t speak for the piano but I imagine it is a great deal more difficult than the utterly brilliant Winifred Atwell makes it look here. Just listening to this brings back some olfactory memories of these kind of old school whiskies. You can imagine the world in black and white with Winifred at the piano, a smoky club and a few empty bottles of Haig littering the bar. Ragtime has such an unmistakable, familiar sound to it, it manages to be somewhat timeless yet of such a distinct era in history. Who among us has not grown up with The Entertainer engraved on our subconscious from an indeterminate early age? You could probably pair these kinds of whisky well with Jazz just as easily, it makes sense, the musical freedom of Jazz, its unpredictability, its luxurious expressive qualities, they compliment the complexity in great whiskies, bringing to life their more surprising and quirky personality angles. But for me there is something in the melodic, off-beat structure of Ragtime that is more appealing, I suppose its my love of song craft. Ragtime is exactly what it says, ragged time, it can be malleable, played with and improvised within but there is still a skin, a beautiful, melody draped framework to hang these variations around. It is these compositional qualities inherent in ragtime, the basic foundations that hold everything in place, that makes it so good with whisky, the structure and balance of a great dram, its length and progression, the journey from aroma to finish and all the nuances in between. Sadly there aren’t many players of Winifred’s class, but then there aren’t that many whiskies in the same league as these old style drams, I’ve probably said this before but its worth repeating, life would be very dull if there were. Please check out more of Winifred’s music and go out of your way to try this glorious Glen Grant.

Lets have a break from all that Scottish tom-jiggery today. We’ll take an olfactory trip to India via the rocky mountains of Colorado. Obviously by India I’m referring to Amrut, the Indian single malt that has transformed in the last year from quirky curiosity to bona fide, Scotch ass-kicking, gorgeous whisky. However some of you may not be too familiar with Stranahan’s, its a single malt whiskey made in the rockies of Colorado USA and its fascinating stuff so lets taste this first. I’m indebted to Ralfy for his donation of a (very generous sized) sample of this whiskey.

One of the latest addition to the ever growing club of artisan, micro-distillers.

A word on its origins and makeup first. Stranhan’s is an American whiskey distilled from 100% malted, air dried, barley. Its production process is an unusual mish-mash of techniques. The barley is milled and mashed in an identical fashion to Scotch, however the wort is then boiled in a separate ‘kettle’ before being filtered, then cooled. This is a practice much more common to beer production, the boiling of the wort usually allows for hop infusion and concentration of starch sources. After fermentation the wash is filtered a second time, I haven’t yet found out about the fermentation length or yeast strains used but if anyone could enlighten me I would be both curious and grateful. All this attention at the beer stage is great news in my book, its long been understood by the French distillers in Almagnac and Cognac that in order to make great brandy you need to make a good wine. It seems that all too often in modern whisky production there is little attention paid to producing a good wash. Its not going to be a finished product, it doesn’t have to taste amazing but the amount of care and effort put into crafting the right type of wash seems to pay off in the final product. The wash is then distilled twice through a combination pot/column still and the resulting new make is filled into heavily charred (char level 4) fresh American white oak barrels. So all in all a combination of bourbon and Scotch techniques. Lets try it.

Stranahan’s Straight Rocky Mountain Whiskey. Batch 35. Distilled 2006. 47%. Distilled by ‘Jake’.

Colour: Flat Irn Bru

Nose: As expected at first there is a big whack of fresh American oak. It bears the same aromatic hallmarks as some lighter bourbons, lots of liquorice, cloves, big woody spiciness, syrupy vanilla. But this is really a lot lighter and more deft that many bourbons. The most amazing thing is the fruit character that starts to come through really quickly, green fruits, bananas and tinned fruits in syrup. It displays a really unusual, appealing kind of sweetness, almost like that of a good dessert wine, aromas of apricots, sultanas, dried apple rings, cinnamon. Its a really compelling nose, the wood is kept in perfect check with all these fruity quirks.

Palate: More fruit syrup and again some more really controlled oak sweetness, it leaves in all that custardy, vanilla cream sweetness but its not cloying like so many bourbons often are. More really pronounced flavours of apricots, tinned peaches in syrup and orange marmalade. The spiciness of the wood is ever present but its really deft and controlled, it never interferes with the fruit.

Finish: Long, orangey and delicious. There is an oily fruity mouthfeel to this whisky that leaves a lovely residue behind.

Comments: Now as much as I hate to agree with the likes of Jimbo and his Satanic Whisky Verses (aka: ‘he must not be named’) I really like this stuff, I imagine you could make an absolute belter of an Old Fashioned out of it. The real surprise though is the age, its only two years old. Its a great example of good fresh American oak being used to make a unique and, in my humble view, very nicely balanced Whiskey. I’d be really intrigued to find out more about the production process, all that fruit character was really a great surprise, I’d love to know how they got it. Hats off to the guys in colorado who make this stuff, long may they continue.

Score: 89/100

One of Amrut's latest releases, getting better all the time.

Like many people I probably regarded Amrut as little more than a quirky novelty until very recently. This all changed however with some of the fantastic releases they have been coming out with, particularly the ‘Fusion‘ bottling which revealed an immense new fruity aspect to the distillery character and suddenly the Amrut bandwagon became very crowded indeed. A lot of it is apparently down to the very intense maturation the whisky undergoes in its tropical microclimate. This accelerates the aging process and means they sacrifice considerably more to the angels than their Scottish counterparts do. It also seems to be responsible for creating whiskies that, at the ages of 6-8 years, are now starting to taste seriously delicious. I was fortunate enough to snaffle these two samples away from whisky fringe, first up its the relatively new ‘Double Cask’ edition.

Amrut Double Cask. Cask no’s: 2874 & 2273. Casks filled: 27/02/2003 & 25/07/2002. Bottled 27/02/2010. 70cl. 46%. 306 bottles.

Colour: Amber

Nose: Immediately full of chewy malt and green fruits, lovely. There is also some vanilla interlaced with some really appealing floral, meadow notes. Green apples, plums, fresh pears, even a little lychee, a fruit salad really. On the strength of the nose alone so far this would knock most standard Speysiders into a cocked caravan. The nose is really attractive and constantly developing. Now some orange blossom and marmalade aromas with even something slightly coastal and fresh about it

Palate: Honey and lemon at first with some lovely oak and spice qualities underneath, then lots more fruit again, very balanced and consistent with the nose. Some clean cereal flavours and a little olive oil with guavas and some more tropical leaning flavours. Notes of sweet muscat wines and creme brulee then a fading spiciness.

Finish: Long, great length to this one. Very spicy and fruity in equal measure but the fruit endures longest.

Comments: A perilously delicious dram, you could easily drink far too much of this stuff. If Amrut keeps putting out stuff like this then they’re going to be serious world class contenders.

Score: 90/100

Amrut Peated cask strength 62.8%. Strap yourselves in!

Next up its the current peated cask strength release.

Amrut Peated. 2010 release. 62.8%. 70cl.

Colour: Amber (again)

Nose: Wow! Even at full strength this is not aggressive. Its full on oily, concentrated peat, very clean and yet almost mechanical, it reminds me of the smell when you cut metal with an angle grinder. Lots of saline notes as well, a silky coastal aroma with hints of lemon juice and wet pebble notes. More metallic notes, its uber sharp and clean this one, given it blind I wouldn’t even think twice before saying Islay, although I’d be stumped for a specific distillery because it combines facets from several of them. Bright white pepper notes with germoline and tcp in the background, lots of gentian root as well. This is really benefitting from time in the glass, after a while there are even some fruit elements arising, it becomes a little tropical with some yeasty fresh bread aromas underneath. Paraffin wax, capers, salt and vinegar, creosote, this is good! With water: not too much change, a little softening of the peaty edge and some white flowery notes but still a pretty intense, sharp profile.

Palate: Imagine sucking on a rag of hessian that had been washed up on the shore after a big storm (dear lord). There is still something really metallic about this but it really works, the peat is so sharp and crystal clear, its almost like a razor. There is no smoke at all, its delicately sweet in parts but otherwise it struts this kind of dry/sweet neutral blance. Some white flowery characters and a little stone fruit after time on the palate and some really pure minerality as well. Its almost acrid in its notes of gun flints but it really works, some might consider these off notes but for me it brilliant and unique. With water: An oil fest, this is starting to remind me of an old seventies Ardbeg bottled at a young age (8-10 years)

Finish: Endless, with bags of oily, pristine peat. So pure and clean and fresh.

Comments: This is brilliant whisky, a really pure, sharp perspective on peat flavour in whisky and an absolutely delicious spirit in its own right. I love it. Like with the Double Cask before it, there are few Islay malts today that could stand up to this. Especially when you consider that this bottling retails for around £42. Imagine this after forty years bottles aging behind it…

Score: 92/100

If Whisky Magazine did an award for most audacious shit stirrer then Bruichladdich might well win. Hell I’m even giving them publicity as I write these words, their heavily peated spell has evidently worked on me too, I feel like I’ve been ACE’d in marketing. I used to get a lot more hot under the collar about Bruichladdich and their ‘ways’ but now I’m older and drunker so I don’t care about these things so much anymore. People get wound up by all this controversy, but if we take a long hard look at these things, doesn’t it just make life a little more fun. We love having something to rant about, how often have these staves in the side brought people together over a dram, given additional support to conversations that are in serious danger of straying out of whisky territory and into topics that might, god forbid, invite real people to contribute something.

Jim McEwan prepares his masterpiece; the 8yo, organic barley, hex-distillled, irn bru finished, 'Lush Edition'.

Now having said all that the whiskies I’m tasting today are not among the hardcore ‘controversy’ range. Port Charlotte and Octomore have both cased a stir but nothing quite like the relentless programme of wine cask finishes (additional cask devolution) or the infamous X4. You may remember this as the spirit that was used to power a toy racing car by James May and Oz Clark on the occasion that the pair of half witted dunder-pillocks visited the distillery for their utterly pointless, borderline offensive, booze programme. A show in which two middle aged, semi alcoholics, stagger round britain with a caravan in tow, ask insulting and stupid questions of the various interesting people they meet and usually end up pissed in a ditch, inevitably breaking their caravan in an hilarious and completely unscripted way. Who says British television in dumbing down. Anyway, I digress. As I was saying, the peated side of things at Bruichladdich are fairly safe by comparison to their more outlandish liquid fandangos. The only thing I would say against them is, as usual, their prices are a big pile of horse manure, charging over eighty pounds for a 5yo whisky is… well just plain wrong. But hey, I’m not in charge of these things, I’m just Bloggy MacBloggerson from Bloggsvile and I don’t know squat diddly blog.

The new 'non vintage' Port Charlotte.

This is the new Port Charlotte, now a ‘multi vintage’, presumably meaning they’re trying to stretch it out by bunging lots of younger stuff in the mix. After a successful run of PC’s 5 through 8 this should be the spirit coming properly of age. I must say, I adore Port Charlotte, its not true of all the bottlings but a surprising number of them have been quite stunning. They seem to combine very old school Islay freshness with remarkable maturity for their age. Some of the wee Bloodtub bottlings that have been done by private cask owners have been utterly beautiful, if you don’t believe me ask Gordon Homer, who does the fantastic Spirit Of Islay site, to give you a taste of his. Anyway needless to say I’m excited to taste this newbie.

Port Charlotte ‘An Turas Mor’. OB. 46%. 70cl. 100% American oak maturation (so it says).

Colour: Light Honey

Nose: Big straight peat over lots of oiliness, engine oil, old boilers and a little waxy. It immediately has that quality I love in a peated whisky, a perfect balance of coastal, industrial and farmy characters. There are some lovely lemony, sharp, mineral seashore aromas with the industrial oiliness and something like old stables and barns. A real mix of qualities so far. There are some quite soft green fruit characters and a lick of sweet vanilla from the bourbon, everything in its place though, nothing dominates too much. Given time the nose starts to reveal more complexities, walnut oil, furniture polish, a little mint leaf and even some coconut. Its amazing how Port Charlotte can have such a definite peat quality but little in the way of medicinal character, very unusual for something peated as high as 40ppm.

Palate: Dusty straw, damp sackcloth, old oily rags and lots of young, green, gristy peat. A little more soft sweetness on the palate with vanilla cream and custard flavours being quite prominent. Not so much happening on the palate yet… I might add water though I don’t normally for 46% drams. Not too much development with water, its softer but there still isn’t much fruit. Its very tightly composed and flavoursome but it doesn’t deliver the kind of complexity the nose was suggesting. Still very tasty and drinkable though, I can imagine this disappearing down the necks of a few poker players over the course of an evening.

Finish: Medium to long length with more young, grassy, turfy peat flavours and some citrus and lanolin elements as well.

Comments: I like it but not quite as much as some of the other stellar bottlings, the nose was very enchanting but the palate let it down a little in my book. This is still very good though and at around £35 this is an excellent access category Port Charlotte. I suspect this will be a really popular bottling given time.

Score: 85/100

Now peated to 1 Google Plex ppm.

Ok so the Octomore is maybe a little bit more difficult to come to terms with than the PC. The idea of doing the world’s most heavily peated spirit is fine, why not it sounds like fun. The complaint often heard is that they’ve taken things a little to seriously at Bruichladdich and unfortunately the prices for these official Octomores tend to reflect this. I’ll not argue with that sentiment, however I would pause for thought over the also often heard criticism that the spirit’s quality is poor. I thought the official releases so far have been very interesting, and in the case of the 2.1 release, downright delicious. The problem is all this hooha about peating levels has distracted us from just taking the whisky on taste value. There is a lot of chatter about Octomore, and even more since Supernova came on the scene, about peat levels, which is higher, how accurate are they? Well in all probability the accuracy is a little dubious. There are two main systems used for measuring peat levels in whisky, colometric analyses and HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) both of which, in a very loose definition, are based on measuring the amount of light absorbed by the various phenol compounds. However they can both give highly different results, I’ve seen various peating levels banded around for Octomore over the past years, one as high as 300ppm, I suspect they promote whichever result comes out higher, with this latest release its 152 ppm (apparently). This is all relative however as, at the end of the day, it is the way this heavily peated malt is processed at the distillery that will make the most difference. The way the initial peat flavour is moulded and sculpted by the vast and variable potential of milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling and maturing. It is also highly unlikely they acheive such high phenolic levels by burning just peat, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was sulphur being burned as well as peat in order to cram a few more compounds into those husks. From a personal perspective I don’t care too much what the actual ppm is, the proof is in the peat or the peat is in the pudding? Whatever it is they say…

Octomore 3/152. 5yo. OB. 59%. 70cl.

Colour: Straw

Nose: Big slavering buckets of molten peat. Its really dense, oily, smoky and peaty, the peat really is intense, pure and quite chiseled. Lets give it some time… Half an hour later and its really opened up very nicely. Now its reeking of seashore character, really salty, tangy and coastal, lots of wet pebbles on a beach and fresh oysters with lemon juice. Underneath that there are some vegetal components to it, mashed potatoes and steamed veg, then some sooty, coal aromas follow. It virtually defines clean, pristine young whisky, its beautifully balanced. If there are any impurities still in this young spirit then the immense peat is doing a very good job of masking them.

Palate: Good delivery, oily and surprisingly gentle, it seems to be the flavours doing all the talking rather than the alcohol. Still very clean and perfectly poised. At first it is almost acridly dry, like a heavily peated desert, but little touches of sweet vanilla show through after a while, but they are really dominated by the earthiness of the peat. Some lovely mentholated character towards the back of the palate after a while. More coastal character and a really sharp saltiness around the sides of the tongue. The peat is almost leathery in its texture, this really is a meal in a glass. The ultimate late night dram.

Finish: Long. Yet more dry, earthy peat. Some bonfire smoke, a little salty citrus rind and some clean, invigorating white pepper.

Comments: I forgot to add water. Leaving all the peat politics to one side for a moment, this is a great dram. Its not overly complex but it is beautifully balanced. The peat, while undeniably huge, is not overpowering, it is focused and deliciously concentrated. Obviously you have to like peaty whiskies but for those who do this should be a winner. While life would be boring if every whisky was created with such extremes in mind, occasionally its nice to celebrate excess. Well done Bruichladdich, I’m really looking forward to trying this same spirit when its fifteen and beyond.

Score: 90/100