Monthly Archives: December 2013

Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix

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Glenfiddich Snow PhoenixHere is my first review of a malt from the best known of all the Scottish distilleries, Glenfiddich. I have already recorded my thoughts about the low reputation of Glenfiddich (and Glenlivet) among whisky geeks and so will not repeat myself here. The Snow Phoenix may in fact be their most lauded malt in recent years among said whisky geeks and that’s despite it being a NAS (“No Age Stated”) release.

There is a story behind the release, and unlike most stories behind NAS whiskies this one is real. A couple of years ago heavy snow in Scotland resulted in the roofs of some Glenfiddich warehouses collapsing and to save the exposed stock the distillery created a special vatting from those barrels, which were of different ages and types. The resulting whisky was dubbed the “Snow Phoenix” and came in a tin large enough to house the entire population of the city of Phoenix. It was very well received, and unfortunately, but also entirely predictably, it led to Glenfiddich releasing yet more fancifully named whisky (this time with manufactured stories–see the so-called “Cask of Dreams”, and the “Age of Discovery”). I have not tried those others but quite liked the Snow Phoenix, and thus saved a large sample for future reference; and the future is now. Continue reading →

Highland Park 1986-2007 (Scott’s Selection)

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Highland Park, 1986This is the second bottle in my recent consortial purchase of bottles from Scott’s Selection. Let’s get right to it.

[Note: This review was published simultaneously with that of Michael Kravitz at Diving for Pearls. This was one of two bottles he split with me and two of my friends here in Minnesota. A synchronized review of the other bottle will similarly appear on Thursday.]

Highland Park 1986-2007 (54.1%; Scott’s Selection; from a bottle split with friends)

Nose: A touch of caramel to start but then expanding pine resin, a leathery, briny note and a touch of gunpowder. Gets more vegetal/mossy with time and the leathery quality expands as well (a new briefcase). Got called away and left it alone (and covered) for 40 minutes. Now there’s sweet, mossy peat. With a drop of water the gunpowder turns to rock salt. Continue reading →

Glen Mhor 1978-2004 (Scott’s Selection)

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Glen Mhor, 1978Glen Mhor is a closed distillery from the Highlands that is not very well known outside of the geekiest of whisky geek circles. I am quite far from those circles and have little knowledge of this distillery. Indeed, it’s only recently that I learned that the Mhor part of the name is pronounced “Vhar”. Accordingly, I will send you off to Malt Madness to read about it. I can also say nothing about my previous experience with Glen Mhor’s whisky as this is my very first encounter with it (there is very little of it on the market, especially in the US). And so I have no preconceived notions about this whisky in general; and as there are no reviews of this particular bottle out there that I can find I have no idea what to expect from it either.

This situation–that of no reviews being available–is shared by a number of Scott’s Selection’s early-mid 2000s releases, many of which are still available in the US. I have long been tempted by many of them as the prices are usually reasonable enough (and I’ve had other good experiences with Scott’s Selection) but have always been too nervous to take the plunge. Recently, however, some friends and I split a number of these bottles–thus limiting our exposure to risk–and so at least one review of some of them will be available soon. Continue reading →

“Mystery Dram” (Glenmorangie Quarter Century)

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Mystery Dram

This is a mystery whisky my friend Rich recently gave me with no name or any other details attached. The plan was that I would review it and send him my notes and he would then reveal where it’s from, how old it is, what kind of wood etc.. Neither he or I are interested in seeing if I can identify the distillery. That’s a mug’s game (and one that I have a terrible track record with for anything that’s not Bowmore). The exercise is really to see what I come up with without preconceptions of any kind. Well, I am excited to see what this is like and just how wrong my guesses about age etc. will be.

[I tasted this last night and sent Rich the notes below. He revealed the identity etc. this morning. I have asked Rich to write in to the comments below later and confirm that the notes I sent him have not been altered for publication.] Continue reading →

Miltonduff 14, 1997

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Miltonduff 14Miltonduff is in the Speyside and is one of Chivas Bros.’ workhorse distilleries, producing mostly for blends–in particular for the very popular Ballantine’s*. I don’t think there are very many official releases around of the single malt, and a lot of what has been put out by the indies has got it a spotty reputation. This particular release is from Chivas Bros.’ series of limited edition 500 ml cask strength bottles that are theoretically meant to be available at the distilleries only–at least that was the case when the series was inaugurated, I believe. There have been releases in this line from Glenlivet, Longmorn and Glenburgie among others, and they’ve generally been very well reviewed. As I’ve never had anything from Miltonduff before I’m hoping this means that my introduction to this distillery is going to be a good one.

*Can you, without googling, name the Tom Waits song that mentions a character who “knew that he’d be ready with a stainless steel machete and half a pint of Ballantine’s each day”? Continue reading →

Kilchoman 5, 2006 Vintage Release

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Kilchoman 5, 2006
Kilchoman, as everyone knows, is the recently opened, eighth distillery on Islay. They are a small farm operation that produces peated whisky, all of which that I have tasted is of a very high quality and shockingly good for whisky this young–this 5 yo was at the time of release the oldest whisky from the distillery. Their barley is not peated as heavily as some on Islay–as per their website to 20-25 ppm, or about half of Ardbeg [Edit: See the comments below]–and the resulting malt while smoky is not defined by heavy smoke. Prices are high relative to age, but I am willing to give them a pass on this because a) their production volume is very low, which means low economies of scale and b) as a small, independent distillery they need to generate cash till their maturing spirit reaches a higher age. I hope that when it does the Kilchoman 10 or 12 or whatever it ends up being will be priced fairly. Continue reading →

Benriach “Septendecim”

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Benriach Septendecim

Benriach, a Speyside distillery, known mostly for a fruity, unpeated malt also has made a good amount of peated malt over the years, much of which has been released in single cask form in the last few years. Some of these have been very well-received, and usually they seem to be matured or finished in sherry/port/etc. casks. The peated whisky in their regular line is mostly ex-bourbon (I believe) and they bear odd Latin names such as “Curiositas” and “Authenticus” and so forth. Hence perhaps the name of this 17 yo which is also peated and was quite a hit when it came out almost two years ago. I finished my bottle almost exactly a year ago but, as is my wont, saved a 6 oz reference sample from when the bottle was at its prime.

Continue reading →

Does Age Matter? (Malt Maniacs Awards 2013 Edition)

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So, the Malt Maniacs Awards for 2013 were announced today. These are, as most whisky geeks would agree, the best by far in what is a rather dubious genre. The whiskies are tasted and evaluated (more or less*) blind by a large number of the Malt Maniacs (with none of the professionals in the group participating) and the scores averaged. Those above 90 points on average are given “Gold Medal” status, those between 85 and 90 points are given “Silver Medal” status and those between 80 and 85 points are given “Bronze Medal” status. Continue reading →

Mackmyra, The First Edition

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Mackmyra, First Ed.I know very little about this whisky except that it is a single malt from Sweden and that it seems to divide opinion somewhat. Okay, the official website tells me that the “base” of this whisky is matured in first-fill bourbon casks stored, get this, 50 feet underground in a mine. The site also implies that Swedish oak is also used, so presumably this is not all from first-fill bourbon. No confirmation on whether the Swedish oak component is matured 50 feet above ground in a Swedish oak tree. Elsewhere on the site I learn that they also use Swedish peat and that the peat is “flavoured” with fresh juniper twigs. Everything but the bourbon casks appears to be local–down to the barley. Well, I now know infinitely more about Mackmyra than I did when I began to type this paragraph. Let’s see what this whisky is like.

Mackmyra, The First Edition (46.1%; from a sample received in a swap)

Nose: A little spirity at first but then turns quite floral with hints of spicy, perfumed wood. Smells young but smells quite nice–not intensely gingery like a lot of other young whiskies. Some lime after a minute or so and then a lot more fruit begins to show up: there’s some ripe pear and also a hint of melon and then some peach. Some toasted wood after a bit and a touch of vanilla/butterscotch too. The fruit gets quite intense after a few minutes and more tropical too: there’s some papaya now and maybe a hint of pineapple. I have to say I rather like this. What does the palate hold in store? With water the wood (polished now) is in nice balance with the fruit.

Palate: Oh, quite nice here too. Leads with a spicy bite that takes a turn towards perfumed wood and citrus, by turns acidic and musky. More melon (unripe honeydew) on the second sip but also more of the wood. Does feel rather thin, even at 46.1% and there’s not a lot of depth of flavour in general. The wood does get louder with time and the water doesn’t do much to push it back, though it does draw out more fruit.

Finish: Medium. Loses steam here. The spicy wood is the main player; still there are no off notes. Finish is a little longer with water but it’s not much better.

Comments: A very pleasant surprise. I really liked the nose. The palate wasn’t quite at that level (the wood got a little too strong as it went along) and the finish further still but this is good stuff, and probably would be very good at cask strength. Odd, how low under the radar they fly (and I really don’t understand how anyone could dislike this, let alone want to pour it down the drain as I’ve read at least one person saying). Is their other stuff much worse? If not, come on, people, let’s give them some of the love Kavalan and Amrut get. And so reasonably priced too. I’m very excited to see where this spirit goes with longer aging (which the Swedish climate, at ground level or below, will certainly allow).

Rating: 84 points.

Thanks to Patrick for the sample!

Freaking out about Mortlach

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News came out today that Diageo are finally going to feature cult Speyside distillery, Mortlach as a mainline single malt. The only official Mortlach now available is the 16 yo at 43% in the Flora & Fauna series (which I have reviewed here). This generally well-liked bottling is going to be discontinued and is to be replaced by four new bottles, two of which will be older at 18 and 25 years old. Since the news came out a number of whisky geeks online seem to have got their underwear very tightly knotted by this “bad news”. It’s not clear to me, however, why this is bad news. Rather than mourn the F&F 16 I’m more inclined to be pleased that there will be far more official Mortlach out there–and presumably more of this official Mortlach, unlike the F&F 16, will actually come to the US. Continue reading →

Highland Park 25 (48.1%)

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Highland Park 25, 48.1%
Highland Park is one of my very favourite distilleries. Their signature blend of sherry, citrus, honey and non-phenolic smoke is rather unique and it is a profile, I think, that appeals to beginners as much as to very seasoned drinkers. Certainly, the Highland Park 12 was one of my gateway malts (and the 18 was my gateway to more expensive malts) and unlike many of the malts I started out with it is one that I have stuck with over the years. For this reason the 25 yo was always the bottle I wanted to have on my shelf then–it seemed like something I would have to work my way up to. Of course, by the time I began to have the confidence (and willingness) to purchase older, significantly more expensive whiskies the 25 yo had become far more expensive in the US, pushing $300 in most markets. And by then I had gone the geek route of prizing independent single casks over vatted official releases, not least because they’re cheaper. An so it no longer held that place in my mind (this 30 yo from Scott’s Selection, for example, which I picked up in the UK for just over $100, made wanting to own the OB 25 for far more than twice the price seem more than a little quixotic). Continue reading →

Coming Soon…

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Well, I got to almost everything I said I would post in November. The one exception is the post (first mentioned three months ago) about how whisky geeks respond differently to the idea of whisky as investment depending on who is involved. Its place in the schedule was taken by the unplanned screed about whisky retailers. Despite the title of my blog I’d prefer not to post more than one thing a month that is guaranteed to piss someone off, and the whisky investment thing is going to piss some people off. Anyway, it’s coming very soon. The regular fare of the blog will continue to be whisky reviews, though there might also be a few more restaurant/meal reviews than is usual.

Here are the whiskies I hope to review this month:

Benriach “Septendecim”
Deanston 12
George T. Stagg, 2010 Release
George T. Stagg, 2011 Release
Glenfiddich “Snow Phoenix”
Glen Garioch 20, 1990 (Kintra Whisky)
Glen Garioch 21, 1990 (Archives)
Glen Mhor 1978-2004 (Scott’s Selection)
Highland Park 1986-2007 (Scott’s Selection)
Highland Park 25, 45.7%
Highland Park 25, 48.1%
Highland Park 1975-2001 (Scott’s Selection)
Kilchoman 5, 2006 Vintage Release
Kilchoman Sherry Cask
Littlemill 1984-2004 (Scott’s Selection)
Mackmyra, The First Edition
Miltonduff 14, 1997 CS
Miltonduff 18, 1995 (Signatory CS for K&L)
“Mystery Dram”
Port Ellen 26, 1983 (Old Bothwell)
Port Ellen 27, 1982 (Old Bothwell)
Pulteney 1977-2005 (Scott’s Selection)

The “mystery dram” is an undisclosed sample that my friend Rich recently gave me. The plan is that I will review it soon, send him the tasting notes with some guesses about possible provenance, age etc.. And then when I have finally posted the review he will reveal to the world via the comments section just how much of an ass I have made of myself. Another novelty will be a pair of synchronized reviews published simultaneously with Michael Kravitz of Diving With Pearls on December 10 and 12.