Thank you to mom for this unexpected Christmas gift! Almost a year after my last look at Bruichladdich and their core expression, let's have another glass. An unpeated Islay made with all Scottish barley, this is bottle 21/137, which carries the following information on the Bruichladdich website (and kudos to them for providing this):
The third and final bottle of a trio of independently bottled Highland Parks from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), as part of a distillery deep dive they did in December of 2021. I couldn't resist - I think independent Highland Park is the best Highland Park.
This one, like "A Horned Beast" (4.300) before it, is considered peated rather than oily and coastal by the standards of the SMWS flavor categories. I'm curious - normally Highland Park isn't considered super peaty, but rather quite lightly peated, almost as an afterthought.
I'm intrigued that this independent bottling of Highland Park from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") is considered peated (and not even lightly peated!) instead of oily and coastal, the usual category determination. I have never had a well-and-truly-peated bottling of Highland Park, so I'm ultra curious about this one.
Part of a trio of 13 year Highland Parks released by SMWS as part of a distillery deep dive, this is the second one I'm partaking in. I love independently bottled Highland Park, which is coastal, fragrant, lightly sweet and salty, and filled with personality.
This is part of a "distillery deep dive" in Highland Park from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), a trio of 13 year bottles that all come from the same revatting experiment as two lovely previous bottles I had from SMWS: "Dining by the Harbour" and "By the Beautiful Sea."
I have consistently found that independently bottled Highland Park (often called "Orkney Distillery" or "Unnamed Orkney" on independent bottle labels) is where the spirit really shines, divorced from the marketing juggernaut that continues to amuse and frustrate the scotch-loving public with watered down bottles and overripe names.
I almost wish they would go way over the top with the whole effort. Instead of "Viking Honor" and "Viking Scars" and "Viking Heart" and "Loyalty of the Wolf" and "Spirit of the Bear" etc etc etc (ugh), they should get creative with the naming. "Untamable Fury of the Malmsteen" ... "The Angriest Rooster" ... "A Barbarian, Reading a Book" ... "Dragons Dreaming of Scary Children" and so on. I would be 1000% more likely to actually buy a bottle if they had some humor or personality. Instead, I continue to boycott the ridiculous expressions, with the sole exception of the surprisingly good Cask Strength bottles, which really deserve more attention. I look forward to reviewing the Batch No. 2 very soon.
Ever since my friend Rob had a bottle of the newly released whisky from Highland distillery Ardnamurchan, I've been very interested in trying some. This month's outturn from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") offered a 5 year expression, aged entirely in a first-fill Oloroso sherry butt - I couldn't say no!
I am quite a fan of Glenfarclas, and will nearly always take a chance on an independent expression of their spirit when I can find it. This young 7-year bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") fit the bill nicely. It's actually the second bottle I've had that follows this casking: 5 years in ex-bourbon, 2 year finish in PX sherry oak. This one is apparently much closer to the "normal" Glenfarclas sherry-forward profile.
A misty mornin’ doon the shore wi a hushed an’ caller air,
an’ ne’er a breath frae East or West tie sway the rashes there,
a sweet, sweet scent frae Laggan’s birks gaed breathin’ on its ane,
their branches hingin beaded in the smoky smirr o rain.
The hills aroond war silent wi the mist alang the braes.
The woods war derk an’ quiet wi dewy, glintin’ sprays.
The thrushes didna raise for me, as I gaed by alane,
but a wee, wae cheep at passin’ in the smoky smirr o rain.
Rock an’ stane lay glisterin’ on aa the heichs abune.
Cool an’ kind an’ whisperin’ it drifted gently doon,
till hill an’ howe war rowed in it, an’ land an’ sea war gane.
Aa was still an’ saft an’ silent in the smoky smirr o rain.
Craigellachie means "rocky hill" - I imagine that's where the words "crag" and "craggy" originate - and refers to an outcropping that overlooks the Spey river, across from the Macallan distillery. Craigellachie is owned by Bacardi, and I have to say - based on what I've had, they are doing all the right things. It was built in 1891, and is currently a major part of Dewar's blends; they produce 4,000,000 litres of alcohol a year.
Phenols and esters are two volatile molecular compounds that cause many of the flavors in alcoholic drinks, Scotch included. There is actually a considerable body of scientific research into these compounds and exactly how they are created, destroyed, and generally interact.
If you ever had a glass of Scotch and wondered where that rubber tire aroma came from, or lavender soap, or that *exact* aroma of charred pineapples ... these articles will help explain.
An interesting offering from the Grouse family of blended whiskies, this one has been aged in first-fill sherry butts, and consists heavily of (apparently) Macallan and Glenturret and Highland Park. Color me intrigued! Thanks to Rob Martin for the sample! Bottled at 43% ABV, let's just drink the damned stuff!
Compass Box manufactures some really excellent blends, and even the worst bottles I've had from them are pretty damned interesting. This one is, apparently, a love letter to Glasgow; the website opens by saying
"Aromas of sherry and smoke permeate the streets of Glasgow
In his 1930s book ‘Whisky’, Aeneas MacDonald teaches us that Glaswegians historically preferred fuller bodied and more flavour-packed whiskies than people in other parts of the world. So what better name for a whisky such as this?
Glaswegians are also famed for their sense of humour, which is why the city’s Wellington statue – traditionally dressed down with a traffic cone – is featured on the front label."
If I'm being completely honest, I only really bought this because it supported a good charity (Fisher House Foundation) on Veteran's Day here in the US, and because it was the least expensive of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") Black Label bottlings - their oldest, most mature offerings. I simply couldn't justify $1000+ for an ancient Mortlach, etc.
But I do quite like independent bottlings of Highland Park, especially the recent revattings I've had from SMWS - "Dining by the Harbor" and "By the Beautiful Sea" were both amazing bottles. This is a 17 year Highland Park (those 17 years in ex-bourbon) that was revatted and finished another 3 years in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead. Here are the official notes:
Now this is an oxymoron if I've ever seen one - a young Old Pulteney! A single cask bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), I was just so curious I couldn't resist - the normally oily, salty Old Pulteney house style at a very young age and filed under the SMWS flavor profile Young and Sprightly?? Yes, please. Someone once said that SMWS Young and Sprightly bottles were "not for the faint of heart."
I do love Bruichladdich and their peated variant Port Charlotte; this is their PAC:01, which is part of their cask exploration series. Here is Bruichladdich's own explanation:
Introducing the newest Cask Exploration edition of our heavily peated Islay single malt, the Port Charlotte PAC:01 2011 demonstrates the versatility of our soft, barbeque smokey Scotch in the highest quality French oak casks. Two parcels of Scottish barley distilled spirit have matured for a minimum of six years in ex-American oak casks before being transferred to red wine casks from the Gironde left bank, north of Bordeaux. Bottled at 56.1% abv, this spirit showcases stunning spice and fruit notes. It is a rich and elegant, undeniably Islay single malt.
Anyone who has read through this blog over the last year or two knows I'm a big fan of Ardmore, a somewhat chameleon-esque distillery in the eastern Highlands of Scotland. Capable of making all kinds of wild, vivid flavors, I buy almost every single cask offering that's released by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS").
I basically bought this bottle entirely on the strength of the previous revatted bottling of Highland Park that I obtained from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). That bottle was called "Dining by the Harbor" and was a fragrant, coastal, fruity, floral, softly smokey dram that I poured and poured and poured into my glass.
As the weather cools off, my taste for peat grows and grows, and this came with a particularly high recommendation during the SMWS's 2021 Gathering - a sort of general Scotch festival they hosted. I made an impulse purchase and now the bottle sits next to me, waiting for review. Let's investigate!
For anyone wondering, "xanthous" is an adjective referring to something yellow in color, usually a particular mustardy golden/red/auburn/brownish shade of yellow. Video game fans will recognize the term from the Dark Souls games, where there is a set of clothing that is xanthous-colored (and is so named).
I haven't had a bottle of Glen Moray in a while, and decided it was time to come back and revisit this excellent distillery whose bottles I have so enjoyed in the past.
I took a bit of a gamble on this single cask bottling of Laphroaig from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), since the last bottle of Laphroaig I tasted from them was absolutely awash with a pungent "Lemon pledge cleaning solution" aftertaste that I couldn't shake and found unfortunately unpalatable, despite many other interesting notes.
Bottles of Laphroaig come through the SMWS so rarely, there is always a temptation to assume that they are reject casks in some fashion, or at least significantly off-profile for Laphroaig. But they are also sought after extremely highly by the large quantity of Islay maniacs who belong to SMWS, and all ~165 bottles of this single cask were sold out in about ten minutes (!).
In all my years of drinking Scotch whisky, I've never had Glencadam until now; and instead of one of their official distillery bottlings, this is an independent single cask bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS").
Glencadam is owned by Angus Dundee (who also owns Tomintoul!), and has a wide range of official bottlings, from 10- to 25-years old. Here are the official tasting notes:
I am super intrigued by this single cask bottling of Glenallachie from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). Released with the nickname "Aromatic and Substantial" in the September outturn, it's the second Glenallachie bottle I've had from SMWS. The first was a young, brash, characterful 8 year that had a really great umami/meaty overtone and was totally matured in a sherry butt.
I have a strange fondness for Linkwood, even though I've only ever had one bottle of their whisky, and that was an independent bottling from Signatory. Still, that one bottle made a big impression on me - it was a light, delicate, textured dram with lots of flavor even at 46%. So imagine my delight when the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") had a big sale this week in honor of the Highland Games, and one of their bottles was from Linkwood!
This brief post isn't really a review. It's just a general celebration of a great bottle of whisky - Ardbeg's vaunted 10 Year expression.
There are very few distilleries I respect as much as Grant-family-owned Glenfarclas. I love their 12 year, 17 year, and 21 year expressions so much - very very good memories of draining those bottles. This is my first independent expression of their distillery! From the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), this 7 year bottling was aged 5 years in bourbon barrels was finished for another additional 2 years in a first-fill PX hogshead. Nicknamed "Marvellous Marmalade."
My first independent bottling of GlenDronach, from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS")! I love their official bottlings, at least the earlier non-chill-filtered ones, even though I haven't always been great about reviewing them here. I feel like the GlenDronach story is pretty well known by now, but just in case, here is a link to the whole thing.
The second independent bottling of Dalmore I've had from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS")! The first was a young 7 year bottle that was full of personality and really interesting. I have high hopes for this one, nicknamed "Smiling From Within." The official notes are as follows:
A joyous combination of custard cream biscuits, creamed coconut and honey married with the evocative aromas of a dunnage warehouse nestled among lavender fields. The palate was pure fruity bliss, a social mingle of mango, apricot and peach before plums and blackcurrants invited pineapple and watermelon into polished oak casks and wood char. A fine fragrance returned with water that mixed ladies’ perfume with fresh coconut and elderflower. Apricot jam joined dark chocolate and black forest gateau with earthy notes of pine forests before light cream poured over tinned peaches in syrup and vanilla ice cream arrived with tropical fruit and ginger.
Of all the unknown or little-known distilleries out there, Ardmore is my favorite. I have had some really incredible bottles from Ardmore, both official (the old Ardmore Traditional Cask) and single cask independent bottlings from various places. This bottle is a lightly peated expression from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), called A Doric Takeaway (your guess is as good as mine - more at the end of the review) and aged for 7 years in first fill bourbon barrels, bottled a very robust 61.4%. Part of the 2021 Highland Festival.
First of all: what a name! Of all the wacky/descriptive/imaginative names to come out of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), Doctor Blowtorch is easily my favorite. This single cask bottling is from one of the Loch Lomond distillery imprints, this one being Croftongea; this is apparently one of the peated varieties used in their blending, along with two other imprints Craiglodge and Glen Douglas.
