teaninich – Scotty’s Drams

Taste Review #105 – Robertsons Of Pitlochry Teaninich 12 and Tobermory 11

The letter T when I think of beverages has a big meaning for me, both reasons mean I have to be careful. Firstly, a big letter T in Scotland is synonymous with Tennents Lager. Which, if I was to be kind can easily be described as ‘Training’ Lager. That’s why many bars and pubs that stock this liquid have a large red T sign outside, pretty much as a learner driver has a red letter L on their vehicle in the UK.

***A rainy day in Invergordon. But the ‘T’*** ***still shines brightly.***

The other reason I have to be concerned about the letter T is that while offshore over the years, many people in my trade play a special game, and in order not to lose, you have to be on your guard 100% of the time throughout the 12 hour shift. They will do anything to get you to say the ‘T’ sound. Usually it will involve getting you to spell a word that has T in it, say an acronym, or just saying something like ‘T-Shirt’. Because as soon as that letter comes out of your mouth, you can be sure that somebody is going to say “Cheers! Milk and no sugar please!” And thus it becomes your turn to get the teas for the other 5 in the room. If you aren’t alert this game gets onerous very quickly.

Thankfully in this review, we have two whiskies beginning with the letter T, one from a distillery I have reviewed before and one I have not. These are from the Tobermory and Teaninich distilleries. I unexpectedly obtained these two whiskies after reviewing another Robertsons of Pitlochry release, the epic Allt Dour. It seems on a small corner of social media I caused a little bit of a buying frenzy. Not one person I know to have bought it has had anything bad to say about it, many buying multiple bottles. Even I ended up buying three. Anyway, the proprietor of Robertson’s of Pitlochry, Ewan McIlwraith was grateful for the positive review. Understandably, 2020 was a horrific year for tourist towns, and footfall in Pitlochry dropped to near zero, and a little help in generating sales was very welcome.

To be honest, I do this with all the small whisky shops I frequent. The little guy needs help in these times, a lot more than the likes of Amazon, or whatever other online only retailer you use, but mostly Amazon gets my ire. Ewan had said that he would send some samples of his two latest bottlings. I was delighted to get a little recognition, but I don’t write reviews for this purpose; I do it to recommend truly good whisky. Those who have had an Allt Dour will back up my writing. Anyway, imagine my surprise when my two samples turn up. They came in 70cl size. I was flabbergasted at Ewan’s generosity. While he did not ask for a review, I felt that it would be a decent thing to do. Of course, I will not let the fact that I did not pay for these bottles cloud my judgement.

I’ve reviewed the history of the Tobermory distillery before in this Tobermory 12 review. It is an unpeated Highland Malt from the island of Mull. Teaninich is also an old distillery, having been founded in 1817 by Captain Hugh Munro. Teaninich has been in pretty much constant production since its formation, but probably with gaps owing to the World Wars in the 20th century. It was in the 1930s that the distillery came in the care of DCL, eventually becoming part of what now is known as Diageo. Nothing remains of the old distillery, with several rebuilding and refurbishing projects haven taken place over the years.

Teaninich is special, as it is one of two Scottish distilleries that do not use a mash tun, utilising a mash filter which ensures an ultra clear wort for the fermentation. Clear wort will give a less cereal based spirit, with less lipids resulting in a less oily mouthfeel. It is a distillery that almost exclusively produces malt for Diageo Blended Whiskies, but the only official release is the 10 year old Flora And Fauna. It is quite often seen as an independent bottle, with my most recent Teaninich being the Sherry finished 12 year old from James Eadie.

I’ve got a big anticipation of these malts and I am hoping that I get the same experience as I did with the Allt Dour, so it is time to look at the whisky.

Details

Robertsons Of Pitlochry Teaninich 12 (cask 702603)

Region -Highland Age -12 years old Strength – 55.1% ABV Colour – Jonquiripe Corn (0.4) Cask Type – 1st Fill Sherry Colouring – No Chill Filtered – No Nose – Creamy, Light Oak, slight vanilla, bit grassy, pineapple. Added water and the creaminess increased. Palate – Slightly oily mouthfeel, but still quite light. A pleasant sweet arrival, still creamy, caramel, sultanas, cinnamon, hint of brine. Easily drunk neat. Water reduces the alcohol and introduces a bit of peppery spice. Finish – Long, warming – very pleasant, even without water. The oily spirit coats the mouth. A peppery, slightly astringent with no bitterness. At the end I get a hint of salted caramel.

Robertsons of Pitlochry Tobermory 11 (cask 900161)

Region – Highland Age – 11 years old Strength – 61.3% ABV Colour – Burnished(1.1) Cask Type – 1st Fill Sherry Colouring – No Chill Filtered – No Nose – Quite sweet. Sherry, caramel, dark sugar, honey, sultanas, raisins, creme caramel Palate – Sweet arrival, but rapidly builds into peppery spice. Rich, oily, a bit drying, caramel with a hint of Jaffa Cake Finish – Medium long, coconut, cocoa, raisins, peppery spice, Toffee.

Conclusions

Did I get an Allt Dour experience? Yes and no. Thankfully both whiskies were excellent, but I preferred one more than the other. The Teaninich was my preference, and that is solely because I was able to drink that one neat with no problem. That could have got me in trouble to be honest as I found it definitely reacted with my more-ish gland! Quite sweet, which for me is a bonus. There is a slightly oily mouthfeel, but this is more WD-40 rather than oil out of a V8 engine.

I was looking forward to the Tobermory, as I liked the 10 year old I tried earlier last year, and of course the 10 year old peated Tobermory (Ledaig) that I had as part of my old vs new series. However, it didn’t press my buttons in the same way, but this is solely due to personal preference. I found the spices a bit too strong for my liking initially, but adding water reined it in a bit. I did enjoy it, but I feel I need a bit more time with this whisky to get to understand it. I am really looking forward to trying it again after a trip offshore.

I have to say that both these whiskies give very little to complain about – Cask Strength, Natural Colour, Age Statement and Non-Chill Filtered. 1st Fill Sherry cask matured. Both tick all the boxes. Whatever one you pick, you’ll not be disappointed. To prove this point, when I return from my latest offshore trip, I’ll be sending some to my friends, so they can see the goodness for themselves and also to prove that I have not been positive due to the manner in which I obtained these bottles.

Click here for Robertson’s Of Pitlochry web page Are they good value? Teaninich is £65 and the Tobermory is £70. I would suggest for the spirit you are getting with these single cask, cask strength whisky bottles that they are indeed good value. With only 298 bottles of Teaninich and 324 of Tobermory available, these won’t hang about for ever. I’d recommend buying either one of these bottles, but if you buy both, £135 for two cask strength whiskies of this quality is a bargain. If you are feeling flush, the Allt Dour is still available and fits into this line up perfectly. Click here for Robertson’s Of Pitlochry website.

Yours in Spirits

Scotty

Thanks to Ewan for these (generous) ‘samples’. I look forward to returning to the shop and hopefully get a chat.

Index of tastings here

Index of articles here

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

All Photos – Authors Own

Can our senses mislead us?

The morning I decided to write this article I was under the influence. Not just tiddly, mildly intoxicated or minging. I was outright paralytic, smashed out of my skull and totally incapable of thought. Not bad going for it not even being 9am. Before you think badly of me, and wonder how could I think of an article when not in full control of my bodily functions, I would like to point out that I was not under the influence of alcohol, at least not directly. However something got me so distracted that I couldn’t think of anything else and it was all based on one of my senses. Sight.

We should know our 5 senses – sight, smell, sound taste and touch, but how many of them do we use when choosing a whisky? We cannot tell whether or not a whisky is any good without at least smelling or tasting it, so why had I let one of my other senses nearly override my common sense?

I’ll hasten to add it was not my fault. I’m in the true sense of a shirker blaming somebody else; perhaps I should be a politician. I received a mail shot last week from Hard To Find Whiskies which detailed the offerings they had from James Eadie, an independent whisky bottler. This email must have been targeted at me directly for not only must they know the one James Eadie bottle I have had been opened that week, they also must have guessed my primary weakness when assessing bottles to buy.

The specific bottle in question is from the Teaninich distillery in Alness, a stones throw away from Dalmore on the Cromarty Firth. It was 12 year old, so had an acceptable amount of age, but what grasped me was the colour. It was almost as dark as the infamous Beinn Dubh black whisky. Only being a James Eadie whisky, we know it will be natural colour, cask strength and non-chill filtered. Despite being tempted I decided to resist as the amount of bottles in the ‘awaiting tasting’ is getting ridiculous.

However, it was the colour that intrigued me. Diageo owned Teaninich is one of those distilleries that there are few official releases, the main one being the 10 year old Flora and Fauna bottling, of which I have a couple for collecting and one in store for eventual ‘tasting’. Teaninich is unique amongst Scottish distilleries, as it does not use a mash tun, but rather has a mash filter which enables it to get an ultra-clear wort, and helps provide grassy, malty spirit that is desirable for blending. I suspect the casks used are bourbon, given the light colour and flavour profile of Teaninich. So, seeing such a dark Teaninich played on my mind. I wanted to taste that sweet nectar, having been finished in a 1st fill Oloroso Sherry cask which is another of my weaknesses.

***The Mailshot that distracted my senses.***

My last James Eadie bottle was Madeira finished, which while not giving it a such a dark appearance, gave it a sort of pinkish hue in the glass and I have to say that I was entranced by it. Fortunately it turned out to be a decent whisky and there is probably no doubt that this whisky will be good as well, but we actually have no clue. So what is it that drives us to buy whisky based on colour?

***Teaninich 10 Flora And Fauna. The colour I associate with Teaninich***

I guess that we associate a darker colour with a particular kind of cask, with darker colours being predominately from wine or fortified wine styles of maturation or finishing. I have to admit that I am guilty of this as I do like the deep fruity tones of something like a GlenDronach 18 Allardice or something from the Glenfarclas distillery, or dare I say it, Macallan? Even thinking of Macallan with the Edition series where attention was paid to the colour, I must say it took all my effort not to break into my Edition 5, as the colour had alerted by brain to something tasty may lie beyond the cork. But this is where we have to be careful as not all colours are true. Many whiskies use E150a in various amounts to achieve consistency and depending on how honest the bottler wants to be, our mind can be tricked by what our eyes are seeing.

To this end, recently Glencairn Crystal Studio released a set of coloured Glencairn whisky glasses, so the person doing the tasting cannot be influenced by colour. And it’s a good idea, as one of the things we may mistakenly do is assume that a darker colour has either been in a cask longer or in a cask of a certain type, which could mislead our brain into misconceptions. To this end, taste, mouthfeel and aroma should be our only guides to the quality of a whisky.

***Using a blind tasting set can help stop colour influencing our other senses***

So, what about this Teaninich? Everywhere I look it has sold out, so it looks as though I will have to give up. I am looking on the secondary market where I feel I have more of a chance, but let’s just see. There will be other whiskies, perhaps very similar to this, and bottle chasing can often lead to overpaying. I guess I have to find that other misplaced sense. Common Sense.

Yours in Spirits

Scotty

Index of tastings here

Index of articles here

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

Kermit– Shutterstock

Teaninich 10 – Whisky Hammer

James Eadie Teaninich 12 – Hard To Find Whisky

Glencairn Blind Tasting Set – Glencairn Crystal Studios

Tag: teaninich

It’s Time For ‘T’