Whisky Online Blog

This image from the Vancouver riots seems somehow appropriate for 2011. Almost makes me wish I'd been there. Almost makes me wish it (probably) wasn't photoshopped.

By any measure this has been a tumultuous year, 2012 has a lot to live up to it seems. It’s going to need more than the Olympics and a pile of hogwash about the end of the Mayan calender to compete with what 2011 has thrown at our feet. The Arab spring, an increasingly introverted and suicidal Euro, the UK Economy being run by a bunch of public school boys who still don’t understand why the general population can’t simply inherit some money to ease their financial quibbles. In Britain we had riots, marches, fury, extensive government cuts and a Scottish government of increasing popularity making good their promise and laying the framework for the potential dismantling of the UK. In America they had their own economic woes, they had less money than Apple at one point, and then there was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Europe finally caved and went begging to China for spare cash, everyone’s favourite EU leader Berlusconi sadly had to go due to his country managing to have some kind of anti-economy based solely on under age prostitution, ‘Bunga Bunga’ parties, whisky faking and bribery. Angela Merkel proved herself to be the Girl Guide of Europe, David Cameron failed to deny he was a Synthetic Android from the Alien film franchise and Nicholas Sarkozy remained short. China continued to become massiver and massiver and to ignore ever increasing grumbles about its rather lax attitude towards human rights, after all who cares what others think when you have that much disposable income. Greece finally collapsed after years of reliance on an economy based solely on plate breaking and Ireland still writhes in the grip of the great cappuccino famine of 2011. This was also the year of the phone hacking scandal where Rupert Murdoch and his underlings managed to create the buck that never stops. Dictators of the world fell like playing cards in a wind tunnel this year, who can forget the blood lusty, yet satisfying way Colonel Gaddafi was gunned down in the streen, HA! Happy times. The most recent one though was North Korea’s comedy miniature despot Kim Jong-il who died, we can only assume from reading his official biography, from the fact that he never defecated. An impressive feat although it did explain why he spoke utter shit for most of his life. His copycat fat son is everyone’s favourite to win Despots On Ice 2012. Oh, and Bin Laden got shot in the head by Navy Seals. Apparently the reason he wasn’t forcibly extracted back to US soil to stand trial was that he was defending himself with automatic loaded wives, or something like that according to a memo from the CIA. So, a tumultuous year all in all.

But what about the year in Whisky? Well as the above image suggests it was a very good  year for publicity stunts. Dalmore, Macallan, Glenfiddich, Old Pulteney, they all clambered over each other, slavering at the gums like hounds of the baskerville with marketing diplomas. Desperate to conquer the squalid back pages of the press with their fetid little bling bottlings, or to tell us that Jim Murray, the greatest gift to whisky since domestic violence, had endorsed their product with his latest super score. There were other things afoot in whisky as well with the ‘world’ whiskies starting to finally gain the recognition they deserve. People continued to complain about the Ardbeg Committee with staggering levels of naivety, as if it was actually supposed to be some kind of exclusive country club instead of a big, oily marketing engine that runs on raw, self perpetuating nonsense. Maybe in 2012 people will actually stop complaining and realise that it is the way it is and they can’t help it so just stop approaching me at festivals and complaining to me because I happened to work at the distillery for two summers while at uni as if that somehow means I can just call up someone at Moet Hennessey and ‘have a wee word’. Gosh it feels good to get things off your chest. In related Ardbeggy news, the great blender Rachel Barrie left Glenmorangie and headed to the Bowmore/Glen Garioch/Auchentoshan stable and proceeded to say some very encouraging things about future production methods, although I’m still waiting for a reply to a comment I made on her facebook status about doing some more peated Glen Garioch, time will tell. The rush for Port Ellen 11th release drove consumers into a frenzy of mindless violence that ended in further outbreaks of rioting throughout the whisky shops of Europe. Lady Gaga got five cases though.  Whiskyfun turned 9 this year on July 28th, selfishly only 8 days after my own birthday thereby overshadowing that event in the whisky calender for so many people. I’ll get you yet Valentin (shakes fist). There has been much speculation over what Serge will do once Whiskyfun turns 10. However we all know he will convert the site into an online scores auctioneering base where companies bid thousands of euros (or francs depending on how things are looking come August) a time for whatever score he is offering that week. The first score will be 98 points and we know Inverhouse are already putting together a bid for their new non-aged, Iron Bru finished An Cnoc. Good times ahead.

The Hadron Collider, a big player in the whisky scene of 2012? Also don't do what I just did and run a google image search for 'Large Hardon Collider' by mistake.

So what does 2012 hold for whisky? I suspect we will see even higher prices, more fakes, the pointlessness of the ‘most expensive bottle ever sold’ war will spiral into the cosmic belly button of utter despair and consume all who dare venture near, like a black hole of fat, sweaty bollocks. The German Independent Bottling market will continue to blossom providing the best whiskies and the best prices. Kilchoman will continue to get better with age. Richard Patterson will host a tasting in the Large Hadron Collider. Ralfy will move to Sky One. Joel and Neil from caskstrength.net will open for the Pope at Glastonbury. Fred and Stuart Laing will merge into a single, two-headed person like Zaphod Beeblebrox from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The Port Ellen 12th release will be released in the style of Red Cross aid parcels in Ethiopia. UN soldiers will throw armfuls of them into baying crowds of angry whisky lovers armed to the teeth with pitchforks and ipads and just hope for the best while a representative from Diageo looks on via a satellite link up and calmly motions to his minions to begin ‘phase 2′. The Olympic opening ceremony will be sponsored by Bruichladdich, Jim McEwan and Boris Johnson will open the show with a beginners guide to Coopering. Octomore will be peated to 1 trillion ppm thus causing a tear in the space time continuum and creating what is known as a ‘phenolic irregularity’. Dave Broom will be the new Doctor Who companion and Martine Nouet will be the new Doctor Who. Daftmill will buy Diageo, George Osborne will retire from politics and re-open Brora with his vast personal fortune and Nick Clegg, finally overwhelmed by his spineless guilt, will commit suicide live on national television by downing a thousand miniatures of Edradour. So an exciting year for us all to look forward to.

Be sure to tune in for Nick Clegg's 'dram with destiny' in 2012.

On a personal note it is difficult to comment too succinctly on a  year that was racked by so much intensity, belt tightening, death and downright misery, purely because for me it was far and away the best year of my life. I travelled and made some of the best friends I’ve ever had, I found a great new job, moved into the best flat I’ve ever lived in with the best flatmate I’ve ever had and I’m in a position where things seem to be looking up. I am, in short, incredibly lucky and I try to realise it every day. So the final tasting of 2011 will be one themed around starting as you mean to go on, at least for as long as possible, I’m not sure how many more great Brora tastings I’ll be able to do..? A worrying thought indeed.

Brora 1970-2002. 32yo. Douglas Laing ‘Old & Rare’. 58.4%. 70cl. 

Huge thanks to Wayne for opening this beauty.

Colour: Straw Gold

Nose: Why do other distilleries bother making peated whisky? This is just another typically perfect early Brora. A myriad of farmyard, industrial, coastal and medical qualities with farminess taking the initial lead. Just beautiful! Opens up slowly with lemon skins, oils, mineral notes, pebbles, sea salt, camphor and tar. Sea air, brine, coal and a perfect underlying waxiness. It’s definitely leaning more towards coastal guises now. Lots of sea spray, lime juice, olive oil, seaweed, white flowers, sandalwood and tcp. It’s just massively fresh and vibrant. Just stunning, lets see if water can improve it even further… With water it just becomes almost hyper coastal, like raw sea water and oysters. Lemon juice, raw peat smoke, old kilns, iodine.

Palate: Massively oily on delivery, like boiler sheds, thick green peats, tar, peat oil, drying medicinal notes, smoked cereals, sea water, green olives in brine, hay, hessian and treacle. Smoked vanilla (?), chilli oatcakes, black pepper, Riesling, melted butter and chopped chives. Shellfish, crab meat, smoked mussels, fresh lemon juice, cured ham and more salt. With water: a really luxurious, elegant peat comes through now, loads of olive oil, bonfire smoke, burning grass, wax, smoked cereals, peppered mackerel and some wonderfully farmy notes of engine oil and horse stables.

Finish: Very long with drying peat smoke, wax, cereals, tar, white pepper, burnt toast, camphor and fish oil.

Comments: Another incredibly Brora, I think the 1970 and 71s were not quite as stellar as the 72s in my opinion. It seems like they were still experimenting and constantly tweaking the recipe, in 1972 they must have got things very right. However, this is all relative as this one is still galaxies ahead of most modern peated malts.

Score: 94/100

Brora 1972-1995. 22yo. OB Rare Malts. 61.6%. 70cl.

This is one of several truly legendary early Broras from the Rare Malts series.

Colour: Gold

Nose: Ouch! The word beast could have been invented for this one. Imagine a peat, honey, salt and turpentine smoothy and you’re not far off. Quite closed even after a long time in glass, aggressive and difficult but even with all that grumpy, miserly austerity it is still quite beautiful. Struck flints, big, raw mineral notes, hay, horse stables, burnt grass and old petrol cans. A true powerhouse whisky. I think we’ll add a bit of water straight away… with a little water it starts to freshen out a bit, salt, lemons, limes and a nice manure quality all start to make themselves felt. Becomes intensely ‘Brora’ with a huge farminess and notes of coal fires, seaweed, parsley and wax. Lets try another little bit of water: it actually got even better, now its super fresh, leafy, smoky and very medicinal. A stunning and perfect mix of all the classic Brora characters. This is one of those whiskies that swims like a fish, it absolutely needs careful time with water to bloom, but when it does, my god it’s magnificent.

Palate: Neat it is an aggressive bag of gravel, wet earth, green, concentrated peat oil and feisty minerals. Some farmyard hints of stables, hay, horses and tar then muesli, rope, wet leaves, coal and mercurochrome. With a first dilution… wow, a perfect profile, all on minty, leafy peats, all kinds of wax, a dazzling array of coastal notes and different oils. Perfect but lets try a little more water anyway… the peat gets even oilier, almost simmering like an old Ardbeg, oily, fat and mouth coating with a wonderfully farmy dirtiness. Superlative notes of seaweed, tar, tcp, bread, olive oil, brine, anchovies, kippers, black and green peppercorns, hummus, matchsticks and more salt. It’s quite incredible really, we’d best stop.

Finish: Ask me in 2013 how it’s coming along

Comments: I’ve wanted to taste this one for a long long time and, thanks to the generosity of Mr Brora (aka Serge) at D-Day I was finally able to. All I can say is these bottles are now expensive for a very good reason, they’re fucking brilliant whisky. Water is essential with this one, even adding it in increments it seems to change drastically with each new dilution. You could literally play for days if you had a full bottle, adding a little water, then a bit more whisky, seeing just how epic you could make it, mind the ‘ground zero’ of perfection if you like. There’s nothing being made anywhere in the world today in my opinion that can hold a candle to this kind of whisky. Maybe for 2012 the industry could look to the past a bit more for future inspiration.

Score: 96/100

Whatever happens next year I hope you can all become happier, wiser and more aware in everything you do and achieve. Enjoy the simple things in life, strive to make things better for yourself and all those around you. And above all, don’t take things too seriously.

Happy Hogmanay from all of us here at Whisky Online. Slante!

Angus. 31/12/2011

Seeing as this series is in danger of becoming the ‘Rocky’ of whisky blog posts I think this will almost certainly be the last one. After Port Ellen, Ardbeg and Lagavulin it seems logical that we will cover Laphroaig, the final Islay southerner. So unless someone wants to send me a stash of old 73/74 Longrow or early 70s Brora samples then I don’t think we’ll see parts five or six anytime soon.

Anyway, without further prattle and ado…

Laphroaig 20yo. Douglas Laing. OMC. Sherry Hogshead. 50%. 70cl.

Had this sample kicking about for some time, sadly no image to go with it I’m afraid. I adore sherried Laphroaigs though so I’m keen to try this one.

Colour: Dark amber

Nose: A strange kind of grizzly fruitiness at first. Very Laphroaig, loads of tincture, iodine, tcp and other medicinal qualities but with a lovely metallic edge like wet iron and steel wool. Smoky bacon, dried herbs and salt, bacon crisps? Flat cola, peat, cola cubes, hot tar, rope, root beer, wet earth and hints of dark rum. Quite a superlative nose really, great distillery character but with that classic, surprisingly clean, sherry slant. Unctuous, leafy, salty and thick with big notes of liquorice, key lime pie, lemon curd, wax, hessian, flints and other assorted mineral notes. Gets quite briny with a thick and turfy peat quality with some nice dried dark fruits. Great stuff, very enjoyable.

Palate: Massive, syrupy peat on delivery with big drying sherry right behind it, reminds me a little of some old peated Glen Gariochs (high praise indeed) with more earth, dried mushrooms, tcp, mouthwash, liquorice, charcoal, barbecue sauce and some lovely green fruits. Very medicinal, lots of medical sub complexities with big herbal liqueur qualities as well. Baked apples, smoked mussels, creosote, cola syrup, tobacco and seaweed soup. A perfect balance of sweet and dry.

Finish: Lemon curd again, fresh oysters, brine, menthol toothpaste, hessian, creosote, tar, tcp, wax and fading green fruits.

Comments: I really love Laphroaig in sherry and this one doesn’t disappoint. Displays the very best attributes of the modern style and is probably helped a lot by a top notch sherry cask. Clean, vibrant, resinous and powerful. Douglas Laing seem to have a had quite a few of these fresh sherry cask Laphroaigs from the late 1980s recently. Lets hope there are still plenty to come because they’ve all been great so far.

Score: 91/100

Laphroaig 1981-2008. 27yo. OB. Five oloroso sherry casks. 736 bottles. 56.6%. 70cl. 

Huge thanks to Nick for this one.

Colour: Dark Rosewood

Nose: A different level of sherry entirely. Super thick and intense with a much more subdued level of peat. At first its all on fresh tar and concentrated aromas of charcoal, dates, prunes, figs and other dark fruits. Lots of sultanas stewed in cognac, furniture polish, salted brazil nuts, chocolate, molasses, natural caramel and hot fudge. A very rare instance where the sherry has taken over from the peat, quite a potent cask selection indeed. Definitely need time. With a bit of patience it starts to become much more tropical and accessible. There is also a much bigger coastal presence, lots of wet rocks, seaweed, beach bonfires, iodine and kipper notes. Some resin, wax and putty as well with a slowly encroaching aged peat quality in the background. Very earthy, dry, thick and syrupy. Notes of cola and gomme syrups and something like redcurrant jam. With water: a tropical fruit and nut cocktail now. Lots of soft tropical notes on top of crushed walnuts, pecans and salted almonds. Then lighter vegetal qualities, more tar, geraniums and salted dark chocolate.

Palate: Neat it is a powerhouse of a Laphroaig, orange bitters, peated marmalade (what) burnt wood, barbecue sauce, masses of molasses (ha), herb liqueur, rancio, wild mushrooms, cola cubes again, bacon, brown sauce, tar, lashings of medicine and a warehouse full of dark, fruit laden sherry. Drying and moist like swallowing a whole Guinness cake. Loads of mixed nuts, phenols, quince jelly, muesli, juniper, gentian root, root beer, coal, creosote, salt cured meats and bovril. A monster of a Laphroaig, but more so because of the sherry than the peat it has to be said. With water: ok it’s softer but it is still very drying, thick and syrupy. Lots of fat eucalyptus notes, seaweed, tar, smoked fish and black pepper. A smattering of mineral notes and then more leafy fruitiness, orange and lemon notes with bay leaves, thyme and ginseng tea.

Finish: Incredibly long, like waiting for the credits to roll on Return Of The King. You practically have to scrape your mouth clean of peated sherry afterwards. Buy a new toothbrush!

Comments: In any other whisky this level of sherry would be too much for me and I’d be tempted to mark it down but the sheer power and force of personality that Laphroaig possess seems to have held everything together brilliantly, although I doubt these casks would have made it to 30. Fantastic, a whisky for those that like them black and potent (unless you’re a Loch Dhu fan in which case you’re on the wrong blog). Anyway, a real power house dram, intense, extreme and brilliant.

Score: 94/100

Laphroaig 1964-1981. Berry Brothers & Rudd. Sherry cask. 43%. 75cl.

Sadly no picture for this one. A rightly legendary bottling from Berry Bros.

Colour: Amber/Brown

Nose: A stunning combination of resinous peat, crystalised and tropical fruits and perfect sherry. This is followed by super dense coastal notes, raisins, wet earth, coal dust, aged cognac, smoked almonds, marzipan, hints of rancio and a little aged antiseptic. Just brilliant, one of those perfect noses. Ancient dry phenols, peat, wax and little dustiness. Then fresh oysters, preserved lemons, smoked mussels, camphor, and some phenomenal vegetal and herbal notes. I could go on but I might never taste it, a staggering nose.

Palate: Enormous, fat, drying, dusty, organic peat. Completely covers and engages every part of the palate, then an avalanche of tropical fruits, an incredible delivery. Develops along more complex lines with dark brown sugar, old vanilla, honey, camphor, pine resin, huge herbaceous notes and a big growing saltiness. Notes of salted beef, sarsaparilla, gentian eau de vie, root beer, dark chocolate, seaweed and yet more drying peats. Lets stop this wonderful, wonderful madness.

Finish: Long and filled with waxy peat, herbs, vegetal, earthy and coastal qualities. Then finally a mineral and beautiful fade.

Comments: One of those bottlings that makes you remember why you’re into whisky in the first place. Massive at 43% in a way that only Laphroaig seems to be able to pull off. A masterpiece of complexity, poise, intensity, length and balance. Brilliant!

Score: 95/100

A legendary old Samaroli bottling of Laphroaig

Laphroaig 1970-1986. Duthie for Samaroli. 720 bottles. 54%. 75cl. 

No much needs saying about this legendary bottling. Eternal gratitude to Patrick for these last two drams.

Colour: Straw Gold

Nose: A mesmerising combination of seashore, coastal and fresh peat aromas. Hugely complex with lashings of citrus, oysters, salt, iodine, mint, kippers, white pepper and old rope. Develops onto tar, seaweed, coal dust and, after time, luscious notes of fresh lime juice. Then eucalyptus oils, more pristine saltiness and massive notes of brine that lend the whole nose a stunning freshness. Just incredible really. Perfectly dry and a complex with exceptionally elegant notes of minerals, smoked tea, old style peat and, eventually, fruit. The fruit is perfectly tropical but also surprisingly resinous and crystallised which lends the whole profile an extra layer of depth and complexity. With water: some super salty blue cheese, lemon juice, papaya, coal dust again, more minerals, buttered toast, herbs, shellfish and peat oils.

Palate: A tropical whirlwind. Just epic amounts of passion fruits, guavas, greengages, melons and lemons. Absolutely brilliant delivery. Further notes of fragrant smoke, black pepper, smoked cereals, tar, green peat and motor oil. Still massively coastal and balanced. With water: Not too much change, the coastal aspects got a bit bigger till they’re almost equal to the fruits. Layers and layers of complexity that I can’t even begin to get into now, salty, tropical, oily, peaty and medicinal in myriad ways, it just keeps on going…

Finish: No comment!

Comment: An utter masterpiece. This is the sort of bottle that really sets the bar for all others to be measured against. At least I think it does.

Score: 96/100

Well that ties up this little series of masterpieces quite nicely. It’s been a pretty devastating path of uninterrupted peaty beauty, one that leads only to the point where you could instantly start again or go for something new and equally mind blowing. We’re all searching for the new, the unknown bottling, all seeking the next hidden masterpiece. Sadly, as with all whiskies of this calibre, that is not always an option and one day, probably in the not too distant future, it will stop being an option for every body. These bottles wont last forever, the liquid will inevitably die, although, long before that happens, they will already be out of grasp to any buyer. When there are only three and then two bottles left of the Laphroiag 1970 or the Port Ellen 1969, what will happen then? I think distillers should be made to taste whiskies like these ones, if the people that make whisky don’t know how good it can be, if they don’t fully comprehend the organoleptic heights to which these spirits can soar then how can we ever hope to make whisky this good again. There are many who say it can’t be done but that is complete baldershit if you ask me. It is purely a recipe, a process governed by the whim of chemistry and practice. Great whiskies like these could be made again. It just needs someone with the will power to do it, the understanding of what made the greatest whiskies so great and the balls, madness and sheer bloody mindedness to do it.

Oh and money. Lots of money. Perhaps therein lies the problem. Perhaps someone should donate a sample of Ardbeg Kingsbury 67 to Bill Gates and see if he fancies taking a punt on funding a distillery…? Just an idea.

Good whisky is thin on the ground in South America, it is also uncommon in Latin American, the USA and Canada, at least it was on my travel budget. So, barring the odd bottle of 1930s rotation White Horse, there was little to be found outside what I got in my care packages from home. I don’t like the phrase care package, it makes me sound like an interminable middle class little oik who can’t bear to be away from The Guardian, Mummy and his modest cellar of vintage malt whisky. Whilst I am an interminable middle class wee oik, I am not any of the latter things (although I did miss my Mum on several occasions). So while I did not, and will not, complain about the absence of tasty whisky, there were occasions when I missed having a good dram with my friends, and, more to the point, missed my friends full stop. Thankfully they dutifully saw fit during these times of lonesomeness to inform me of their latest drinking adventures. “Tonight Angus… I’ll be drinking 1955 Highland Park!” and so and so on. It was bad enough catching up with whiskyfun each week without having my appetite tormented with tales and images of overseas merriment and drammery. This is one of the problems with facebook, it’s useful for communication but it is also a tool of international showingoffness. Still, it was all a bit of lighthearted fun, I am not a vengeful or bitter man by any means. So, on a completely unrelated note, I present today’s tasting… MWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!!

Ardbeg 1972-2009. 36yo Douglas Laing Old & Rare. Ref: OAR0072. 44.7%. 70cl. 

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Leafy peat, seaweed and bonfires at first nosing, classic 72 Ardbeg but lighter, probably due to those extra years of age. Little notes of blueberries amongst all those familiar peat oils, iodine, sea spray, tar and fish nets. Herb liqueurs, sarsaparilla root, coal, gentian and peated mead if such a thing exists. The peat is sweet and concentrated beautifully with those slightly burnt seashore notes, it’s not the greatest 72 Ardbeg but by most other whisky standards it’s still off the chart. Gets a little mentholated with notes of dried mint and eucalyptus oil, then rope, dunnage and kiln rooms.

Palate: Wow, fantastic attack for the strength, lashings of peat oils, seawater, oysters, lemon juice, root beer, thick smoky notes, burned wood, seaweed and a drying ember like quality to it. I haven’t had an old Ardbeg for a while, you really forget how fucking brilliant these old whiskies are. What a delivery of flavour. Now earthy and leafy with notes of moss, soil, more cereals and farmy aspects with a slight leathery quality. Some notes of cured ham and then more eucalyptus and herbal liqueurs. Just fantastic, no need to go on…

Finish: Long, elegant and oily, not as intense as the rest but beautifully soft with lightly toasted peat notes and medicinal flavours lingering on for a long time…

Comments: I’ve had a few quite old Ardbegs now, in my experience they all seem to fade away past 32 years but this is beautiful. A real winner. Still brilliantly composed and classic in every way.

Score: 93/100

Ardbeg 1975-2004 29yo. Douglas Laing O&R. Sherry Hogshead. 255 Bottles. 47.3%. 70cl. 

Colour: Mahogany

Nose: It’s a different kind of Ardbeg from the 72, the sherry and peat combination leaps out at you like an angry bundle of kippers. The difference in style from the 72 refill hoggie is very striking when you set them together. Little wonder people are still enthralled by this era of Ardbeg, it was brilliant in almost any cask type. This one is just that, brilliant at first nosing, kippers, wax, fat peat oils, muscovado sugar, smoked dates (?), hessian, coal, huge notes of tar and rope, more of those eccentric root beer medicinal notes that seem to be a hallmark of heavy sherried Ardbegs from the 70s. Underneath that there is some green fruit and spices with some clean salty notes and smoky bacon. Another stunner of a nose.

Palate: A mouthful of hot antiseptic and tar, some very lovely notes of liquid smoke, biscuits, savoury breads, smoked and peppered mackerel, dried herbs and herbal liqueurs. Then glazed cherries, icing sugar, gingerbread, old leather and mixed spice. The palate is very concise with the nose, lots of complexity and the flavours are all wonderfully integrated together. More liquorice and seaweed with notes of lemon wax and creosote starting to come through along with flavours of herbal toothpaste and tincture. Again there is no point in continuing, this is just brilliant old Ardbeg…

Finish: Long, sharply peaty and beautifully medicinal with fading seashore notes.

Comments: Not really necessary.

Score: 93/100

Ardbeg 1991-2011. 19yo. Malts Of Scotland for Hotel Beero. Sherry Hogshead. Cask 11003. 240 Bottles. 48.4%. 70cl. 

This is a new and destined to be very rare bottling that has just been done for Geert Beero and his lovely hotel in Oostende, Belgium. If you go and stay at the hotel you can buy a bottle (or 2) but I suspect they won’t be there for long.

Colour: Dark Rosewood.

Nose: It’s very different from the 70s casks but this is still and old school style. Very earthy and organic with a much more lush and verdant fruit character running through it. Still those notes of root beer are there and a beautifully subtle background medicinal character. Then after some time we get more of these lovely dried herbaceous notes with wet leaves, green fruits, earl grey tea and even some wonderful aged characteristics of old cognac and rancio. Touches of aged balsamico as well, this treads a wonderfully fine line between 70s style Ardbeg and early 90s style, in fact it’s very hard to know where to draw the lines between the two in this whisky, they are so well blurred and integrated. After this more classical notes of tar, kippers, rope, creosote and seaweed, gets more and more old school the longer you nose it for.

Palate: Huge, fat, oily sherry and peat qualities, just wonderful delivery all on prune juice, dates, walnut oil, embrocations, toothpaste, tcp, iodine, tar, earth, grass and underlying cereals. Notes of fresh wash, cocoa powder, camphor, eucalyptus, gummi bears and many medicinal complexities. What a great dram. More herbal liqueur notes, rose water, lychee, coal, soot, mouthwash and graphite oil. Let stop this madness.

Finish: Long and very earthy with the sweetness returning towards the end. All kinds of fanfare flavours to be found in this.

Comments: To be honest when I tried this the first time around I rushed it and wasn’t as impressed as I should have been. This is a total stunner in my opinion. Proof, if any were really needed, that Ardbeg didn’t have just one great era of production. Not to mention the quality of the cask as well, the sherry is perfect in this, not an off note to be found, a rare thing indeed these days, and what a find. Congratulations to Geert for bottling such a brilliant whisky.

Score: 93/100

Ardbeg 1975-1995. 19yo. Cadenhead’s. Sherry Hogshead. US market bottling. 49.7%. 75cl. 

Colour: Tazmanian Honey

Nose: A different and dirtier beast than the others, this one is hugely tarry but also more ‘unclean’ as it were, with notes of struck matches and rubber but set against the background of huge oily phenols and Ardbegy peat they feel quite well controlled and integrated. Not sour or over powering like they often do in modern whiskies. It develops with big coastal notes of fresh sea shore, sandalwood, lemon rind, fresh oysters, wet pebbles and minerals. Lots of wet earth notes, green, mushy peat characters and wet grains. A very wet dram this by the smell of things. Dunnage and damp sackcloth with notes of iron filings and cut grass over deeper notes of rust, black pudding and slightly rotten orange peel. This is a strange Ardbeg, all these dirty complexities make it seem much more like a Port Ellen, in fact given this bling I would definitely gone for Port Ellen over Ardbeg.

Palate: First up it’s notes of fresh coffee, milk chocolate, mixed nuts, halls throat sweets and brine. It’s a big whisky but it is almost like a non-dram with its lack of distillery identity, like a beautiful person in disguise for an unknowable reason. More bucket loads of tar, germoline, oil boilers, hessian, damp earth, horse stables, sweat, herbs and rope. Quite a mixed bag of stuff this one, hard to know what to make of it. Very enjoyable but also very strange.

Finish: Long, earthy, dirty, wild, blustery and oily. Lots of coastal notes, rubber, lemon drops, some honey and lingering grisly phenols.

Comments: This is clearly an Ardbeg that was raised a Port Ellen, some sort of sex change style scenario that could win it it’s own documentary mini series on channel four. I really like it but I think on a technical note I cant go too high due to the undeniable dirty notes. Still, a schizophrenic dram with a multitude of personalities that tastes fantastic even if it drags you all over the place. They don’t make whisky like this anymore, a whole galaxy away from boring.

Score: 91/100

Ardbeg 1991 18yo. Douglas Laing OMC. cask 5449. Bourbon Hogshead. 316 bottles. 50%. 70cl.

Colour: White wine

Nose: Classic early 90s profile. Soft phenols, grass, pine sap, creosote, tar, kreel nets, crab meat, fresh lemon juice on oysters, chopped parsley, sage and mercurochrome. Lots of further medicinal complexities start to develop with notes of tincture, bandages, gauze, mouthwash and tcp. Some very clean and invigorating coastal notes of minerals, wet pebbles, seashore, seaweed, sea salt and shellfish. Very classical and very taught, clean composition, super fresh as well, quite reminiscent of the official 1990 bottlings.

Palate: At first some very curious notes of milk chocolate but these quickly give way to seaweed, smoked cereals, kippers, lemon oil, beeswax, turpentine, peated porridge (please someone invent that soon!), mouthwash and herbal liqueurs. Again this is very consistent with the official 1990 bottlings, lots of pine air freshener, touches of heather and floral soaps, sea salty crystals and a little red wine vinegar. In fact you could pour this over your fish and chips no problem, although I probably wouldn’t.

Finish: Long and resinous with oily peat, green phenols, porridge, grass, seaweed, minerals and more citrus oils.

Comments: Great 90s Ardbeg, completely typical of the style.

Score: 90/100

Now lets do the obligatory mental vatting…

All five together…

Nose: It’s obviously the 70s that speak loudest here, it’s a veritable festival of extrmes. Peat, tar, phenols, salt, medicine, cereals… it’s just brilliant

Palate: All the best bits from the bourbon and sherry versions have managed to balance out pretty well. As is usually the case with these things when you mix brilliant whiskies together you get… brilliant whiskies. Here they’ve managed to just magnify the intensity of the distillery character perfectly.

Finish: Gently bulldozes your palate till midnight…

What brilliant tasting. Dedicated to all my whisky friends, without whom I’d never have smiled so much during the longer, darker and duller moments of my travels.