February 2010
The Forty Second Edition of "A Whiff of Peat Smoke...." Why ? because i can !
On to the Second Month of the year already......
To read the history of the Spirit of Islay click on the Banner above
Committee bottlings......I've known a few......
As well as the Spiritofislay , the Ardbeg Committee is celebrating it's Tenth Anniversary this year ! And to celebrate the fact Ardbeg are releasing a New Committee Bottling , named "Rollercoaster" it is a vatting of Casks from 1997 to 2006 . At 57.3% it is priced at £50 a bottle and available for committee members only from Monday 15th February .
Seeing it's not available to try yet , i thought seeing i'm long in the tooth and have them available i would do a head to head of the previous releases , Dirty job but someones got to do it !
As the song says "Let's start at the very beginning..." (Google it if you don't know what song....) , Way back in late 2000 a little brown Envelope popped onto our doormats offering us the chance to buy one of two bottlings being offered by the recently formed Ardbeg Committee . For the pricely sum of £100 we could have a 1976 from either Cask #2390 or #2394 , i chose 2394 and returned my card . Then the wait began to see if you actually got one , this was much more fun , civilised and was definitely less stressful than the modern way , oh for a return to the old ways....... B.E. (before E-bay.....) . So down to the Water of Life ....... I only have a 100ml sample left of this (soon to be less !) , Aah the days when we drunk our Ardbeg....... Light Mahogany in colour , the nose is...... AMAZING ! Dry sherry , smoke , Creamy Coffee , dark Chocolate , dried fruits , oh my ! Ok lets get it in the gob..... So smooth , Ardbeg-dine , smoke , silky across the palate , sherry , Hmmm more peat smoke...... Very long ,warming finish , slightly malty and sherried .
Details - Cask #2394 , 53.1% , Distilled 24th Nov 1976 , Bottled 18th July 2000 Bottle #69 of 466 . Conclusion - seeing it bottle No.69 can i say orgasmic ?
After the excitement of the first one we didn't have to wait long for the next one ! In Summer 2001 we got the 21yo , Made up of 12 Ex-Bourbon casks from 1979 and 1980 , i don't remember a lot about this bottling except that it lasted unti the Feis Ile 2002 and was even reduced from it's original price of £100 to £79 . So to the Whisky , A beautiful Golden Colour (Golden Syrup ) , it is incredibly oily in the glass , the nose is loaded with Vanilla , slightly spicy , again creamy coffee , almonds and marzipan . Eventually we get a waft of peat . On the palate we get the peat.....followed by Vanilla , spices , peat smoke , the Ardbeg-dine and a touch of chocolate . The Finish ? Long peaty , smoky , spices , dry .
The Details - 21yo , 56.3% , 1979 Cask # 635 (8-2-79) , 1556 (5-3-79) , 9389/9390/9391/9392 (15-8-79) , 9566/9397 (29-8-79). 1980 Cask #122 (15-2-80) , 742 ((7-4-80) , 1179 / 1180 (25-4-80) . Conclusion - An old ex-bourboned Ardbeg ...... Heaven , i'm in Heaven.....(old song look it up !)
The 3rd Committee release in 2002 was the Original "Committee Reserve" , vatted from Ardbeg from 3 decades (70's , 80's and 90's ) this was available for the jaw dropping fee of 25 of your English (and Scottish...) Pounds ! EEk ! as they say ! This one was very popular with me (as most Ardbegs seem to be) and limited to 3000 bottles , just slightly lighter than the 21yo in colour , the nose is Divine . Where do i begin ? (very musical tonight....) it has the peatiness from a youthful Beg (if i may call it Beg) , the Ardbeg-dine (just to clarify , Ardbeg-dine is a made up word , it's my way of expressing Ardbegs distinct iodine , i like it , tough on those that don't !) of an older Beg along with cloves and Marzipan . The nose is definitely heavenly . The palate is remarkably similar to the nose , it has a velvet texture and a near as damn it balance . The finish is Sooooo long and boy is it good , sweetness (confectioners/icing sugar ) , peat , Ardbeg-dine . My oh My !
Details - 55.3% , 3000 Bottles and One hell of a Dram !!!!!
Oh-ooh we're nearly half way there.....(1 point for the band name!) . This is where it got serious . Since the re-opening in 1997 people (including me ) had been asking "Hows the spirit maturing ?" Well they must have got sick of us because in November 2003 they released the second of the Committee Reserves to try and shut us up ! it didn't work.....we're still here..... The Very Young Ardbeg "For Discussion" tried to silence us , it actually made us ask for more ! From Ex-bourbon casks filled in 1997 , i remember having a glass thrust into my hands on a dark November afternoon in the Old Kiln by Jackie , i was Gob-smacked (saying not physical reaction...) , 6yo ? Getaway ! It was (and still is) everything i ever wanted from a young Ardbeg , Straw going on Pale gold in Colour , it has peat , smoke , Chocolate , coffee on the nose , smells of much older Begs . The palate really chewy , peaty , Chocolate Fudge , a treat for such a young malt . The finish is hellishly long with peat and Cocoa .
Details - Distilled 1997 , Bottled 2003 , 58.9% , 4002 Bottles , £25 a bottle , wish i'd bought more..... Jackie did jokingly offer me 3 dozen on that afternoon , should have taken her up.....
Next along came a bit of a surprise package , in 2004 we got a Lightly peated Ardbeg , The Ardbeg Kildalton , on my original notes for this one i wrote "a bit like the parish of Kildalton it's self . Rugged shoreline , beautiful woodlands , pebbled beaches and soft lush peat beds ..... i could sit with this one for hours " i think i had a touch of the "Jim McEwans" then...... but i'll stick by it ! Light Gold in colour , it is really floral and fruity on the nose , Apples , pears , gooseberries , creamy custard and malt . It's slightly more Ardbeggie on the palate , touch of peat (not much) , vanilla custard , green fruits and malt . The Finish is long and beautiful ! Ardbeg unplugged but worth it !
Details - 1980 lightly peated Ardbeg , 24yo , 57.6% , £100 a bottle . Conclusion - Because you're worth it !
We now enter a time where Ardbeg Fever has taken a grip , the clamour for these Committee bottlings takes off and E-bay frenzy hits the world.....The 2006 offering is probably my least Favourite , The Young Uigeadail AKA Oogling , "A youthful example of the unique vatting style of Uigeadail" it says on the tin....eh bottle , Bright Bronze in colour , the initial nose is young sherry matured spirit , then peat and then finally maltiness , loads of maltiness . most i've noticed in an Ardbeg . The palate and finish gives away it's youthfulness , the palate has sherry (good sherry , not the nasty sulphur stuff....) a gentle peatiness but with a youthful kick and that maltiness again , boy does that come through on this one...... the finish is peaty sherry with malt , very long and warming (peat fire going down the throat....) . Actually this isn't as bad as i remember , it's growing on me.....
Details - Bottled 2006 , 59.9% , 1392 bottles , made up from 3 young ex-bourbon Hogsheads and one 2002 Sherry Butt . this could grow on me.....
We're now in 2008 and Marketing has gone bonkers ! Someone also decided to pour very good Burgundy Casked Ardbeg into a vatting...but we'll let him off this time because it turned out ok . This was the first Committee bottling where the Marketing Dept (Bless 'em !) let rip , tales of celtic myth etc etc , just give us the malt ! Ye Olde polished Copper that was handed down from generation to generation in Colour (i can do stories as well....part of that is made up BTW) , it's really fruity up the conk ( that's nose....) , Blueberries , blackberries (aka brambles , i'll teach you something yet !) , earthy , dark Chocolate and coffee . The palate is luxurious , oily , smooth peat , touch of pepper and loads of chocolate ! The finish is long , chewy peat , Creamy , coffee and chocolate . A wonderful dram which has now lead to a standard "Corryvreckan" Release , Hurrah !
Details - Bottled 2008 from various casks , 57.1% , From memory (and it's getting worse , probably due to alcohol consumption....) was £45 a bottle and was a 5000 bottle release.....
And now the end is near......To the final one (as of 9th Feb as i don't have the Rollercoaster yet....) for the moment , another Marketeers delight , "Supernova" ! Lots of "Space" related stuff on this one , shorty in space helmet , etc , this Ardbeg is the highest peated Ardbeg ever (who said till the next one ?) , 100ppm phenols . Bright Gold in Colour , it is quite youthful on the nose , spirity , but it has an intense peatiness , along with what is coming to be the usual Ardbeg traits of Dark Chocolate , coffee , cream etc . the palate is hot , peppery and smoky at first , no make that permanently , with loads of Dark Chocolate thrown in , almost a supercharged Ten ! The finish is long , sorry Loooong , intensly peaty with pepper . A cracking Ardbeg almost a Condensed Ardbeg , Worthy of the "Committee" name .
Details - 58.9% , 100ppm Malted Barley , £65 a bottle , good way to end the night !
Well i enjoyed that ! Just think i need to go and lie down now....... till the next one !
Way Back.........
A SMWS Tasting from 2001 in Newcastle
Newcastle 27-04-2001
First up was a lowland No.49.11 (St.Magdalene) 24y.o. 50.1%, very nice , i'd never had this one before .Very pale with a strong vanilla taste ,it goes down very easily(which seems to be a common factor with all the SMWS lowlands i've tasted ,very agreeable!).
Next up was the 76.22(Mortlach) 11y.o. 58.5%, another very enjoyable malt .Golden in colour(odd cos it was supposed to be from a sherry butt),a bit of a cheese cakey smell/taste also a bit smokey.
Third on our list is 2.32(Glenlivet) 27y.o. 54.2%. This was from a first fill sherry butt and boy did it tell , even from about 18" away !To say it stunk of sherry is an understatement ,it also at first tasted of the stuff, but after a few slurps and a bit of water i got !The hot and peppery bit of Talisker ,but the over bearing sherry spoiled this one for me.
The 4th one was 4.71(Highland Park) 13y.o. 56.7%. Another first fill sherry butt ,this one had the HP colour off to a tee ,but i did not enjoy it as it bit rotten on the back of the throat. Again a bit too sherry on the nose ,a bit anti-septic on the taste .Very disappointing especially after the HP 2000 cask i've tried.
And now to the last one and this could take a while .This one took me back to the very first Islay i ever tried in 1984.The kick i got off that very first taste ,how it exploded with the famous Islay-dene taste ,how it had you diving for a glass of something to quell that burning on the inside .It was a 62% 7 y.o. from Islay ,not from the southern hot bed ,from the north it's number was 53.51,its a Caol Ila!
It said in the tasting notes Germolene,oh no it wasn't if this had been a blind tasting i would have said Kildalton ,it slapped you in the face then knee'd you in the chest for good measure !It also reminded you the next morning ,"hello,you drank me last night ,wallop!" Needless to say i bought a bottle.
A Visit to the Vaults in 2006
The Vaults 17-06-2006
First off with lunch was the first grain bottling by the society G1 ( North British , 16yo , 61.3% ) , I can see why this one flew off the shelves , it’s a stunner , Pale straw in colour , it had a beautiful nose of Vanilla , Cereal and summer meadows . On the palate it was very fresh and clean , again very grassy . It’s finish was long and fruity , pity there was none left as I would have bought a bottle , it was beautifully smooth and went down very well .
The lunch was a good as ever and we went off to book into our hotel knowing we would return at tea time .
First of the evening session went to the Teaninich on the E.S. list (59.35 , 22yo , 55.7% ) , tarnished gold in colour it had a wonderful combination on the nose . Vanilla , (seaside air) saltiness , smoke and loose leaf tobacco . In the palate it was hot and peppery , smoky and slightly peaty . The finish was long and hot . It was a lovely dram , could almost have been an Islay !
I did want to try the 40yo Farclas at this point but it had been drunk into oblivion , so on the recommendation of the bar staff I tried the 18.24 ( Inchgower , 24yo , 54.7% ) , another highly sherried whisky . A lovely polished amber in colour , it was christmas cake with pipe smoke on the nose . It’s taste was the usual dried fruit , peel etc associated with the xmas cake together with tobacco smoke . The finish spoilt it for me , it was long but with a lot of burnt rubber from the sherry cask , altogether a bit too sherried for me .
Next up I wanted to see if they had another Glencraig after the cracking one we’d had on the tasting earlier in the year and they did ! Another 30yo , 104.4 (49.6%) , another stunner , light straw in colour , bags of green fruits (apples, pears ) , vanilla and slight smoke on the nose .
The taste was fairly similar green fruit slight smoke and a touch spiciness , a medium finish but what a fantastic dram .
It was back to the E.S. list for the next dram , a 13yo Bladnoch (50.21 , 59.2% ) , the colour of burnished gold , it had a typical lowland nose mainly of green apples and grass .On the palate it was dry and peppery with a disappointing touch of bitterness and a drop of caramel . The finish was long and fruity , it had a big mouthfeel but did not match up to the recent distillery bottlings .(Edit - found on the back of my notes "tasted better after cheese and oatcakes....." Hmmmmm!
So it was time to hit the Islays , first stop was Bruichladdich , a 16yo (23.48) , a one from the tastings list which they are currently selling off , Gold in colour with bags of green fruit and vanilla on the nose , with water it went very lemony ( the artifical drizzle cake type) . a typical Laddie on the palate vanilla and creamy fudge , green apples and a touch citric .The finish was very short for a bourbon CS Laddie , a very weak dram compared to other Bruichladdichs , very disappointing , too disappointing to bag a bottle…..
The Penultimate dram was another one from the E.S. list , a 12yo Caol ila (53.99 , 61.2% ) , pale straw and a very medicinal (Germolene) nose . Intensely medicinal on the palate with a load of peat , everything you expect from Caol ila ! A very long and peaty finish with lots of iodine . Very reminiscent of one of my old (Young!) favourites the 53.50 , a little bugger that was half it’s age .
Only one way to end the evening , an Ardbeg , 33.50 (10yo) , another old bottling this was the last dram out of it ! No Disappointments from this one , bright straw in colour , bags of iodine and peat on the nose , a sharp blast of peat and smoke on the palate followed by iodine and a hot and peppery taste . The finish was intense peat , hot and fiery . Lovely ……just where can I get a bottle ?
A New 35yo Bunnahabhain and some other 30+yo's....
Took delivery of a recent Bunnahabhain release from A.D. Rattray this week , another very good cask from a distillery that has a phenominal record of excellent quality old casks . Can't think of a bad one that i've had from either a bottle of a Cask on one of Johns Famous Feis Ile Warehouse tours . Thought i might as revisit a few other 30yo+ bottles i have at hand......
| A.D. Rattray 1974 35yo Bunnahabhain | |||
| Year - 1974 | Age - 35yo | ABV - 44,3% | |
| Colour - Light Gold . | |||
| Nose - Very light sweetness with lemon citric overtones , a hint of coffee and chocolate , also a waft of sea air . | |||
| Taste - Very clean palate , again sweet (Edinburgh Rock) and lemony .. | |||
| Finish - Long , sweet , lemon cough sweet . | |||
| Comments - Distilled 12/7/1974 , Bottled 26/10/2009 ,Ex-Bourbon Cask #7111 , 1 0f 164 bottle . A very clean , old Bunnahabhain , nice and refreshing on the palate . (Glass - SMWS Tasting Glass) | |||
| A.D. Rattray 1976 31yo Bunnahabhain | |||
| Year - 1976 | Age - 31yo | ABV - 49.4% | |
| Colour - Light Amber . | |||
| Nose - Dried fruits , cloves , Christmas Spices , a wee drop of the Bunnahabhain sweeness . | |||
| Taste - Gorgeous velvety mouthfeel , spicy oakiness , very drying towards the end , cloves again . | |||
| Finish - Long ,very dry sherriness , slight oaky-spiceness and vanilla . | |||
| Comments - Distilled 18/11/1976 , Bottled 07/07/2008 , Refill Sherry Butt #6223 , 1 0f 529 bottles.An absolutely wonderful Bunnie , complex and not to sherried . Another Bargain buy when it was available . Glass - SMWS Tasting Glass) | |||
| Royal Mile Whiskies 33yo Bunnahabhain | |||
| Year - 1971 | Age - 33yo | ABV - 45.5% | |
| Colour - Bright Gold / Golden Syrup . | |||
| Nose - Very Fresh , Green Fruits , Malty , Honied Cereal , Sea air and Confectioners Sugar . | |||
| Taste - Green fruits again , Maltiness , a small waft of smoke . Slight lemon - almost Thai style. | |||
| Finish - Lovely Long Finish , Honey sweetness and cereal . | |||
| Comments - From Cask #6249 , Bottle No. 50 of 201 . This is a cracking dram that at the time was an absolute bargain . (Glass - SMWS Tasting Glass) | |||
| Bunnahabhain 34yo O.b. | |||
| Year - 1968 | Age - 34yo | ABV - 43.5% | |
| Colour - Mahogany . | |||
| Nose - Straight away you get the dry sherriness (oloroso) , dried fruits , spices , very Christmas cake , touch malty . | |||
| Taste - Again all the christmas cake elements but with an overlay of dark chocolate , another lovely mouthfeel , swirls around the palate . | |||
| Finish - Long , dry sherriness , Dark Chocolate .. | |||
| Comments - 1 of 1620 Bottles , another cracking aged Bunnahabhain from a sherry cask , no nastiness to it , just the perfect dram ! (Glass - SMWS Tasting Glass) | |||
The Whisky Lounges Glenmorangie Tasting , Newcastle 22/01/2010
The First tasting of the New Year and a nice easy one to ease us in or so i thought........
After the failed attempt to put the last Ardbeg tasting live on the net via Twitter and my sites forum - The Nokia Ovi suite took a disliking to the combination of Windows 7 and my Nokia E51 phone , even though my E51 is getting long in the tooth something had to go and it was the Ovi suite , welcome back the Nokia PC suite that doesn't keep buggering up the laptop ! - but i digress , i was looking forward just to sitting down drinking lots of Glenmorangie and having a good time . But oh no Eddie had to throw a spanner in the works by introducing a new scoring system !!! Basically he thought we were now above the "Out of Ten" system so fetched in a new 100 one , so you gave the colour 10% of the marks (i still can't figure how you score colour out of 10....) , nose 30% , Palate 40% and finish 20% . So onto the confusion eh tasting.......
6 Drams on the night , starting off with Glenmo New Make at 63.5% , Colour Clear (well what did you expect ?) , the nose was fruity and fudgy with cereal / malt , the palate was very fruity and the finish young and yes fruity ! It was very delicate and easy drinking compared to some new makes i've had . Second up was the Original , 10yo and 40% , Pale Gold in colour with a delicate and light spicy nose . The palate was once again Spices and a touch Vanilla . It had a medium finish with bags of Vanilla and slight fudginess . The problem i have with the Original is the ABV , it would have more oomph at 46% and at 40 it's lacking something......
For the third Dram we turned to the "Extra Matured" Range , the Nectar D'or , my favourite one as it happens , Finished i n Sauterne casks and released at 46% , this is a bright Gold in colour . The nose is Vanilla , really sweet and fudgy with lemon and ginger cake , The palate is creamy , sweet and something i couldn't put my finger on at the time but when i revisited it , Bakewell Tart ! it has a long and sweet ( creamy , fudgy) finish .As i said my Favourite of this range but not of the night . Fourth up was newest addition to the Glenmo Range ( officially called the "Private Expressions" Range) The Sonnalta (Gaelic for generous....) , it's again at 46% and finished in Pedro Ximinez Casks . Must say i wasn't very impressed with this one , didn't taste much like a PX finish (A la Lagavulin and bunnahabhain...) to me , yes it had the colour , deep amber , the nose had nowt but a gentle sweetness , honey and vanilla the palate had a slight sherry / dried fruitiness to it but the finish wasn't very long and only had a fleeting sherriedness about it . According to the bumf it was in PX for 6 months but it didn't seem to do anything , very disappointing for an expensive expression , rumoured to be around the £70 mark.
So onto the penultimate dram of the night , The Astar ! Now i like this , in my eyes it's what Glenmo should be , Loads of Vanilla , spices , Coconut , Honey and a strong Sweetness (Confectioners Sugar) , Digestive biscuits , Battenberg Cake and Almonds . It has the oomph the Original is missing ! You can't whack a Cask Strength Glenmo , just try one of the Society bottlings , Cracking stuff and more bang for your bucks . So the last one of the night , Also the most expensive , The Signet . I'd only ever had a small sample of this before and was really looking forward to a good go at it , Light amber in colour and served up at 46% the nose was Vanilla , honey , coffee and Chocolate (Mocha) . The palate had a slight bitterness at first , Dark Chocolate and fudge . The finish was medium with vanilla and honey . i don't think it was as good as what i remembered (still a good dram i hasten to add ) but is it worth £120 a bottle ? The answer would be no........
So onto the scores , i don't like marking malts , i've explained elsewhere why and how i actually rate them but for the purpose of the tastings i give it a go , so they'll probably be strange and i still can't figure out how to do the colour.......
| Expression | Colour(/10) | Nose(/30) | Palate(/40) | Finish(/20) | My Overall(/100) | Newcastle Tasting Average(/100) | Country Average(/100) |
| New Make | 9 | 15 | 20 | 10 | 54 | * | * |
| Original | 8 | 18 | 27 | 12 | 65 | 55 | * |
| Nectar D'or | 9 | 22 | 32 | 14 | 77 | 70 | * |
| Sonnalta | 9 | 20 | 29 | 12 | 70 | 68 | * |
| Astar | 9 | 28 | 34 | 16 | 87 | 71 | * |
| Signet | 9 | 27 | 32 | 14 | 82 | 74 | * |
* I'll post these if and when Eddie Gets around to releasing them .
Another thoroughly enjoyable tasting , will the scoring system work ? who knows ! The next tasting in Newcastle is a special one on the 27th February , it's a Tasting , Indian food Buffet and Launch of a new Amrut in the Company of "Mr Amrut" himself Ashok ! Looking forward to that one !!!
Always open to suggestions.....
Now i'm always open to Suggestions for the site (other suggestions like stick your head up a certain part of your body or in an oven don't count....) and i had one from one of the lads at work . I'd never worked with him before but he's been to Islay ( on a survival exercise on Texa of all things....) so i told him about my site . He had a look and thought it was really good (what a nice Chap !) but him being a non-whisky person he didn't understand a lot of the terminology . "A Glossary of Terms wouldn't have been a bad thing......" , not a bad suggestion so that's one thing that 's on the to do list for this year........
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