A road best less travelled

Taste Review 25 – Jura Journey

This review has been a long time coming. Indeed, it was one I wanted to do right at the start of my ‘Journey’ (pun intended) with Scotty’s Drams, but felt entirely uncomfortable with it, as I knew what I wanted to say, but didn’t know exactly how to say it. To be honest, it’s been a long and arduous challenge for my mind to come up with what I present to you today.

I hope you appreciate my words, and digest them carefully, as this has been the easiest, yet hardest review to write so far. You’ll soon see why.

Let’s get down to business. The island of Jura sits just to the north of that famous whisky isle / region of Islay. You can reach Jura by ferry from Islay, not too far away from Caol Ila distillery at Port Askaig. The main feature of Jura is a small collection of hills known as the ‘Paps of Jura’ on account of their shape. Pap is a Scottish slang term relating to a part of the female anatomy. The ferry journey is very short, so those of you who don’t have sea legs needn’t worry. There is only one distillery on Jura, and it is in the small village of Craighouse, on the east coast of the island.

Region

Highland

Age

Jura Journey is non-age statement

Strength

40% a.b.v

Colour

Amber Gold

Nose

Honey, barley sugar, slight smoke, black currants

Palate

Soft arrival, watery, no real mouthfeel. Vanilla fudge, a wee bit of smoke. Disappointment abounds.

Finish

Short but sort of lingers. It ends in black currants in the end. Like Ribena, which is a soft drink in the UK. Something it has in common with Jura Journey, which can almost be classified as a soft drink.

Conclusion

Winston Churchill once said “Diplomacy is the ability to tell a person to go to hell in such a way that they will be looking forward to the journey”.

This isn’t a Journey to look forward to. I’ve tried to be diplomatic about this dram, but my keyboard kept defaulting to ‘rant’ setting, and therefore I have abandoned diplomacy. This is dram you may well struggle to enjoy.

If you are thinking of going for a ‘Journey’ of discovery with this whisky, abort the trip and pour yourself some Laphroaig. You’ll thank me for it. This Jura isn’t so much of a journey but the road to hell.

This whisky is the reason why I decided to keep Scotty’s Drams independent, and wouldn’t have to modify my reviews on account of being in somebody’s pocket. I don’t rely on being provided samples, all are bought with one or two gifts on the way.

This whisky was a present, but when it was opened, me and the gift giver decided the same thing – it was so insipid that it was as though we weren’t drinking a dram at all, or it had been flooded with water even though both of us had it neat. After a nip each, it was put away, but I thought I’d give it time to see if it improved in my mind. We soon moved on to better stuff.

Coming back to it a couple of years later (yeah, I know!!!) my view of it hasn’t changed. It is terrible. There is no real character to it at all, which given the big guns behind this is a big surprise. Perhaps Richard Patterson had his day off when that recipe was concocted, and upon his return made the trainee stick to it, so he could learn from the poor reviews when you make a dud dram. You’d learn quickly.

Jura has made some lovely whisky in its time, the 10 year old is a decent (but not great) dram, but I’m wary of NAS Jura, and this has confirmed my prejudice. I’d wouldn’t even use this for cleaning drains due to its lack of strength. It’s a training whisky at best, only so you know what disappointment is like. I may use it as a cooking whisky, or for visitors I don’t like.

There are two good things about it, the first being that if you are given it, you’ll know one of 5 things about your friend

⁃ They know nothing about whisky

⁃ They are on a budget

⁃ They have no sense of smell or taste

⁃ They don’t really like you

⁃ Possibly a combination of the above.

The second good thing? I lied. I couldn’t find another good thing.

It’s not even that cheap, it gives an experience of a lower price point than it actually is. On a technical note, this seems to be really young whisky, which with a lack of cask influence is not showing the distillery character in a good light, which is a shame. There are good Jura Drams out there. Just not this one.

If you don’t believe me, research on the internet, YouTube (other websites are available) is the best one to see what other whiskyphiles think of it. That is the other reason I waited so long to review.

To be honest, had I paid for this, I would have felt violated. I enjoyed the Haig Clubman a lot more, and it’s cheaper. Jura Journey can be bought online for around £30 or £35 at Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s at the time of writing, but if you want my honest opinion, this is over priced. Tesco’s are selling the 35CL bottles at £12 on offer at the moment. That’s the price I would pay just as a cheap way of trying a poor whisky without breaking the bank.

Whatever you do, don’t ask for this at a specialist whisky shop. You’ll be correctly identified as a moron.

I’m away to rinse my mouth with Famous Grouse. At least that has flavour of some sort and is also cheaper than Jura Journey.

Slainte Mhath!

This blog is written as a hobby. If you liked this article, consider clicking here to visit my Facebook page or liking sharing this article by clicking on icons below.

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Scotty’s Drams encourages responsible drinking. To find out the facts about drink, and where to find help if you need it visit Drinkaware.co.uk by clicking on the link.

Photo credits

Jura distillery – Gordon Brown / Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0
Road to Hell – john3corrigan.com

It’s not about the birds and bees

Flora and Fauna whisky explained.

Regular readers of my whisky blog would have seen me mention the Flora and Fauna range of whiskies. In fact I refer back to it quite often, but there is good reason to, as it is a range of whiskies that is almost unique.

The range was started in 1991 by DCL, which later became United Distillers, a company formed by the merger of DCL and Arthur Bell, both owed by Guinness. Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan in 1997 and became known as Diageo. In 1998 United Distillers merged with International Distillers Vinters, and in 2001 became known as Diageo Scotland. Of course, in this tale, there was much dodgy dealings, as there was share trading fraud to enable Guinness to take over DCL, which saw 4 men going to prison.

To make the next bit of history easier to understand, we’ll just refer the distiller as Diageo.

During the 1980’s, scores of distilleries were mothballed, some never to re-open again. Diageo closed 11 distilleries in 1983 alone. But come the 90’s things were starting to change, and single malts became more prominent. What was noticed was that although brown spirits, including blended whisky was declining, single malts were starting to perform strongly. This led to the formation of the Classic Malts, a series that still exists today, but is expanded. The original Classic Malts were Glenkinchie, Lagavulin, Talisker, Oban, Cragganmore and Dalwhinnie. These used to sit behind bars on a small plinth, and this brought the concept of regionality of single malts, and their different styles.

There was a problem however – most of the distilleries Diageo now owned didn’t have their own bottling. If you were lucky, you may have seen an independent release, but for the overwhelming majority of whiskies, their output went straight into blended whiskies. This is something that continues, as 90% of malt production is for blends. This meant there was a niche available to showcase the malt distilleries in the Diageo portfolio, and this saw the start of a range from distilleries very few knew about, some of which perhaps still are only in the knowledge of whisky buffs.

The range started out with 22 whiskies, which weren’t mass marketed, but only sold at their visitor centres or limited distribution. Initially these were – Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Balmenach, Benrinnes, Bladnoch, Blair Athol, Caol Ila, Clynelish, Craigellachie, Dailuaine, Dufftown, Glendullan, Glenlossie, Inchgower, Linkwood, Mannochmore, Mortlach, Pittyvaich, Rosebank, Royal Brackla, Speyburn and Teaninich. All of these were initially released with a wooden box, but this eventually changed to a carton in some cases, and nothing at all in others. All were bottled at 43% abv.

This was unheard of in the industry, but in one fell swoop, each Diageo malt whisky distillery had a bottling which its workers could taste and show off to their friends and family. The communities around the distilleries could sample some of the produce. People became aware of individual distillery characters. It was certainly a step forward.

The range never originally had a name. Flora and Fauna was actually coined by Michael Jackson (The late whisky writer and not the musical child abuser) who noted that each bottle in the range had a picture of either a plant or animal which could be found near to the distillery in question. It has stuck, even to the point that people within Diageo still refer as this as Flora and Fauna.

Known for his love of young boys, not whisky – google.com

In 1997, there were 9 of the range released as cask strength bottles. These were Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Blair Athol, Caol Ila, Clynelish, Dailuaine, Linkwood, Mortlach and Rosebank. These were numbered bottles and some are now extremely rare.

Cask Strength editions – scottishdelight.com

Fast forward to 2001. By this time, Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Balmenach, Bladnoch, Craigellachie, Royal Brackla and Speyburn distilleries had been sold. In fact, the story goes that Speyburn only produced a single run of Flora and Fauna whisky, and this is why it is the rarest of the lot. Pittyvaich was closed and demolished in 1993, and in the same year Rosebank ceased production. Bottlings continued until the stock ran out, apart from Speyburn and Balmenach, where the stock was part of the sale. 4 more malts were added to the range – Auchroisk, Glen Elgin, Glen Spey and Strathmill. These never had boxes or cartons.

Over time, some of the remaining bottlings in the series were discontinued in favour of a proper distillery release. Caol Ila, Clynelish, Glen Elgin, Dufftown, Mortlach and Glendullan now have their own distinct brand. Of the remaining 11 that are produced, Flora and Fauna is the only official release, with the exception of occasional Manager Drams or Special Releases. Only Blair Athol has a visitor centre and the remaining releases remain obscure distilleries in their own right.

While this is a great range, it isn’t without its drawbacks. At 43%, although is isn’t stated, you can bet your bottom dollar, each one of these whiskies has been chill filtered, the process which sees the impurities removed from the spirit that makes it go temporarily cloudy when water or ice is added. Unfortunately I believe this also removes the full depth of flavour.

The other downside is the likelihood that E150a (caramel colouring) has been added. This is to give colour consistency, but when one looks at the Dailuaine and Benrinnes, it has to be wondered if it has been added to emphasise the sherried casks used for maturation.

What else should be know about Flora and Fauna? Although 11 bottles are still supported by Diageo, it remains to be seen how long it will last in its current format. Benrinnes was originally distilled using a partial triple distillation up to 2007. As this is a 15 year old whisky, I’d suggest that we may see the Benrinnes discontinued in 2022, or at least a change in flavour. I do hope it continues, as Benrinnes is one of my favourites in the range. I’ve also tasted independent releases of Benrinnes, and it’s absolutely fantastic.

Another problem with this range is its availability. It is harder to find unless you visit a Diageo distillery, or a specialist whisky shop. Dailuaine is getting harder to find, which is also a great whisky – its my second favourite whisky in the range, but its a close neighbour of Benrinnes.

********GEEK FACT********

Dailuaine was the first distillery to have the pagoda style roof on the kiln roof (correctly known as a Doig Ventilator, named after the architect Charles C, Doig).

As a small batch release, and not aggressively marketed, it isn’t always easy to get a hold of, but if you see one, try it. It almost has the status of a cult whisky collection, and certainly has a great visual appeal with the understated labels. Even the wooden boxes look good, and they are something you don’t see often on releases unless you pay for a premium malt. It is easy to see how this was ditched in favour of the cardboard box, then onto nothing at all.

The collection is highly collectable, but you need to be careful, as bottles start to get harder to get, the price will go up. All of the currently available bottles currently retail in the UK at under £65, with the majority of them under £50. The Dailuaine is the most expensive one, but remember it is the oldest one available at 16 year old.

If you go for a collection, try to remember my previous advice on collecting a series – if you can’t complete it, the price will be affected. The Royal Brackla, Craigellachie, Aultmore, Aberfeldy and Rosebank often trade above £250 a bottle. If they have the wooden box, expect to pay more. 17 of the bottles in the range have a cream / white capsule, and this denotes a first edition, which will increase the price more. Some of the rarer white caps trade between £300 – £800.

And here it gets complicated. If you choose to go for the white caps, you may end up with a secondary collection. I’ve 14 of the 17 white caps available, and when I get a white cap bottle, the black cap gets moved to my secondary collection. My secondary collection also includes a few white caps I picked up at a good price, although I am missing a Rosebank to have the 26 bottles in my secondary collection. Certainly this takes up a large portion of my storage unit.

The Speyburn is the holy grail, and will cost on average between £1000 and £1800. At the time of writing in Sept 2019, the Speyburn set a new Flora and Fauna record by breaking the £2000 barrier, being sold at a Whisky Hammer auction for £2050. Some lucky punter has just paid after auction fees £2300 for a bottle that cost less than £40 on release.

******** Important note ********

If you have a box that has bottle with a label on the back that includes the UK duty paid image, then that bottle is not original to the box, and is from a later batch. This is not correct for collectors and could affect price.

A white cap bottle should have a wooden box with it, but depending on the bottle, this will not vary price too much.

*******************************

And what for the future? I have contacted Diageo, asking if the Benrinnes F&F will be discontinued, whether the rumours of Dailuaine being discontinued are true, and what the future of the Flora and Fauna range is likely to be. Diageo were very good in their communication, but sadly declined to make any comment, as any information would be commercially sensitive. I can understand this, though reading between the lines, you can sort of imagine it may be coming to an end. The collection has been on the go for almost thirty years, and that alone is a quite an accolade. Very few brands nowadays last as long unchanged in the world of single malts. I suppose the whisky that is still available in the shops now will probably be slightly different to those first released, but it has been a great run although the end is probably a matter of time. And then this is where the prices will increase further.

In the meantime, although the remaining whiskies aren’t the best whiskies in the world, they are still a good dram, despite only being 43%, coloured and chill filtered. As I say so often, get them while you can, and certainly if you don’t want to collect them, certainly try the 11 that are still available in the shops. Benrinnes, Dailuaine, Auchroisk and Inchgower would be my go-to in the range, with Strathmill and Blair Athol next. I’ll review them as I get a chance, as I have a few samples left.

Slainte!

This blog is written as a hobby. If you liked this article, consider clicking here to visit my Facebook page or liking sharing this article by clicking on icons below.

Scotty’s Drams encourages responsible drinking. To find out the facts about drink, and where to find help if you need it visit Drinkaware.co.uk by clicking on the link.

Photos as credited. Others authors own.

The dizzying heights of Benrinnes

Taste Review 24 – Benrinnes 15 Flora and Fauna

Benrinnes with the distillery in the foreground.

There is an area just to the south of Aberlour which has a small clutch of distilleries. On the east side of the A95 there is Aberlour, GlenAllachie, Benrinnes and Allt-a-Ahainne. On the west side of the A95 there is Dailuaine and Dalmunach (built on the site of the former Imperial distillery). Apart from Aberlour, only the whisky enthusiast is likely to recognise the rest of these names. I feel however that this is away to change.

Benrinnes sits to the south east of Aberlour, just outside the hamlet of Edinville, in the shadow of the hill that gives the name to the distillery, and from its springs supplies the water for the whisky making processes.

Benrinnes is the highest hill in Speyside, with its summit being 840m above sea level. It’s unique shape is recognisable for miles around. It has a couple of granite tors on it like warts and it is a good couple of hours walk to the summit. Beneath its southern face on the lower slopes lies Allt-a-Bhainne distillery.

One fact about the Benrinnes distillery is that like Mortlach, it used to practice a partial triple distillation as illustrated below

This process took the feints (or the tails) from the wash still, and the weaker feints from the spirit still and distilled them again in a low wines (or intermediate) still. This process ended in 2007 at Benrinnes, but a 2.81 distillation still takes place at Mortlach. As this is a component of many Diageo blends, one wonders of the triple distillation was stopped to speed the process up and get more blending material to meet demand.

Region

Speyside

Age

15 y.o

Strength

43% a.b.v

Colour

Amber

Nose

Dried fruits, toffee, rich, slight smoke.

Palate

Sweet, smooth full bodied, slight spicy edge, dried fruit, Caramel.

Finish

Short, dry with a slight spice, continuing with a dried fruit theme of raisins

Conclusion

Let’s get down to what this dram gets wrong. It is chill filtered and it has added colouring. You can see the difference in colour alongside the two independent bottles in the photograph above. I suspect that this is done to either to accentuate the colour of the spirit after being in a sherry cask, or it is to ensure colour consistency. I have recently bought a James Eadie Benrinnes cask strength bottle that was bottled after 13 years from a Madeira cask with no added colouring, and it is just slightly darker.

The Flora and Fauna bottling isn’t the best whisky in the world, but it is far from the worst. It has a great sherry influence, and a full, rich body which gives a dry hint of spicy heat at the end and a faint aroma of smoke. For those who miss the sherry bomb of the Mortlach 16 in the Flora and Fauna range, the Benrinnes 15 is a very close match.

I like this dram and I like it a lot. For the price paid, it gives a lot more than you would expect and it is one of the best bottles in the Flora and Fauna range that are still produced. It is relatively simple to get in the UK, and you will still see it at Diageo distilleries, and in specialist whisky shops and online retailers.

As the Flora and Fauna bottle is the only official release from this distillery, apart from a couple of special editions, your best bet if you want to experiment is to seek this one from an independent bottler. I have to say the one I tried from Robertson’s of Pitlochry was fantastic as a single cask, 9 year old, cask strength. Very spicy finish and my only regret was not buying 2. So, my James Eadie will be my Benrinnes independent drinking bottle and will be reviewed in due course.

Another brand which is bottled with Benrinnes is from A.D Rattray is the Stronachie bottling, which was a lost distillery; the spirit distilled in Benrinnes but matured in Bourbon casks is supposed to be close to the original Stronachie malt. I have a miniature of this, and it will be reviewed in the New Year.

And speaking of lost distilleries, Benrinnes stopped the partial distillation of its spirit in 2007. With 2022 being the last bottling date of the original style spirit, we remain to see if Benrinnes will go the way of other former F&F bottlings, and be replaced by a solo brand, such as what happened to Clynelish, Caol Ila, Dufftown and Glendullan.

I got in contact with Diageo, as I had also heard rumours about Dailuaine being discontinued. They replied that they could not reveal or deny any plans. But Benrinnes and Dailuaine have been in the F&F range since 1991. Maybe a change is due? We will see. Until then, if you see this on a shelf, buy it. It should cost about £52 which is not bad for a 15 y.o malt of this stature.

Until the next review….

Slainte Mhath!

This blog is written as a hobby. If you liked this, consider clicking here to visit my Facebook page or liking sharing this article by clicking on icons below.

Picture credits

Benrinnes distillery – Martin Jenkins under Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Partial distillation diagram taken from Whisky Science under fair use.

Other pictures authors own.

Scotty’s Drams encourages responsible drinking. To find out the facts about drink, and where to find help if you need it visit Drinkaware.co.uk by clicking on the link.

The Dram That Nearly Never Was

Taste Review 23 – BenRiach 10

Benriach is a distillery that nearly never was. Opened in 1898 by John Duff, who already had established the Longmorn Distillery next door in 1893, it was hit badly by the Pattison crash of 1899 which greatly rocked the Scottish whisky producers and saw the ruination of Duff. Benriach closed its doors almost as quick as they had opened, but its malting floors remained open. It never produced spirit again until 1965.

In 2004, a consortium of South African business men plus Billy Walker bought Benriach, and subsequently bought the distilleries at Glenglassaugh and Glendronach. This is almost a full circle, as prior to founding Benriach in 1898, John Duff had been Manager at Glendronach.

In 2016, Benriach was sold to Brown-Forman, the parent company of Jack Daniels.

Benriach was one of many Speyside distilleries that had their own railway engine, as the distillery was linked along with Longmorn to the Speyside line between Elgin and Craigellachie. There was also a spur from Longmorn railway station to the nearby Glenlossie distillery. This link was severed in 1968 when the line closed as a result of the Beeching cuts.

Benriach Trivia – Benriach is Gaelic for ‘Brindled Mountain’

Region

Speyside

Age

10 y.o

Strength

43% a.b.v

Colour

Crisp Gold

Nose

Hazelnut, Almond, Green Apple, Clove

Palate

Fruity, Green apple skins, oak, black pepper, vanilla, dried apricot. The apricot and wood intensify when water is added.

Finish

Medium, spiciness continuing, cinnamon, barley.

Conclusion

A good, solid Speyside whisky. For the basic entry into Benriach, this is a nice tame example. This whisky is a triple cask whisky, and has seen time in an ex Bourbon, Sherry and a virgin oak cask. It is a pleasant marriage, and although the main taste I got from it was the apples, you can taste elements from all three casks.

Adding water did not improve the whisky that much, and the lack of Scotch mist when water was added suggests that this whisky may have been chill filtered at some time. However, the whisky is produced with no added colouring, so perhaps there hasn’t been any filtering.

Full size bottle with Rachael Barrie Signature

It was hard to determine whether or not I had a bottling from the pre-2016 sale of the distillery. Prior to the sale, the master blender was Billy Walker (10 y.o Classic), and afterwards it is now Rachael Barrie (10 y.o). This is more apparent on the full size bottlings, both of which are available from the Whisky Shop Dufftown for £35.95 (£1 cheaper than online shopping with the Whisky Exchange!). WSD is also where I got my miniature for £5.65.

I can definitely recommend this dram.

Slainte Mhath!

This blog is written as a hobby. If you liked this article, consider clicking here to visit my Facebook page or liking sharing this article by clicking on icons below.

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Scotty’s Drams encourages responsible drinking. To find out the facts about drink, and where to find help if you need it visit Drinkaware.co.uk by clicking on the link.

Pirates of the Caribbean (Cask)

Taste Review 22 – Balvenie Caribbean Cask

On the day I tasted this it was a not such a good day. Tax returns to do for two countries, found out my insurer didn’t auto-renew my car insurance, road tax due, added to cutting the damp grass and a dentists visit – it’s enough to drive a guy to drink. And that is precisely what I did.

And thanks to the pirates I had to pay today, I had been thinking of Pirates of the Caribbean. And that was it. I was going to have a Caribbean nip next, the 14 year old Balvenie Caribbean Cask to be correct.

Balvenie is a distillery in Dufftown one of 4 in a row – Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Kininvie (a mini distillery within Balvenie) and the long silent Convalmore. William Grants own all four distilleries, although Convalmore is silent and only used for storage.

There is a blend of all three working distilleries which is called Monkey Shoulder, but this will be reviewed later.

Balvenie is one of a handful of distilleries that use a malting floor, along with BenRiach, Springbank, Highland Park, Kilchoman, Laphroig and Bowmore.

Region

Speyside

Age

14 y.o

Strength

43% a.b.v

Colour

Deep Amber

Nose

Toffee, Vanilla, Fruitcake, Rum, brown sugar

Palate

Vanilla, Rum, Creamy toffee, Raisins

Finish

Short to medium, golden syrup on well buttered toast, and a hint of apple crumble.

Conclusion

A great nose, not bad taste but a too short finish for me. It’s not unpleasant, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t help but feel this isn’t the finest moments of Balvenie. Indeed, it is almost like a novelty whisky, due to the over powering rum influence, and I wasn’t blown away.

If you like rum, this may be for you, but for me, the rum influence was a bit too strong, but this is just the opinion of one person.

However, after an hour since tasting, I was harking back to it, and I think I will buy a full bottle of this and get to know it.

Why?

The nose. Perhaps I didn’t give it a chance. If I scored this whisky it would get 7/10 which isn’t too bad. I’m happy to admit I may be wrong.

Why not visit Balvenie yourself? There is quite a demand to see this distillery, so why not check out their website, and book a tour? It is a bit expensive, at £50 but this is supposed to be one of the best tours to do, and I look forward to visiting one day.

You can start your adventure by clicking this link to take you to The Balvenie

Slainte Mhath!

This blog is written as a hobby. If you liked this article, consider clicking here to visit my Facebook page or liking sharing this article by clicking on icons below.

Picture Credits

Distillery and bottle photos taken from www.thebalvenie.com under fair use

Dram photo – authors own.

Scotty’s Drams encourages responsible drinking. To find out the facts about drink, and where to find help if you need it visit Drinkaware.co.uk by clicking on the link.

Eyes Open For Free Whisky!

Now that I have your attention…….

It’s not all that it seems, but potentially there is a way to score free or cheap rarer whisky.

Regular readers of my blog will know of my habit of scouting auctions for miniatures, mostly for taste reviews. One of my particular habits is looking at batches of miniatures and hopefully there will be something there that I’ll want. This weekend was no different, and the Whisky Hammer auction ended, with me being a winner again.

Spot my target…..

If looking for a smaller sample of rare whisky, it’s worth paying close attention to these batches. The main grab of my recent win may be appear to be the Scottish Parliament miniature with the glasses. But look carefully. Although there is a couple of bottles of lower fill, there is also a GlenDronach 12, a Strathisla 8 and even the Royal Lochnagar 12 is at least a single nip. But look closely. A Connoisseurs Choice Brackla 1974. That is my main target.

How do we get the ‘free’ whisky?

I’m not interested in the Scottish Parliament glasses or nip. The GlenDronach and Strathisla don’t really appeal either. So I’ll look out one or two other miniatures I am not interested in, lump them in a wee box, and put them off to auction. As I only paid £22.40 for this lot, if I get £15 back, I’ve only had to have paid £7.40 for a whisky that if I was to buy in a bar would probably cost £10 a nip. So effectively I paid £7.40 for £20 value. That is a steal in my book – over one dram for free.

Moral of this story? If you want to get the bargains, look closely at the fine details of the deals on offer.

Picture Credits

Bottle photos taken from www.whiskyhammer.co.uk under fair use.

Scotty’s Drams encourages responsible drinking. To find out the facts about drink, and where to find help if you need it visit Drinkaware.co.uk by clicking on the link.

Excess All Areas….

When too much is not enough

Just a short article this week, and probably won’t be a very popular one amongst alcohol enthusiasts, but it is one that needs to be said. After all, a pendulum has to swing both ways.

It was after I had purchased the bottle of Haig Club in order to do the taste review of a single grain whisky (and a cheap one at that), I noticed the price in the supermarket was £22 for 1 litre but £25 for 70CL. This is a bargain, and shouldn’t be argued with, but as a personal licence holder, I know pricing like this is actually against the recommended guidelines in Scotland which are set down for ‘on sales’ in licenced premises. However it is allowed in off-licence sales as long as it is above the minimum price per unit. It is seem as bad craic in the regulatory world to actively encourage a person to drink or buy more than they normally would, and could fall in the bracket of irresponsible promotion.

George regretted his second Famous Grouse

It got me thinking about our attitudes to alcohol. While I have no qualms about anybody who reads the dribble I write on my blog having a problem with alcohol – we are all grown ups after all, for some they have no control. It is when one or two isn’t enough, and you rely on alcohol to relax.

I’m not wanting to preach what you should and shouldn’t do with regards to drinking – that is up to you to decide, but over consumption of alcohol has well documented negative effects on a person’s health. It doesn’t stop there, as excessive over consumption also affects those around you like your family and friends. This is why I try to emphasise quality alcohol over the quantity of alcohol consumed. After all, so we not want to experience the finer things in life?

So, how much is too much?

The amount of alcohol that is safe to consume according to the UK government has changed over the years. The Royal College of Physicians recommended these limits as a guide.

Low Health Risk – Women up to 14 units, men up to 21 units

Increased Health Risk – Women 14 – 35 units, men 21 – 49 units

High Health Risk – Women over 35, men over 49

The problem was with these guidelines was that people tended to save them for the weekend and drink them in one or two consecutive days. As a student I seem to remember doing something similar, but this is known binge drinking and is now recognised as quite harmful to health.

Current recommendations are for women 2-3 units a day and men 3-4 units a day, with 2 or three alcohol free days a day. The current NHS guidelines are 14 units per week for both men and women (Aug 2019).

But what is a unit? How do we calculate the amounts we are drinking?

To calculate the units of alcohol there is very simple calculation.

% abv x ml / 1000.

Therefore a 40% whisky nip of 25ml can be calculated

40 x 25 = 1000

1000 / 1000 = 1 unit.

This will highlight why we need to be careful with cask strength whiskies. A 63% whisky would have a unit value of almost 1.6 units. Bear in mind these are measured amounts that are standard in the UK. It could also be 35ml, which makes our 63% pour have a value of 2.2 units. Plus, how many people actually measure their pours at home?? I do, having a 25ml and 50ml jigger. I’m not being tight, I’ll happily pour more, but it gives me and my guests an idea of how much they are drinking and can pace accordingly.

Pours in other countries can be a standard 40ml, so remember this while abroad.

There are further dangers of mixing your drinks. How many of us may have a glass or two of wine with a meal? One small 125ml glass of 12% wine is 1.5 units. How many of us have the big glass(es)? Add a couple of aperitif whiskies after and your 14 unit weekly budget is reached and beached with hardly any effort.

Driving isn’t the perfect mixer for your drink

There is also the issue of drink driving. Don’t even assume that there is a safe limit or time for you to start driving after a drink. Just leave the car at home, or be a responsible adult and have a drink free day. The average healthy adult can metabolise 1 unit of alcohol an hour, from the point you stop drinking but this can vary from person to person. If you have your 14 units of alcohol in one day, don’t think of driving the next day. And if you plan enjoying yourself in Scotland, then the drink drive limit is nearly half that of the rest of the UK. Take a public transport, get the wife to drive you to work or just pull a sickie.

It’s easy for me to preach. I work in a job I have to go without booze for weeks at a time, but who doesn’t enjoy a drink after work? Truth is that living with a toddler and in a rural area where I rely on being able to drive, I need to be careful, or life gets difficult.

I’m going to leave it to you to decide what is right for you, but put the gut rot down and let’s continue to concentrate on quality over quantity.

If you feel you want to know more about this subject, please visit the independent Drinkaware website. It is full of helpful information. Click here to visit the site. This link will appear at the bottom of all my blog posts from now on.

Keep informed. Keep safe. Keep Enjoying – responsibly.

Now I’ve done my bit of public responsibility, we can now look towards the next taste review. And don’t worry. I’ll still alert you to the drinks bargains I see.

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Scotty’s Drams encourages responsible drinking. To find out the facts about drink, and where to find help if you need it visit Drinkaware.co.uk by clicking on the link.

It’s Mari-time for a dram!

Taste Review 21 – Old Pulteney 12

After a wee bit of consideration I thought I’d go to the north Highland region and try an Old Pulteney. I had a couple to try from, and I decided on the 12 year old offering over the now discontinued and well revered 17 year old single malt. Don’t worry, I’ll do the 17 year old dram later.

What is there to know about Old Pulteney? Until 2013, it was the most northerly whisky distillery on the Scottish mainland until the rebirth of Wolfburn distillery in Thurso, Caithness. Situated in the town of Wick, also in the Caithness region of Scotland. The distillery is is only about 500 yards from the harbour and makes the most of its slogan – the maritime malt.

You can visit the Old Pulteney distillery. I recommend taking the train to Wick from Inverness if you have a couple of days to spare. This goes through some of the most beautiful parts of Scotland on the Far North Line, including the ‘Flow Country’, the largest blanket bog in Europe. The views are absolutely stunning.

Region

Highland

Age

12 y.o

Strength

40% a.b.v

Colour

Amber with pink hues

Nose

Fruity, citrus, maritime notes

Palate

Dry, Vanilla, citrus and a hint of brine.

Finish

Quite short and salty at the end. Just the ticket for a coastal distillery

Conclusion

Mmmmm, don’t know where to go with this one. It’s nice, but not a grab you by the testicles nice. However, it does exactly what it says on the tin – it is indeed a maritime malt, as the after taste is heavy on the brine. Adding water didn’t do too much to it for me.

There is a slight bourbon influence in the vanilla, the fruit may becoming from a longer fermentation period, but here is where I make a surprising observation: – bottling at 40% was probably a good idea. I think any stronger would overpower the delicate flavours here. It seems to be more spirit driven rather than flavour coming from the cask, and any extra spirit would be a no-no. The label describes it as robust, but I would definitely disagree. But as we know, taste is a subjective concept.

You can buy a bottle of Old Pulteney 12 for around the £30 on various online sites and whisky specialists. This miniature for tasting was won at auction and so I cannot give you an accurate price.

Would I buy it again? Probably not, but to be fair, if a light coastal dram is your thing and you love the brine notes, this has it in spades.

Slainte Mhath!

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Picture Credits

Old Pulteney Distillery – Bill Henderson / Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0

Other photos by the author

Better Dramming Through Chemistry?

Will age statements soon be in hours?

It has been a fairly vexatious fortnight for Scotty’s Drams. During a quiet moment at work, I was reading an article about an American company who can make a whisky in not years, but age it in a matter of 24 hours.

I’m not kidding. Click here for the link to the article. Not only that, but another Facebook page (Great Drams) wrote an article about it, so I’ve delayed mine in an effort not to be seen as a plagiarist.

With regards to not having to waste* time ageing whisky, I’m sure this would be good for the bean counters and the shareholders, but is never going to be good for the consumer. Here’s why.

1/ Although natural ingredients are used to flavour the whisky instead of ageing in a barrel, this should never be. In my opinion, there should only be 3 ingredients. Water, Yeast, Malted Barley. And E150a if absolutely necessary.

2/ Making a whisky in this way means you are taking away any character. The stills, the barley and yeast strain mean nothing. Even the cask influence is now obsolete.

3/ To me a good whisky is made by a great distillery coupled with a great master blender. For instance, Glenallachie has certainly taken a forward bound with the arrival of Billy Walker. His 12 y.o core expression is fantastic. That’s the skill we want and not just somebody in a white coat.

Things went awry in the Famous Grouse Lab

4/ Where is the soul in the liquid? I like the idea that my dram has been slumbering in a cask for however many years. It has taken on the character of the place it was matured, hopefully in a dunnage warehouse. For a coastal whisky, I want a brine influence and I’m wanting it from the cask, not because somebody has added some salt to the vat.

5/ What about Single Casks? That would be pointless, as you can just cook up a recipe for your whisky. I like the variation of single casks, as well as the influence of the wood, depending on the cask type.

Would we even need wooden barrels any more?

Why would we do this??

Obviously this is down to cost. If a product doesn’t need to be matured, then the need to hold something in a warehouse for 10, 20 or however many years is gone. Going down this route is only for financial benefit of the producer and not the consumer.

Without wanting to go down a political path, this is one of only one threat to Scotch whisky from the US. There is already talk about the US insisting that the minimum age for Scotch New Make Spirit to be called whisky being changed to 2 years instead of 3. Of course, in the light of Brexit, the UK is likely to cave into demands in order to get a trade deal. It needs the revenue of a trade deal. Tax revenue on almost £5bn industry, this will make whisky a commodity that the UK treasury will not want to affect the export of. Especially to its largest export market, and certainly won’t want to see any tariffs added, which will be devastating to the UK Treasury and the Scottish Whisky Industry.

But how would the refusal of artificially aged whisky equally affect the export market and tax revenue if the markets for Scotch reject it? It is a double edged sword.

Scottish whisky is sold on not only its quality and taste, it’s also partially the tradition, the legend, and the perceived quality. Take this away by taking away the maturation period would put a big nail into the heart of the industry. What distillery would sully its brand so after decades or centuries?

Fortunately, the Scotch Whisky Association doesn’t expect the status of Scotch Whisky to change, but in uncertain times, we just don’t know. The other plus point is that it won’t catch on if people don’t buy it. Hopefully the people who regularly read my articles want to drink quality and not quantity, and aren’t afraid to pay a little bit for it. May it stay that way my friends. You will have a much more fulfilling whisky journey because of it.

Can there be a worse whisky than Grouse after all??

Slainte Mhath

*its never a waste of time to carefully age a great dram.

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Blend It Like Beckham

Taste Review 20 – Haig Club Clubman

In this review, we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory, and we commit one of the cardinal sins of the dedicated single malt fan (can you guess what it is yet?) and yet, everything turns out ok.

We find ourselves not in the territory of single malts, but single grain whisky. This is a first for me, as I’ve never been one to try grain whisky, apart from the various ryes and mashes from the States. There are 7 grain distilleries in Scotland – Invergordon, Cameronbridge, Girvan, Loch Lomond, Starlaw, North British and Strathclyde. All are in the Lowlands apart from Invergordon and Loch Lomond, which are classified as Highland whiskies.

Scottish Grain whisky is distilled in a column still, which allows continuous distillation rather than the batch method of pot stills. It also achieves a purer new make, which has removed most of the impurities. This makes it smoother, and was responsible for the rise in popularity of whisky in the mid to late 1800’s. It wasn’t until 1860 that it was allowed to blend malt and grain whiskies together, although vatting malts and grains separately had gone on for years. Allowing blending smoothed out the experience of some of the rougher malts of the time.

And so we move onto Haig Club Clubman. A permanent addition to the range being promoted in a collaboration between David Beckham and Diageo, the owners of the Cameronbridge distillery and media guru Simon Fuller. The range was started with Haig Club, which is a little bit more expensive. This is a whisky I didn’t really want to review but the circumstances were that it was on offer and it was too good a deal to ignore.

John Haig opened the Cameronbridge distillery in 1824, just after the 1823 Excise act made distilling of whisky cheaper. It is the largest Single Grain Distillery in Europe.

And onto the taste test.

Region

Lowland

Age

No Age Statement

Strength

40% a.b.v

Colour

Pale Gold

Nose

Coconut, wood spice, vanilla, butterscotch

Palate

Custard, coconut, Scottish tablet, creamy grain,

Finish

Short – vanilla, butterscotch, cereal notes.

Conclusion

This is quite a sweet whisky, and having been matured in ex Bourbon casks, there is quite a vanilla and caramel/ toffee influence with a cereal note to it and overall it’s quite light and unassuming. The aftertaste is quite sweet but short, and after a while I felt as though I’d drunk a Jack Daniels and coke.

And, having felt I’d already crossed the Rubicon in taste testing a single grain, I thought it would be a great idea to add coke to see what the fuss was about and break one of the unspoken (and unjustified) taboos about not adding coke to whisky.

You see, when researching Haig Club, I found a lot of negative comments about it, about how it was rough, cheap, a rip off, only fit for cleaning drains or mixing with coke. And here is my point – it was a whisky designed to be mixed, especially with coke. It will never replace a good single malt, or even a really fine grain, but in all fairness it wasn’t too bad. As much as I wanted to hate it, I couldn’t.

The overall policy for Scotty’s Drams is that you should drink the whisky you like and the way you like it. Nothing else matters. While I can advise on how to drink it, and why it is best not to add ice etc, especially to a fine single malt, if you choose to ignore this, then that’s fine! The choice is yours.

And back to Haig Clubman. Yes, it isn’t the best whisky in the world. Yes, it is a bit too light to be a good whisky (for me, in my opinion), but is it bad? Definitely not. And it was quite refreshing with coke added.

So. Ignore the whisky snobs, haters and the misguided. This is a whisky you can have in your cabinet or on your shelf and know you are getting value for money. I bought mine when it was on offer in Tesco and was £22 for 1 litre, but the 70cl was £25. Odd pricing, which I am pretty sure goes against Scottish licensing guidelines, but that’s a subject for another article. Also you might be able to get this cheaper elsewhere, as Scottish drink laws mean there is a £0.50 minimum cost per unit of alcohol, so over the border it may be sub £20.

You may see this in your specialist whisky stores, but don’t hold your breath. Look out for the rarely bottled Cameronbridge Single Grain instead.

Finally, my last comment is that despite drinking the David Beckham whisky, at no point did my football skills improve or was I surrounded by women. Oh well, I never really liked Posh Spice anyway.

Slainte Mhath!

Photography taken from Haig Club website and used under fair use policy.

This blog is written as a hobby. If you liked this, consider clicking here to visit my Facebook page or liking sharing this article by clicking on icons below.