Size isn’t everything…..

…..It’s what you do with it that counts….

Whisky distillery visit – Oban

Well, I hope you all didn’t miss world whisky day on the 18th of May. I have to admit, I did. I had hoped to leave an article or a tasting review on the day. I was travelling about 100 miles down the West Coast of Scotland to Oban, and my intention was to get into the distillery and have a wee taste review on the day, but it just wasn’t to be. In the end my visit had to be on the day after on Sunday.

Oban is the second smallest distillery in Diageo’s Scottish portfolio, the smallest being Royal Lochnagar. It has a capacity of 838,000 litres a year, which is quite low for a distillery owned by a major corporation. The distillery started off as a brewery next to a small fishing village. Soon, the village grew into a small town and surrounded the distillery, meaning that the distillery could not expand.

The tour guide who showed us around was Irianna, a young lady from Cuba who had settled in Scotland. She knew her subject matter well, and answered questions well.

Because Oban distillery is so small, malting does not take place here, so the malted barley is delivered from a supplier. The malt has been dried with peat, but is only lightly so. It is crushed here to create the heist and fed into the single mash tun.

The wort from the last mash is used as the liquid for the first mash in the next mash. The mashing produces 32,000 litres of wort which then gets fed to the wash backs. The 4 washbacks are made of Douglas Fir, each lasting about 45 years. 2 are due replacement soon. Fermentation takes up to 6 days, with the long fermentation giving the citrus notes to the spirit. The wash is typically 9% abv.

Both the wash still and spirit still are lamp glass shape, with the Spirit charge being 11,000 litres. The low wines from the wash still are about 24% abv. which then feed into the spirit charger and onto the spirit still, the charge measuring approximately 6,500 litres. The foreshots come out of the still at 90% abv, but this isn’t desirable nor is it drinkable unless making yourself blind is one of your life goals. The heart of the distillation is taken at 65-70% abv. The feints (the spirit too weak to make whisky) is put back into the spirit charger along with the foreshots for the next charge of low wine into the spirit still.

The waste products of the stills (pot ale from the wash and spent lees from the spirit still) are treated and sent to waste.

The Oban Distillery uses worm tubs to cool the vapour from the stills, which have the disadvantage of not having as much copper contact as a shell and tube condenser. This means the spirit is a bit heavier, more meaty. This is counteracted by running the worms hotter than normal, and leaving the access door to the still open after the distillation of a batch to ensure that the copper of the still rejuvenates quicker. Copper contact is vital for taking out some of the impurities out of the spirit, such as sulphur. I noted that the Lyne arm from the wash still was slightly canted upwards which would help with reflux and filter out more of the undesirable parts of the spirit.

Illustration of still and worm tub tubing

The final spirit is diluted to 63.5% before being placed into ex bourbon casks, which impart the honeyed note that is also part of Oban’s whisky. Most of the production is matured off-site due to the space restrictions. It is unknown where the maritime note of sea salt gets into the whisky, but perhaps it is from the barrels that are stored on site.

As we move toward the end of the tour, we are led into an old warehouse which has some barrel parts with coopering tools. There were a couple barrels which had whisky in them. The guide would then use a valinch to remove enough whisky to give each one of us a small dram. This was whisky that isn’t sold at all by the distillery and was a nine year old Cask Strength (58.1%) whisky.

What struck me at this point was if I was to have had a ‘Copper Dog’ with me, I could have had a much better portion as the cask was left unguarded as the guides back was turned. And I so wish I could have, as this for me would prove to be the best dram of the day, despite only getting 10ml of it. Plus, regardless of its strength, I found this very palatable with no water, and very little burn. A strong honey flavour in the taste, with a light smoke, and salty smoke in the medium finish.

Very little colour and not enough liquid!

We finish up in a tasting room, where we are all shown the distillery range, and whereupon the Diageo Game of Thrones range was pushed upon us a wee bit. Having never seen a single episode, I’m not that interested and especially when when we were told it is a 60/40 mix of two of their range, which if I remember correctly was Oban Distillery Edition and Oban 14. A dram of 14 y.o was given out and that was the end of the tour.

I find it funny that the big push to buy something when the next stop is the gift shop, but I decided to give that a miss to begin with, and headed to the impressive whisky bar upstairs which gave a full range of Oban produce as well as some other Diageo offerings, including most of the currently produced remnants of the Flora and Fauna range (I’ll have to do a blog post on that sometime!). I went for another Oban 14, to get the essence of it, then an Inchgower 14 F&F which I am familiar with, but rarely taste.

Both 14 year olds are very palatable but the Oban is a heavier whisky, whereas Inchgower is much more delicate – probably the most delicate thing to come from the fishing port of Buckie! It made my mind up to buy a drinking bottle of Inchgower, and I also had to purchase a 20cl bottle of Oban 14 and Clynelish 14. The Clynelish I have had before and it is absolutely fantastic.

The 14 year old Oban was good enough, and apparently most of their produce of this bottling is sold in the USA. I’ll do a taste review on this later in the week. In conclusion, this is a good tour to do. If you can look past the corporate side of things, it’s brilliant to see a small distillery rather than a massive spirit factory. The staff are really friendly and helpful, and I thoroughly recommend a visit.

Slainte Mhath!

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No Wooly Jumper Required

Taste Review 8 – Arran

Going to stick to the island whiskies for another taste review, and head south from the review of last weeks Talisker Storm and land on the Isle that has named many a woolly jumper – Arran. As the case with Talisker on the Isle of Skye, Arran is another Inner Hebridean island, it sits between the Kintyre peninsula and the Ayrshire coast.

There isn’t a lot for me to tell you about the Arran distillery. It is the first modern distillery on the island, based in Lochranza at the north end of the Arran and was founded in 1995. However, such is the demand for their product, they are already expanding, and as of 2016 decided to open a second distillery at Lagg, which has not seen whisky production (legally at least!) since 1837. The second distillery is aiming to help spread the tourist impact across the island, and also to produce their peated malts. First production was made on the 19th March 2019.

This taste review comes to you via another of my miniature purchases which saves me buying the full bottle. This one had been recommended to me, so I purchased my mini-malt for £5.20 from the Whisky Shop in Dufftown.

Age

14 years old

Strength

46% a.b.v

Colour

Straw

Nose

Ginger, chocolate orange, vanilla, pears.

Palate

Very smooth. Burnt oak, spiced fruits, hazelnuts, citrus, toffee. Salt comes to the party when you add a little water.

Finish

Smooth, brine note holds well when water added. Caramel, cinnamon; the chocolate orange came back for me at the very end.

Conclusion

Quite a pleasant dram. I was able to pick out the chocolate orange straight away. I used to have a girlfriend who would only realise that I bought the chocolate only for her if it was a Terrys Chocolate Orange. I can’t stand it. Only chocolate orange stuff I like is Jaffa cakes. The bottling strength is bang on the money, but still tastes smooth. It is without artificial colour and non-chill filtered.

The initial aroma is very delicate. I nearly thought it was mint. However it hides a subtle complexity. I found many different flavours, and enjoyed the coastal brine note that became easier to spot with water added.

Would I buy a bottle? Possibly at some point, regardless of the Chocolate Orange note. I’m not sure of how available it is, as a few places have sold out, but I suspect that as this is a part of the core range is that success has over run a limited supply.

Expect to pay about £45-£52 a bottle.

Slainte Mhath!

There’s a Storm Brewing!

Taste Review #7 – Talisker Storm

This miniature was bought for me by my lovely wife. It came in a triple pack that also included Talisker 10 and Talisker Skye. Out of that three, Storm is the smokiest, so I thought I’d give it a go first. My usual go-to peated whisky is Laphroaig, which I can enjoy neat, but would Storm be the same?

Talisker is situated on the Isle of Skye, part of the Highland classification of malts. Officially there is no Island Category under the SWR 2009 legislation. It sits at the northern end of the village of Carbost in West Skye, and sits directly on the shores of Loch Harport. There is a visitor centre which sells the distillery produce along with selections of other Diageo distilleries as well as other Talisker merchandise. I’ve visited twice, once in 2011 and again with my wife to be in 2013.

The distillery makes a big point of being by the sea, and having dunnage warehouses on the loch shore definitely imparts a brine taste and aroma.

***Talisker Distillery looking south towards Carbost village***

Age

Talisker Storm is Non-Age Statement.

Strength

45.8 % a.b.v

Colour

Medium Golden. As is common with Diageo non-cask strength whiskies, this one has caramel added.

Legs

A nice speed to the legs, suggesting a younger, higher alcohol content. However this is only a medium strength whisky.

Nose

Smoke. And heaps of it. Once poured, I left it to sit for a while, and the aroma of a medicinal smoke was filling my nostrils. Smelling it close up, I could detect brine, pepper and an oaky, woody smell.

Palate

A bit harsher than what I’ve become used to, which I was surprised with. I do like a peaty whisky, and this one reminded me of a young Ardbeg. However there was slightly more depth to Talisker Storm than Ardbeg 10. Definitely smokey with a light chilli pepper burn, but I didn’t detect the sweet notes initially, but with a teaspoon of water, this killed a bit of the peppery taste and left the sweeter elements of smoke there. Quite pleasant.

Finish

For me, the peppery finish continued with a bigger woody taste. The sweetness then became apparent towards the end. Felt the finish was a bit short, but left a feeling of having been to a BBQ in your mouth. The addition of water mellowed this out a fair bit.

Full Size bottle. Available at all good whisky retailers.

Talisker Storm is widely available in the UK and costs around £38 – £44. Shop around online and you may get it slightly cheaper.

It’s a pleasant dram to have although for me not amazing, and for me certainly not neat. I’d still pick Laphroaig 10 before this. What is amazing is the branded hoodie that I bought still fits, despite me being a middle aged “eating enthusiast!”

It’s also funny, that when I last visited Talisker with my wife, we also visited Dalwhinnie on the same trip. I only liked Talisker 10 with water, yet my wife preferred it neat, however the reverse was the case at Dalwhinnie. For me, it’s still the same – Talisker needs water, Dalwhinnie doesn’t. But in both cases, another nip is needed. And that’s just what I’m off to do!

Slainte Mhath!

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It’s time for the ‘F-word’

Whisky Fakes – Collecting advice #3

Now we are getting into the swing of things, those of you who have been reading my blog will realise that I have a collection of whisky. Before you decide to descend on my house for a party, let me save you the cost of travel; it’s in storage well away from the house. I just don’t want to be tempted to drink some of it.

This next article should be of importance to all of you who drink and enjoy a good whisky, and aren’t afraid to pay for it. It also should be essential reading for those of you thinking of expanding their collection, especially with high demand or high value bottles. I’ll keep it brief but you really need to be aware of the facts.

The ‘F-word’ we have to deal with is one that will fill anybody who has paid a pretty penny for a bottle with dread – FAKE.

This is a subject an old work colleague and I were discussing over a drink after bumping into each other at Aberdeen Airport this New Year’s Eve. I was aware of fakes and was pretty sure of the items I had were safe. However I decided to do a bit more research and was a bit horrified at what I found.

One is real and worth a fortune

It is unfortunate that once something becomes popular, expensive or both that the unscrupulous amongst the human race will start to make fakes. This goes from anything from kids toys, clothes and fashion, tools and dutiable goods like tobacco and drink. And whisky falls into this category. Fake whisky can have dramatic negative effects to our bank balances and our health.

Before the mass demand of whisky we have now, products like this have always been faked. In Europe, quite a lot of whiskies were faked by the Mafia. But now that the demand is continuing to grow, and older whisky stocks are going down, prices are going up, and this fuels the fakes market.

YOU NEED TO PROTECT YOURSELF.

And here is how to do it.

1/ Know what your bottle should look like.

Research what the label should look like. Check the seal is intact. Confirm the capsule is the correct colour. Check the liquid inside is the correct colour. Is it even in the correct bottle? Be aware of the correct bottle shape and size, and any embossed patterns. Remember, that distilleries do occasionally change bottle shape. Bruichladdich used to be in tall bottles but now in more dumpy ones. Just be sure the bottle is appropriate for the age of the whisky.

2/ Check the label

Compare to a known original bottle or a bottle from the same distillery. Check for incorrect spelling and that the volume and abv are stated. Be aware that some older, cheaper whiskies don’t always state volume or strength – it may depend on export market. Proceed with caution. Another give away is does the bottle state the correct region? Knowledge is needed here as although it’s a Speyside Malt, Macallan state it’s a Highland Malt on the labels. Here’s a tip – all Speyside whiskies can also be classed as Highland, but not all Highland whiskies are Speysiders. Another whisky that calls itself a Highland malt but is also Speyside is Dalwhinnie.

Are the labels too clean for an aged bottle? Another giveaway. Check the paper type, and how it is attached to the bottle. Is there any gold or metallic coloured lettering – check it is a foil and not just printed on.

3/ Above all else, check the seal!

Give the seal a very close inspection. Check for tampering, check the capsule is the right colour, and isn’t loose. Some Ardbeg, including the collectible ones have very poor capsules, which can be removed. Check the capsule hasn’t been secured in a way that was not by the bottler.

4/ Check the fill level and colour of the liquid.

Already mentioned in step one, but give it more of a check. If the fill level is higher than normal, or higher than an average bottle of the same age, alarm bells should be ringing. This can be difficult in coloured glass or impossible in the case of ceramic decanters.

5/ If possible, buy directly from a retailer.

The chances of a fake whisky being sold by trusted retailer are small. If buying a bottle on the secondary market from a retailer, closely examine the bottle. Look for all the above and be satisfied before you part with the cash. If you want to be totally sure, research batch codes, and see if the bottle you want to buy has an appropriate code. For higher price items, the seller will probably be happy enough to let you check before you buy, as you may be buying a bottle worth hundreds or thousands of pounds.

6/ Exercise care using auctions

Auctions are the place where you need to be most wary, especially if buying expensive bottles. If it’s an online auction, feel free to go to the auction house and request to see it if it is a massively expensive bottle. All online auction houses I deal with are happy enough to send extra photos to you by email or to discuss the bottle in question.

While buying from an auction means that somebody has had an experienced eye over look it, they might miss some of the fakes. Once you receive your bottle, give it a good check over and notify the auction house immediately if you have reasonable doubt as to authenticity. The auction house will not want a reputation for selling improper goods. You may also have a form of come-back and retrieve your money.

******BEWARE******

If you keep your bottles in the free storage often offered by the auctioneers, this may limit your comeback if it is a fake. By time you collect, the seller of the fake has their money, and it will be almost impossible to retrieve. You may well get money back from the auction house, but don’t expect it to be easy.

7/ Private sales.

Unless you fully trust the person you are dealing with, I recommend to avoid this method of purchase. Once you have bought your bottle and found out it is fake, your cash is long gone.

If you are considering purchasing this way, insist on being able to check on the bottle and packaging. Ask for receipts. Anybody with high value bottles will keep the receipts, or genuine bills of sale / orders. If they cannot supply this, walk away.

Do not purchase on eBay. You have no comeback. Buying alcohol on eBay in the UK is forbidden anyway – HMRC cracked down on that years ago.

If the price being asked is too low, ask why. It could be that

⁃ they are desperate for money

⁃ It’s fake

⁃ It’s stolen

⁃ It’s damaged

⁃ They don’t know what it’s worth

⁃ They’re not greedy. This is possible but as many people think old or rare whisky has the value of a brand new Porsche 911, this isn’t that common unless you are in a genuine whisky circle.

I’ve been offered a bottle of Macallan Genesis for £250. This was at the time they were being auctioned for £4000+. As it was a workmate, I couldn’t do it to him, knowing they were released for £495. I also had my suspicions over the bottle. While I have no doubt about my work colleagues story about him buying it off a guy in Peterhead, it was obvious the bottle had a dodgy past or the guy was desperate.

Needless to say when I told my colleague of the real value, I made his day.

8/ Not all fakes are high value spirits

Don’t assume it’s only collectible or expensive bottles that get faked. I’ve learnt of cheaper Glenmorangie (£50-£70) being faked. While this may not be that worthwhile, as profits will be low; if demand is higher, it will be more worthwhile.

And I leave the most important point to last.

If you have purchased a bottle that is fake, you are taking a big gamble with your health. You do not know what is in that bottle. There may be something as harmless as cold tea or food colouring. There may also be a lower quality whisky in there. Mind you, even if it is Bells, that’s maybe not going to kill you. But there could also be industrial alcohol such as methanol in the bottle. This will blind you, in as little as twelve hours and cause massive damage to your central nervous system. Once ingested, Methanol forms Formaldehyde and Formic acid. You do not want this inside you.

*The possible result of drinking fakes.*

I can testify to the horrible experience of Formaldehyde. It is used as a preservative in beer, most notably in Africa. As I have to work there on a regular basis, I try only to drink imported beer and never drink any spirits. You don’t know what you are getting. Plus, Formaldehyde gives you a cracker of a hangover.

What can we do to help to stem the spread of fakes?

Firstly, use the knowledge I have given you to buy smart. If there is no demand, the faking rate will drop. Remember, if it is too good to be true, it is.

Secondly, do not sell your empty bottles. Keep them if you wish, but otherwise smash them and recycle. Forgers often refill bottles and these are harder to spot, as the bottle and label are genuine. Same goes for your stoppers. Keep a selection of sizes in case you have a broken cork, but otherwise destroy these too.

People often buy these bottles to make cool lamps out of, but this is not hard to do yourself. You never know if you are selling your bottle to a forger.

If you are ever selling, consider using an auction house to sell. You might have to pay 10% of the hammer price in auction fees, but if your bottle sells, it’s an no hassle sale. Or go through a broker. Companies like Rare Whisky 101 are highly reputable and have a list of clients looking to buy collections or certain bottles.

Whenever you buy a bottle, keep a copy of the receipt. Photocopy it if it’s a till receipt as many thermal print receipts fade after time rendering them useless. Other buyers will be wary of fakes too, and will be seeking provenance on high value bottles. I have to admit, I don’t have every receipt, but the ones I don’t have were low value gifts or bought from a reputable seller and I do have every confidence in the bottles.

I bought this. Is it real?? Despite having a few alarm bells, it probably is genuine.

Have I bought a fake? I’d like to think not, but I have one bottle in my collection I bought at auction I have my suspicions over. It’s a Gilbeys Spey Royal from the 1950s. It was purchased at auction when I went to hoover up something that had a low price on it. I was thinking of drinking it but had second thoughts.

Seeing as I only paid £35 I’m not that worried, and it will be a good ornament. It has no volume or ABV stated, but having researched online, this seems to be almost normal for a bottle of this age, and I have seen similar bottles with the same. Further research with the auctioneer gave me some knowledge I previously didn’t know, and it turns out that the bottle is different as it is a Portuguese import, and that is the type of bottle that was stipulated which differs from the original bottle. This isn’t a unique issue – in the past the iconic square bottles of Johnnie Walker were rejected by Portugal in a similar period, so a different (round) bottle was used. As for the abv and volume missing from the label, this wasn’t required on UK bottles until the 70’s, so would only be added if the country importing it requested it. But still, I’m not going to take a chance and it will remain unopened.

So I’ll keep my health and drink to yours with something a bit more classy!

Slainte Mhath!

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Taste Review #6 – Blair Athol 12 y.o (F&F)

The dram with a misleading location.

The title of the blog may be slightly misleading as well. F&F stands for Flora and Fauna, a nickname given to a range of whiskies owned by United Distillers (later Diageo) in the early 1990’s by the late whisky writer Michael Jackson. It definitely does not stand for cheap supermarket fashion from Tesco, a joke maybe only relevant to my UK based readers.

I’ll write a blog eventually about Flora and Fauna bottlings, but essentially the range had a picture of a plant or wildlife local to that distillery. There were 26 different distilleries in this portfolio, although only 11 are still available to buy. Even then, some are getting harder to source.

In the early 90’s, most distilleries were still being used to produce whisky for blends and the Flora and Fauna range gave a chance for consumers to try produce from a distillery they would otherwise not get as a single malt. In the case of Blair Athol, for years it has been making whisky to go into Bells blended whisky. There has been an 8 y.o release, but since Diageo took over, the 12 y.o Flora and Fauna being its only regular official release.

Blair Athol distillery has one big surprise with those not familiar with this malt; it’s not in Blair Athol, but seven miles down the A9 road in the village of Pitlochry. This village had a distillery since 1798, but was originally called Aldour. Perhaps the name change was to sweeten the local landowner, the Duke of Athol. Nestled in Highland Perthshire, this is classified as a Highland whisky.

The Blair Athol distillery has a visitor centre that was opened in 1987.

Although I own a couple of these full sized bottles, this taste test was created by the purchase of a 3cl miniature from The Whisky Exchange.

Age

Blair Athol Flora and Fauna has an age statement of 12 years old.

Strength

43% a.b.v

Colour

Mid to dark Gold

Nose

Sweet white wine. Oak. Toffee, sweet notes, perhaps a bit biscuity. More toffee notes once water added.

Palate

Gingerbread, nutty, dried fruits. Sweet sherry taste there as well, held a wee bit better with a drop of water.

Finish

Short to medium. Spicy oak and nuts. A bit dry to start with, though ends with a wee burst of sweetness. 5 minutes after first sip, had no residual taste at all in my mouth. Sweet part of finish lessened with water, but spicy oak flavour intensified.

Conclusion

Quite a pleasant dram. There is colour added and it is chill filtered. Nothing that would set the world on fire, but I found the short finish quite refreshing. This could be an ideal malt to give to someone who doesn’t have a lot of experience with single malt and wants to try some. There are no strong elements that would be off-putting.

This malt is available from Amazon, Master Of Malt or The Whisky Exchange. It costs about £48.

Slainte Mhath!

Troubled Tomatin re-tried.

Tomatin 18 y.o Oloroso – Taste Review 3a.

For those of you who read my review on the Tomatin 18 y.o Oloroso Cask, you may remember that I had some problems with the sample after adding water. A strong burnt rubber taste occurred.

Well, with a slight remainder in the bottle, I resolved to taste it again, but remembering not to add the water! But despite not diluting my spirit, a burnt rubber note was still there. Perhaps now my palate had been exposed to it, I was able to pick it out.

This convinced me something was definitely not right with this dram, and was putting it down to variations in the batches, although how this slipped through I had no idea.

It wasn’t until I was rinsing the empty bottle out that I found my probable cause – some sort of corrosion or contamination in the cap.

Why did I not taste this before? Well, it is probable that my first taste, the alcohol masked it, and this is why I thought it was poor only after adding water. By diluting the spirit, you can start to pick out individual flavours. This was 46% so not too strong, but a little water will help it release what’s below the surface. With cask strength, you get too much spirit burn to taste many flavours, so it’s sometimes best to add a teaspoon of spring water straight away.

By the second taste a few days later, I knew the taste was there, and I could pick it out. I don’t have a super sense of taste – my affection for 80’s music and Pineapple on a pizza should confirm that! It’s when we build up a databank of tastes in our heads that we have the experience to recognise things if we experience them again.

That particular bottle was purchased from a specialist whisky shop in Speyside although I will not name it. I believe the gunk in the cap was the cause of the bad taste. While it may not have been a manufacturing defect in the seal or cap, it could have just as easily have been because the bottle had been stored horizontally and the spirit had affected the seal. This is most likely to have occurred in transit as a dedicated whisky retailer would have known NEVER to store whisky on its side. However, one such retailer I visited last week had two bottles on display on their side.

Or still there is the chance the cap had nothing to do with it, and it was a bad cask used in this batch.

Whatever the case, I can try the second miniature and see if it’s the same. I trust it won’t be.

Slainte Mhath!

Taste Review #5 – Allt A Bhainne

Boring no more; Allt-a-Bhainne

Allt-a-Bhainne (pronounced ‘Alta-vane‘ – Scots Gaelic for burn of milk) is one of those whisky distilleries you never really hear of. Situated in Glenrinnes, which is 4 miles south west of Dufftown. This distillery was built in 1975 by Seagrams. It was designed for the whole operation to be ran by one person. The current owners are Pernod Ricard, and they use this whisky for blends. Almost 100% of this whisky is used for blending, with only a few independent bottlings, but only recently has its own single malt been released. There are no warehouses on site, but all the product is tankered by road to Keith for maturation. The water source comes from springs around the foot of Benrinnes, and the cooling water comes from Main Burn.

Age

Allt-a-Bhainne is a non-age statement whisky.

Strength

40% a.b.v

Colour

Honey Gold

Nose

Smokey, Malt, Toffee Apple, Pepper

Palate

Butterscotch, honey. Quite a bit of sweetness. Spicy too, perhaps cinnamon? Very light smoke / peat.

Finish

Quite spicy on the finish, with the smoke note continuing. Medium to long finish.

This sample was taken during a visit to the Pot Still in Glasgow. A bar that specialises in whiskies, there are over 700 on offer, yet I chose this one. Why? I do have a bottle myself, but as the first official release, I’m keeping it sealed and could not justify opening it. You see, Allt-a-Bhainne has a reputation as not a great whisky. You could call it blending fodder; the single malt equivalent of Bells. Not nasty at all, but it has a reputation of blandness, based on the few independent bottles available.

Pernod Ricard must have realised this, and in their marketing blurb, as stated on the bottle “Just enough smoke to start a fire”, have mixed it up a bit by including peated malt to a Speyside whisky. Speyside usually uses low or unpeated malt and Sherry casks for sweetness, so Allt-a-Bhainne is going against the grain of its regional traditions, but it has produced an interesting whisky. I’m not going to say that the smoke produced a roaring fire, but the sweet and smoke went well together in my opinion, with a fizzy spice note in the finish, which would intrigue me to try again.

Not enough to open my bottle though, but certainly enough that if I saw it again in a bar, I’d try another, and would definitely recommend others try it. Without a doubt, its no longer a boring whisky. It may have added colour, it may have been chill filtered, it may only be 40%. abv, but at around £35 a bottle, you won’t go wrong.

Having said that, during a wee bit of price research, at the moment Tesco have it on offer for £22 so perhaps I will maybe get a drinking bottle. If I decide it’s maybe not for me, it will make a good whisky cocktail or to quote Game Of Thrones – Winter Is Coming. It’ll make a change from Famous Grouse in my hot toddy. Mind you, it’s nearly always winter in the Highlands of Scotland!

Slainte Mhath!

Friends in Spirit

Why we are all whisky apostles

There are a few things that can be guaranteed to bring people together. Family and similar faith beliefs are two things, following a sports team another. Can whisky join people together in a similar way?

Yes it can.

While I try hard to avoid plagiarism, there are certain things that have to be copied on account of their absolute truth. The first thing that I am going to reference from another source is the saying “There are no strangers in whisky”, which came from my friend Roy who runs Aqua Vitae, a YouTube channel basically doing what I’m doing, but he’s further down the road than I am in his journey, plus he’s doing his as a vlog (video blog). I won’t do that any time soon as I don’t have the time due to my day job and family. Plus I have a perfect face for radio! Hahahahah! But his point is true; whisky is a drink that is meant to be shared. Think of most Scottish weddings or golf outing, and the hip flasks are full to the gunwales at the start and they get shared. A traditional gift in Scotland is a Quaich, a two handled bowl to share and pass on whisky. Sharing your dram is the thing to do, even if you are a collector or an investor. Make sure you have bottles that you can open and share!

My second item of plagiarism for this article is from the Scottish comedian, Billy Connelly. He’s definitely a like or love act, but I have a few of his performances on my iPod, and his method of describing a comedic scene is second to none and usually has me in fits of laughter. One of his sketches involve the description of a typical woolly jumper and bearded hiker in the Scottish Highlands maybe 30 or 40 years ago. The line he uses that I am thinking of is when the hiker says “There are no strangers, just friends you haven’t met yet!” I can’t deliver the punch line, you need to hear it for yourself…..

Anyway, recent experiences this week have got me thinking about this. And my ultimate act of plagiarism is based on these experiences.

Railway line side of Dalwhinnie distillery.

My first experience was on the train to Glasgow. As I had booked a ticket, Scotrail automatically book you a seat. However on a 4 carriage train, they seat all the reserves together. The carriage was packed and I had a rear facing aisle seat, without a table and there was somebody sitting beside me. Cutting a long story short, he was part of a group that had been touring whisky distilleries in Scotland, and all of them were quite experienced in whisky matters. Of course, we started talking about whisky experiences and although not a drop of spirit passed through our lips, the essence and enthusiasm for the spirit did. I was pretty sad to need to leave the train at Perth to change for Glasgow. An hour and a half of journey disappeared in an instant.

The secondary reason for going to Glasgow was to pick up a small batch of old whisky miniatures that I won at auction, and to see if there were any bargains in the specialist whisky retailers I visit. In both retailers I stood and had discussions with the assistant, and picked up some tips, thus passing another 40 minutes. In the Robert Graham (1874) shop on West George Street, I also picked up a Ledaig (Tobermory) miniature which was bottled under the Robert Graham brand of Dancing Stag. This was to be used as a thank you for my neighbour who was going to be exercising and feeding my dog in my absence.

Robert Graham shop on West George Street , Glasgow

Within the batch of miniatures was one produced for the 350th Anniversary for Dunoon High School. A conversation with another neighbour revealed that they went to that school. As I never bought the batch for that one (it was the one for the Royal Hotel in Kingussie I wanted) I gave it to my neighbour who is overjoyed. Some of you reading this may know who it is, and it is through my gift that you have been invited to like this page – I hope you enjoy it!

Anyway, we need to be moving on to the conclusion, and it comes down to this; there are quite a few followers on the Scotty’s Drams business page who I know, but maybe won’t see again, or not for a long time. There are people I have met on the train who I told about this page (and I noticed the likes going up, but I think privacy settings are stopping me seeing their names on the list – if you are reading send a message Steve, Mark & co.) and there are my neighbours who now have a relevant bottle for them through the gift of whisky. The conclusion is, and the product of my copying others sayings gives this –

“There are no strangers in whisky, just friends you haven’t met yet.”

Certainly this has been true for me. While I try not so much as to evangelise too much, as everybody has a different tolerance to this, when we share our whisky experiences, we effectively become ‘Whisky Apostles’ as we spread the word. There are no real barriers (even if you put ice in your single malt – although that is close to the line!). Nobody really is trying to get one up; there is no competition. We just want to pass on what we know.

Finally, it is worth bearing in mind that when we offer a traditional toast with Whisky, it’s usually “Slainte Mhath” which is Scots Gaelic for ‘Good Health’ and pronounced “Slanj-a Vaar”. When we have a whisky, we wish those sharing it with us all the best, and why wouldn’t we?

With this, I’ll bid you a goodbye in whisky friendship.

Slainte Mhath.

Taste Review #4 – Deanston 12 y.o

It has not escaped my attention that I have been a bit lax in my reviewing of whisky to pass on my thoughts and recommendations. It was somewhat of a shock to have such a bad experience with the Tomatin 18. I have another bottle from a different batch, so I’ll be able to tell you if my experience was a one off.

The other thing that I am very conscious of is that there is no point in continuous reviews of whiskies that the majority of you may not get a hold of outside the UK, or without going to auction. I will review a few special drams from time to time, but be aware they may only be available in the UK or auction.

Anyway, moving swiftly on, we are going to be trying a whisky that doesn’t have a long history, but is certainly a dram worth trying. And I’m talking about the 12 year old offering from Deanston.

Sitting on the southern edge of the Highland whisky region, 8 miles Deanston started life as a cotton mill designed by Richard Arkwright, the man responsible for starting the factory system and playing a large part of the industrial revolution. The distillery was founded in 1965, and producing in 1967. The first bottlings appeared in 1971. The water source is the River Teith, which used to power the water wheels to drive the mill machinery.

The distillery has a few unusual features. It is a whisky made traditionally, which involves no computers in the process. It uses only Scottish grown barley which has an organic certification and it’s stills feature a boiling ball with the lyne arms (the pipe that carries the spirit from the still) sloping upwards instead of downwards. This will allow more reflux, and therefore give a lighter spirit.

Continuing on environmentally friendly status, this is a distillery that is completely self sufficient for electricity- it has its own hydro electric supply from the River Teith.

The distillery was used as a location for the film The Angels Share, an independently released film made in Scotland which also features Glengoyne and Balblair.

Age

The age statement for this whisky is 12 years old

Strength

46.3% a.b.v

Colour

Light golden colour.

Legs

Legs ran quite fast which suggest a lighter spirit.

Nose

Very pleasant. I poured then left it to sit for a while before sniffing. I found no smoke, but vanilla, oak, toffee notes with malt lingering in the background.

Palate

Bit of a nip from the spirit but opens up nicely to malty goodness with soft vanilla. There is a smooth sweetness with toffee, fruit along with a hint of oak.

Finish

For me quite a short finish. Crisp, with a quick blast of spice (cloves?) which fades gently.

Adding water to it smooths the experience out, and I found it highlighted the flavours I had already experienced. The spirit is non-chill filtered, but at 46%+, this shouldn’t be necessary.

Would I buy a full size bottle? Yes, I would. It would probably be a go-to bottle, and certainly one I’d be happy to offer to a guest.

Master Of Malt sell this for £37.90, which for 70cl at 46.3% is good value.

Slainte Mhath!

The image of the full size Deanston bottle has been taken from The Whisky Exchange site and is used under fair use.

Taste Review #3 – Tomatin 18 y.o Oloroso cask

This week has seen me attempt to tidy out my study, and clear the last remaining whiskies out of there so I can put them in storage. And during this clear out, I found my tasting notes from the Tomatin I had before I left to go abroad to work. The thing is, I could have cheated and written a review without doing a tasting, but for a Saturday night that would be pretty sad. So I cracked another one open.

Those who have been paying attention will know that when I experiment with new whiskies, I attempt to see if I can get a miniature first, so I don’t spunk a lot of money on a whisky I may not like. Initially, the one plan I had was to do a spread of age and casks within the Tomatin range, so the differences could be compared, but I’ve not done that tonight, I stuck to the one.

My Tomatin Line Up. Note the darker 14 y.o liquid – due to Port Cask

Tomatin Distillery is a local distillery to me, being around 15 miles south of Inverness. The village of Tomatin sits by the River Findhorn in Strathdearn, and is over looked by a impressive Victorian viaduct. Indeed, the main Inverness to Perth railway goes through the distillery complex.

Findhorn Viaduct at Tomatin – Copyright the loose cannon (via Flickr)

The distillery does have a visitors centre which is open all year round. This is just a coupe of minutes from the A9 trunk road between Inverness and Perth, but despite passing it so often, I’ve never visited yet. Given the results based on my taste test, I think I need to make a bit more of an effort.

Bottle and Dram

Age

This malt has a stated age of 18 years old.

Strength

This malt is bottled at 46% a.b.v

Colour

This dram is from a Sherry cask, and thus has a pleasant honey colour to it. Natural colour and non-chill filtered.

Nose

It’s a sherry cask, so dried fruits are there. Sweet, pleasant notes, with a hint of oak, fudge, a slight spice. Chocolate was detected on my second sniff.

Legs

A nice, slow run down.

Palate

No real kick, but a nice steady flow. Smooth as a baby’s bum. Excellent mouth feel. Slight hints of fruit cake, apple, clove and chocolate. Still nice with a teaspoon of water added. Read the whole review before you add water though. I got a surprise

Finish

It’s 46% so I was expecting a bit of a kick. But no, nothing. This whisky was a proper gentleman; it made its exit quietly, leaving nothing but good memories. Nice, strong peppery finish with more chocolate and fruit notes. Oak a bit more pronounced now. Very nice tingle in the mouth. You’ll want more, there is no doubt.

However, this changed a bit when I added water. I added some room temperature spring water and wished I hadn’t. In fact, I’m being diplomatic. It changed massively and not for the better in my opinion. The alcohol burn became more pronounced, the finish was of burnt rubber or a burning match, and this only means one thing: Sulphur.

Sulphur compounds can be present due to the use of sulphur candles to sterilise the Sherry casks and to prevent bacteria growth. If the cask isn’t rinsed properly before it is filled with the spirit, this taste can carry over. Be aware that some sherried casks do have this risk.

Conclusion

For an 18 year old whisky, this one does not disappoint if you take it neat. It isn’t going to blow your head off with the spirit strength, and yet leaves you wanting more.

Was disappointed after I added the water and got the sulphur note. But that’s what happens from time to time. A bad cask somewhere in the mix can wreak havoc with a batch. This is why brands like Macallan can charge what they do, and it’s down to expert cask management.

Do yourself a favour. Don’t add water.

This bottle can be purchased at around £84 online from Master of Malt or The Whisky Exchange. Hunt about though, as I did see one for £74. Excellent value for a malt of this age.

Slainte Mhath!