Whisky Online Blog

Now that I’ve just typed that title it occurs to me that it is exactly the sort of name that might be given to an official Bruichladdich bottling these days, perhaps someone will read this and be inspired (wishful thinking Angus). Anyway, today I have gathered together three very different indie Bruichladdichs that descend in age and ascend in strength (which is not as often the case as you may think). Like it’s alliterative neighbour Bowmore from across Loch Indaal, Bruichladdich is also a distillery with some distinctive eras of flavour separation. Although not as extreme as the Bowmore example the evidence is there in bottle for all to taste. Lush, green, coastal and elegant in the 60s and 70s, the style that built it’s reputation, difficult in the 80s and 90s, and now emerging, new, fascinating and better and better with each older bottling. So lets try something from each of those ‘eras’ if you will. First up, it’s something truly unusual…

Bruichladdich 1971-2010 39yo. Private Cask. 39%. 70 & 5cl. Sample from 5cl. 

If I am right (which it is entirely possible I’m not) then the last bottling done below the official bottling strength of 40% was a cask of 1949 Macallan bottled by Signatory in the late 80s which was at 37.9%. I’m not aware of any others since then. Obviously you can get around this wee law by simply removing the word ‘whisky’ from your label. But it is interesting that few people bother to do it, considerable numbers of casks do inevitably dip below this strength, many are simply vatted or, horrors, disgorged. It seems a shame as naturally low cask strength drams can often be fascinating and delicious. If anyone knows of other bottlings/bottlers that have done this then please let me know.

Colour: Rich Gold

Nose: Dense and lusciously fruity at first nosing, loads of melons, greengages, ripe bananas and grapefruit, typical early seventies Bruichladdich. There is also some dusty maltiness in there that hints at oxidisation which would undoubtedly start to happen to such a low strength spirit after so long. A crisp coastal salty note as well with underground notes of preserved lemon, oysters, camphor, pine resin and something like fresh butter. A very fresh and invigorating nose, quite reminiscent of the glorious 1970 OB. Fresh crab meat, pink grapefruit and more coastal zing. This nose positively sings. I think this is clearly from a very ‘tired’ cask but sometimes that is exactly what a distillate needs for a long maturation life and I think this is one of those drams that really proves the point. Lets see if the palate can hold up to the spectacular nose.

Palate: On the palate it is definitely a little weak but there are some wonderful notes of polished oak, cereals, green tea, wet rocks, minerals, wood resins, a touch of spice and seaweed. More green fruits as well, loads of apples, pears, kumquats and grapefruit. Quite liqueur like as well with some concentrated notes of fruit syrups and herbs. There are a few weakish notes of cardboard right at the back which suggest it has become a little too tired but the rest is remarkably fresh. It seems that the high age and low strength has helped it and hindered it in different ways.

Finish: Sadly it is very short and a little weakish but there are some very nice flavours of salt, oak and tea lingering around with some fading fruits.

Comments: This is a whisky that is full of extremes. On one hand it is quite clearly a little tired but on the other it has an absolutely beautiful nose and it’s highs are very high indeed. A difficult one but very fascinating to taste all the same.

Score: 84/100 (but the nose was worth 94)

This next one is a Douglas Laing sample of which I have box loads thanks to Wayne’s stashing abilities. However it also means that I have no photograph, you’ll just have to use your imaginations. (This will probably be a frequent recurrence in in the coming year due to the sheer quantity of DL samples I have accrued.)

Bruichladdich 15yo. Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask. ref: OMC 1610. 50%. 70cl.

This is from the very inconsistent era in the early 90s.

Colour: White wine

Nose: Obviously younger, rawer and more punchy but this one has some very nice citrus, saline and cereal notes, not immature at all. There is some nice fruit as well but it is different and more austere than the 71. Lots of white fruits, stone fruits, white flowers, seaspray and minerals. Very nice actually. A little more sweetness here as well which is to be expected but it is very gentle and nicely integrated with subtle notes of vanilla cream and candy floss. After time some greener notes of seaweed, grass and melon start to emerge. Quite a classic laddie profile this one, thus destroying my theory of the ‘dodgy’ middle years. Never mind.

Palate: Quite concise at first with some fresh notes of herbs, a little lavender, salt, citrus juices, chamomile tea, quite herbal on the palate really. Cereals, mashed potatoes, lots of mashy vegetal qualities in general. Again this is classic refill cask characteristics, this is exactly the sort of cask that the distillery would have felt compelled to ‘ACE’ in some godawful wine cask, kudos to Douglas Laing for giving us the lovely naked spirit. Goes on with a little honey, sweet white wine, water crackers, quite an odd balance between sweet and savoury here.

Finish: Medium and very herbaceous with notes of milk, wet pebbles, minerals, white fruits and hessian.

Comments: Good mid aged Bruichladdich. Plenty of distillery character and quite coastal. A little lack of personality overall perhaps but still very decent stuff.

Score: 83/100

Bruichladdich 2001-2011, 10yo. Queen Of The Moorlands/Whisky Online. Sherry Hoggie no: 312. 200 bottles. 62.5%. 70cl.

This is a new bottling that we did in conjunction with David Wood and his excellent Queen Of The Moorlands label. As far as I know this is the first independent bottling of the new Bruichladdich spirit distilled since 2001 (please let me know if that’s wrong). Everyone is saying deservedly great things about the new 10yo bottling (notes coming here very soon) so it will be interesting to try this full sherried indi variant.

Colour: Old Mahogany

Nose: If you were to have a boiling smoothie of sticky toffee pudding, treacle and melted fudge squirted up your nostrils it might be of a similar sensation to nosing this whisky. After a little rest time in the glass it calms down and we get a whole churn of fresh butter along with more notes of fudge sauce, massive notes of farmyard, hay, horse stables, cured meats, this is meatier than the meatiest Mortlach. Then we get herbs, wet earth, leather, soil and lots of spice. There is a slight dirtiness to it but the kind that works more in a rustic and earthy way. It also gets quieter and cleaner with some breathing time. This really is a huge whisky, after more time a lovely coastal edge starts to develop as well, water is obligatory here so lets see what happens… Now it becomes saltier and unusually quite mentholated for such a young whisky, then more meaty notes like cold roast beef and horseradish. There are also more leafy notes and more fruits, then medicine, a little grass and something like seawed. This is actually a very beautiful nose now. With a little water it became much easier and quite Bruichladdie-esque.

Palate: Neat the delivery is understandably a bit hot, volcanic even, with notes of wet leaves, mulch, hummus, pebbles, stewed fruits, baked apples, brown sugar, caramel, more fudge and slightly larger dirty note, this time manifested as earth, mushrooms and a touch of matchsticks. Some will find this level of dirtiness too much but I actually really enjoy it, although this whisky is not necessarily an easy one. Lets add water and stave off any further tongue erosion… With water, still quite strong and intense, really oily and almost kippery with some distinctive medicinal notes like bandage and ointment. Was Bruichladdich still doing lightly peated malt at this point? It’s only the 312th cask. This is a monster of a whisky. With further water reduction it gets finally a bit lighter and much more medicinal, fruity and nutty with some big chunks of chocolate floating about in there. Still a touch of dirtiness but water really calms that down a fair bit.

Finish: Long, fat, sweet, rich and quite blustery with coastal, nutty, sweet and medical notes all vying for attention.

Comments: When I first tried this, and I did several times before sitting down to write these notes, I was never too sure about it, it is clearly a monstrous whisky, massively powerful and alive with flavour, but I thought it was maybe too dirty in places or too extreme in others, or sometimes a little one-dimensional. It just goes to show how some whiskies really need time and attention to show their best, this is definitely one of those malts that has many of its complexities cloaked by the high alcohol. It really needs time and patience (as well as plenty water) to let it come out of its shell and show to its full potential. I also noticed that when I opened the bottle it was more closed than it is now that there are a few inches out of it and the liquid inside has had more of a chance to ‘freshen up’ as it were. Perhaps the answer is to decant this one? It’s definitely one of those bottles that, with a few decades of ageing in glass, should easily go past 90 points. My advice, don’t rush this whisky and don’t have too many other drams around it, just pour a large one, pull up the water jug and sit down with it for a good hour or so. It should suit storms, hurricanes, long winters, rainy afternoons, bar room brawls, scout camping trips, zombie apocalypses and nights by the fire. Hats off to David and Wayne for bottling this one, but the real glory must go to the team at Bruichladdich for making such a brilliant spirit.

Score: 89/100 (I know this is technically and ‘in house’ bottling of sorts but I really do think this is classy stuff.

You might have noticed, or possibly not, in fact I suspect not, I suspect that the absence of this blog for the past two months has come as neither burden nor emptiness in the operation of your lives. But you ‘might’ have noticed that this is the first post I’m writing since August. There is one very good reason for this and that is that I had my laptop stolen.

Farewell old friend. Enjoy your new life in one of Oakland's many misery soaked crack dens.

The story is not worth repeating at any great length here, suffice to say it involved a hippy commune in the bay area of California, a pointless police report and the sum of £200 pounds from my insurance company that somehow felt this was adequate remuneration for a £1600 Macbook Pro. I am not a material person by any means but this was a very useful tool, especially for writing purposes, so sadly all blogging activity dropped off to nil. However, I am now returned from travels, tired but glad to be home and happy to see once again friends, family and Scotland. There will be, in the coming weeks, several retrospective blog posts that deal with certain aspects of my adventures in American drinking culture, these include my trip to Kentucky and my ruminations on the cult of US micro-brewing amongst various other rants, raves and drunken meanderings. But for now I am glad to be home after what I can easily describe as the best year of my life so far, a fact that calls for a celebratory tasting of some magnitude. So without further ado lets kick off with a couple of drams that have cased quite a stir in recent times…

I stole this image from G&M's shiny website. I'm sure they don't mind. If they do mind then they should consider how much more annoying it would have been if I'd stolen one of their laptops instead of just a wee digital photo.

Glenlivet 1940-2010. 70yo. G&M Generations. Fresh Sherry Butt (transport cask). 45.9%. 70cl. 

Colour: Light Mahogany

Nose: At first there is plenty oak but it is hyper-clean with a lot of fresh eucalyptus character and aroma oils, some very light background phenols arise quickly as well. Very subtle but there is still some nice complexity even after all these years, notes of dandelions, fir trees, honeysuckle, fresh melon, tangerine liqueur, very light whiffs of dried herbs du provence. Big notes of camphor and resin also come through which is so typical of this wartime/pre-war style of whisky. The age here seems to have magnified the lighter, more elegant aspects of this ancient style of whisky making. The usual rich, concentrated and oily aspects seem to have been calmed and subdued by the extra years. More honey notes such as old mead arise, the development isn’t too great but the profile is very elegant and quite beautiful. The oak is definitely there but it is polished and brilliantly clean, never cloying or arid. Lets drink…

Palate: Wow. Ok at first the delivery is hugely oaky with literally tons of wood derived spice notes but this is quickly followed by a very green fruitiness of greengages, ripe bananas, apple pie, golden syrup, demerara sugar and more melon notes. Very intense in the mouth and really impressive for the strength. Oily, concentrated and quite a powehouse compared to the nose but it is still quite different from many other wartime distillates that it is possible to try. It seems age really has done something ‘different’ to this one. Background notes of ancient peat, oily phenols, a little saline minerality, crystalised ginger and lemon rind. Then more rustic notes of hessian and dunnage, paraffin, buttered toast, muesli and brioche all flicker about. A great complexity for such an old whisky.

Finish: Medium to long and full of spice, mocha, oak, more toasty notes, a little dark chocolate bitterness, cocoa powder and eventually a fading green fruitiness again.

Comments: Several other commentators have already stated that it is very difficult to score a 70 year old malt, it is almost a different set of organoleptic rules, never mind the intense emotional problems involved with tasting something so ancient. I will say that I have tasted plenty 50 year olds and several 60+ drams in my time and this gives them all a run for their money. Certainly for the age it is hugely impressive. Parts of it are worth beyond what I will score it but I think, in a real turn up for the books as far as old malts are concerned, the palate is worth more than the nose in this instance and that will balance out the score a bit. So it’s…

Score: 91/100

Let’s see if the Mortlach can beat it…

Once again I pinched this one from G&M's lovely website. Thankyou G&M.

Mortlach 1938-2008. 70yo. G&M Generations. Fresh Sherry Hogshead. 46.1%. 70cl. 

Colour: Rosewood

Nose: This one is quite a bit richer on the nose, dark fruits like figs and dates come first then some big notes of polished furniture and typically clean oak (like in the Glenlivet but more subdued). The fruit is much more direct here, there are hardly any of the phenolic qualities that appear in the Glenlivet, presumably because it was a pre-war distillate and coal was still available for malting purposes. Very lush and very polished, a beautiful nose, hints of ancient cognag and old demerara rums, quite raisiny with notes of stewed fruits, balsamico and dried wild mushrooms. Develops some notes of putty and turpentine with something a little antiseptic in the background. Quite a stunning and very rich nose, it seems the age didn’t subdue these old pre-war attributes so much in this one, the potency seems quite alive on the nose. The oak starts to get bigger now, more antique furniture aspects with lots of old wax polish and resin. Very beautiful.

Palate: The delivery here is not quite as powerful as the Glenlivet, very thick oak and dark fruits at first, the oak is a little too clying in this one perhaps. But there are some stunning notes of ancient rum, rancio, pipe tobacco, leather, green bananas and more old wild mushroom vegetal qualities. There is also quite an intense earthiness with more old balsamico notes and mint liqueur. Big notes of eucalyptus, mead, listerine mouthwash, some little flacks of creosote and old rope, prune juice and camphor. The palate on this one seems to dance around a fair bit suggesting it was really absolutely on the brink in the cask, any older and it probably would have gone to pieces very quickly. The balance is not as poised and masterly as the Glenlivet but the highs are a little more wild and somehow make up for the slightly lower lows. If any of that makes sense. Mores spice and chocoalte after time with notes of maraschino cherries and espresso.

Finsih: Quite long with an odd fragrant quality, more chocolate, fig rolls, dates, camphor, resin and big shiny oak notes. An ancient workshop in a glass.

Comments: Yet again it’s the emotion that’s the problem here. It’s a rare and wonderful privilege to taste such an ancient spirit. Just thinking about the changes that have happened across the globe while this one sat in it’s little wooden caravan for seven decades is, as you might say at university, ‘a real mind-fuck’. I think this one is not quite as technical ‘good’ as the Glenlivet, it is not quite as balanced or complex so it gets a lower mark for that reason but really there is equal joy in drinking both of them. They are amazing whiskies.

Score: 89/100

And now… THE SACRELIDGE…An equal vatting of both (don’t kill me).

Nose: Hugely fruity and oaky in unison, like an epic showdown between the two flavour profiles. More resiny, more saline, more fruity, more phenolic and more spicy. As usual with this ind of experiment the best of both casks seems to have come through.

Palate: Big and powerful on the palate again, lots of damsons, chocolate, huge polished, spicy oak. More camphor and reisnous qualities, everything is just magnified.

Finish: Long and complex. A bit of everything.

Comments: It’s interesting how people often talk about oak in older whiskies in a negative light but I think these whiskies both show oak in it’s best light, beautifully elegant, polished, super clean, rich, spicy and wonderfully flavoursome. True that the quality of casks these days is never really in the same league as the ones they were using back then, particularly in terms of sherry. But I think these whiskies are great examples of how oak can be really beautiful as a bold and important flavour in whisky. I’d probably score this little vatting 92/100 so the answer is very clear, buy one bottle of each and mix together.

A huge thankyou to Nick for giving me these samples. Now I just have to hope G&M don’t release a third 70yo thereby ruining the ‘completism’ of this little tasting.

As a bonus here’s a little song from 1976 by Scottish duo Gallagher & Lyle (whom you may or may not remember). The themes juxtapose either of these drams quite nicely I think. It’s also one of the songs I’ve had stuck in my head since I heard it again during my last few weeks of traveling. Very appropriate sentiment I think in this fast paced and materialistic day and age. Sorry about the daft surfing footage but versions are thin on the tube of you.

Happy new year! So 2011 is here, I hope it finds you well and not too hungover. I got told off by a stranger last night for saying ‘twenty eleven’ rather than ‘two thousand and eleven’. I thought with the arrival of the new decade we might be able to abandon the elongated, time wasting faff of pronouncing the dates with religious numerical fervor but evidently not. So what does this new year hold in store for us? Well I am not really qualified to proclaim anything other than misguided speculation on global political and social trends but, that said, I am sure we are in for another financially woeful year and as such there will be a need for distractions. There must be commiseration for failure, the drowning of sorrows and when we succeed, when we triumph against the tide of odds, then we will have an even greater cause for celebration. So 2011 should be a good year for whisky, although it may be a year characterised by cuts (the tories putting the ‘n’ in cuts as always), political anguish and adaption to change will ensure it is a good year for learning the real value of your friendships, friendship being the greatest wealth a person can possess. I look forward as I always do to sharing new whiskies and drinking experiences with friends old and new around the world this year, I suspect we’ll be in need of  a few good drams more than ever.  I’m running out of time to get through all the delicious samples of whisky I’ve got stashed up before I go away in a few days so I have to be selective. Today we’ll break in the new year with a couple of special drams.

Glenburgie 30yo. 1954. G&M for Pinerolo. 40%. 75cl.

Colour: Amber

Nose: Very delicate initial aromas of hessian, minerals and wax with gentle old orange bitters and liqueurs, notes of sultanas, cognac, coconut and almond paste. Cold black tea, sack cloth, lamp oil, kumquats and natural honeycomb with a little salt resin and pine sap. Camphor, baking soda, little autolytic, yeasty flourishes and some nutty notes of pecans and hazelnut liqueur. Quite a soft nose but with some very beautiful, old style aromas.

Palate: The attack is bigger than expected, I had worried the softness of the nose would lead to a weak palate but in fact there are some beautiful flavours of coconut, metal polish, horse stables, wax, lamp oil, old cereals, oats, resin, some phenols, tar, soot and tobacco. A lovely subtle green fruitiness bubbles under the surface and give it some balance and body. A little OBE is evident on the palate with a touch of cardboard but otherwise beautifully metallic, mineral and menthol. Notes of paint, earth, mint and creosols come through after a while with a little bite of oak as well. Good balance on the palate here.

Finish: Not too long but there is a very lingering warming effect that really makes itself felt for quite some time.

Comments: A good, old style, cold weather whisky. It’s not overly complex but it is aromatic, beautifully delicate and poised with no off notes at all. Pristine, gentle old malt whisky in other words, one that, in an odd twist of convention, is better on the palate than on the nose for once.

Score: 87/100 (Thanks again Serge)

Mortlach 1936-1979. 43yo. Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseur’s Choice’. 70 proof. 75cl.

This was a bottle I opened in Alsace back in November. Time to actually write some proper notes for it. Big thanks to Wayne for this one!

Colour: Amber

Nose: It’s not too far from the Glenburgie in it’s old style ways but this is much more concentrated, powerful and direct with big notes of coconut, old resiny, rooty peat and massive old style fruitiness. Smells like only these big pre-war speysiders can. Lots of eucalyptus, shortbread, camphor, engine oil, steel wool, menthol, green, stewed and vaguely tropical fruits and cola cubes. It’s just great ancient style malt whisky, nothing more to say really…

Palate: BAM! Woo Hoo! Seriously waxy, mineraly and resinous old malt, smoky bacon rashers, salted almonds, honeysuckle, masses of mentholated notes, little ancient peaty qualities and big notes of sultanas and old cognac. Jelly babies, marmalade, dark chocolate, cocoa, mocha, mint leaf, warm moroccan spices, beeswax, steel wool and all other kinds of little metallic notes. This is full of the kind of phenolic and metallic little complexities and sub flavours that I think you can only really achieve with good glass aging. This sort of thing just doesn’t happen with wood alone. There are no off notes and no tiredness at all to this one, it’s still impressively alive and vibrant.

Finish: Really long and full of resin, old rooty phenols, wax, menthol, fruit, little flecks of darjeeling tea and herbal toothpaste.

Comments: Not much to say really, it’s another spectacular old pre-war Mortlach, one that seems to have been perfectly aged for a long time in wood but also crucially in glass as well. This is a beautiful old whisky.

Score: 93/100