Port Charlotte "The Peat Project" (NAS)

Sometimes a business wants to expand its brand, and rather than dilute the image that's been built over the years - and risk alienating or confusing customers - it creates an imprint. Another brand, often transparently the same company in packaging and branding and imaging, but using a different name for a different purpose. 

A good example of this is Springbank, the Campbeltown distillery that makes its normal well-regarded single malt... but also makes a heavily peated version (Longrow) and a triple-distilled smooth and gentle version (Hazelburn). Another example - and one directly related to this review - is the recently resurrected Bruichladdich (Brookh-LAH-dee) distillery. 

Aberfeldy 12 Year

I remember back in about the year 2000 or so I attended a bonfire with my great friend Mickey, out in Damascus, Maryland, my hometown. The liquor choices at the bonfire were between two bottom of the barrel rums (ugggggh) and ... Dewar's White Label. Well, OK, I thought, I'll try this Scotch business. I liked it but didn't love it. 

Since then I've had Dewar's in about a hundred cocktails, which is really its starring role - as a mixer. It is just "Scotchy" enough to be unmistakable, but just bland enough to not stick out. More grain than malt in that way. The chief single malt in Dewar's White Label - the heart of the blend - is Aberfeldy. 

Oban 14 Year

I really like Oban 14 Year, and it's a Scotch I would not mind keeping on hand all the time. For someone whose Scotch cabinet has a fairly high turnover, someone who quests and voyages for new and interesting flavors on a more or less daily basis, this is pretty high praise. 

It's also the only single malt Scotch made by Diageo that is not used in any of their blends, which I'm not sure is praise exactly but certainly speaks to its distinctive character and gives it a certain cache. 

The Glenlivet Nadurra (16 Year)

THE Glenlivet. Why do distilleries insist on the "The"? THE Macallan! THE Balvenie! THE Dalmore!

For the rest of the review, I'm chopping the name down to Glenlivet, try to humble the bottle a little.  Because this is a bottle with big things going on. 

Guest Review: Glenmorangie The Original (10 Year)

Huzzah! What have we here? A guest review from my friend Joe Kano! From time to time I solicit my friends to submit reviews of Scotch they have tried for this blog. So here I submit unedited and in full glory, Joe's review of Glenmorangie's The Original - their 10 Year expression:

Laphroaig 10 Year Cask Strength

Short introduction to this review: my wife poured a dram of this Laphroaig Cask Strength, and I poured the remainder of the Ardbeg Corryvreckan bottle. We accidentally placed them side-by-side and turned our attention away... when we turned back we couldn't tell the different, by sight. 

So we sniffed - still, they were very close! It was only when tasting them that they betrayed their natures

The Dalmore 12 Year

I had a nice dram of The Dalmore 12 Year out tonight in Silver Spring, Maryland. I texted myself the notes so I could post the review tonight, while the impression was still fresh in my mind. 

Some brief background: The Dalmore is a highland distillery north of Inverness, and dates back to 1839. The Wikipedia page says that it was founded by a man who made his money in the illegal opium trade. Now THAT is a story more interesting than most you read, and worth a good New Yorker article or two. Someone get on that. 

Connemara Peated Irish Whiskey (NAS)

What is peat? I've had a couple emails from readers asking that, since I've referred to it multiple times now. Peat is a tightly compacted level of earth that consists of decaying grasses, trees, plants, animals, moss, etc., that is cut by hand and then burned to dry out the malted barley (malting is done by soaking the barley in water until it partially sprouts) during the production of Scotch. 

The composition of peat varies from location to location, which is why Islay peat tastes different from Orkney peat, which is different from the peat of Ireland or the Isle of Skye, etc. 

Cardhu 12 Year

Cardhu 12 Year is a whisky I first had in a tapas bar in Adams Morgan, in the basement bar. It was the only Scotch on the shelf I didn't recognize, and so earned a visit to my mouth. And my impressions were positive: smooth honey, gentle bright fruit, soft finish. 

I did a little reading and discovered Cardhu is apparently mammothly popular in Spain (who knew?) and that it had been off the market for a bit, but has returned recently. Bottled at 40% ABV, which I always find a little thin for my liking. 

Dalwhinnie 15 Year

Dalwhinnie is a Scotch I first had in a bar in D.C. and liked it enough to buy a bottle when it came on sale. When I opened the bottle and started draining drams from it, I found myself surprisingly wishing for something more. It's like seeing an author read a blurb from what seems to be a great book ... but when you read your fresh new copy at home, the rest of the book doesn't hold up. It has one or two great chapters and that's it. 

Talisker Storm (NAS)

Talisker Storm is a No Age Statement whisky (yet another) that is designed to fit in between the 10 Year (which I love) and the 18 Year (which I haven't had yet). I can find the regular Talisker 10 Year for $50 all day long, and the 18 Year for $115 or so, and this one averages about $65-70. I managed to pick it up for half price at $30, a real steal. 

Cragganmore 12 Year

Cragganmore lived like a rogue legend on the shelves of the liquor stores when I was growing up. That name by itself has magic in the sound: cragganmore. Crrrrrrrragganmorrrre. Krrrragggganmooorrrrrrre. KKKRRRAAGGGGGGGGANNNNMMMMNMNMMMOOORREREREREEEE!!

Isle of Jura "Origin"

The Isle of Jura is one of those miscellaneous isles like Skye and the Orkneys that don't quite fall under any other Scotch geographic heading and get short shrift in the press, being generally getting lumped in with Islay. 

Caol Ila 12 Year

This is another "secret" Islay distillery like Bowmore, Kilchoman, and Bruichladdich ... basically, my liquor store experience is that if it's not Ardbeg, Laphroaig, or Lagavulin, it's virtually unknown to the common whisky drinker/buyer. It sits on the shelf waiting for adventurers or blog readers. 

Well, this is one they SHOULD know. It's a particular favorite of mine, one that I always keep on hand. I discovered it in the Adams Morgan scotch/bourbon bar Smoke & Barrel on (I think) July 4th and was particularly enamored of it. Since then it's only grown in my estimation. 

Aberlour A'bunadh (Batches 45 and 46)

Even though the picture I found on the web indicates Batch 38, this post will cover batches 45 and 46. Aberlour is a Speyside distillery that is well known for the A'bunadh expression - from the Gaelic "of the original," it's a cask strength super sherry bomb of surprising complexity and no age statement.

As anyone who has read the previous posts or followed Scotch news generally is aware, this new trend of whiskies with No Age Statement is troubling for the simple reason that old whisky is finite and eventually runs out, and then you (the distillery) are left with lots of really young spirit to mix together. And young spirit is less complex and rich and dense than older, matured spirit. So, the theory goes, the end product suffers. 

GlenDronach "The Original" 12 Year

GlenDronach 12 Year ("The Original") is maybe the most emblematic sherried Scotch I can think of. This is delicious, lovely stuff, and takes virtually all of its flavor notes from medium-to-full bodied sherry (which makes sense considered it was aged in Ximenez and Oloroso casks). The first time I caught the scent of this whisky over the glass, I might as well have been opening a bottle of sherry. It's almost indistinguishable. 

Ardbeg 10 Year

Here's a tip: If you ever go on vacation with a bunch of people who aren't whisky drinkers, and you aren't sure they will share in your bottle of Ardbeg Ten Year... they won't. It's all yours. Sip at your leisure. They will say things like "it smells like burned things," and "what IS that?" and "it smells like a medicine cabinet." 

All true, of course. 

It's funny, how your tastes change. Ardbeg Ten Year was the first Islay Scotch whisky I ever had, and the first time I had it I could only taste what my family tasted this weekend - smoke, iodine, coal, tar, tobacco, dark and musty citric things... and the salt-and-peppery burn of alcohol at the end somewhere. 

So this last weekend I worked my way through another bottle over a couple days, and I really relished it and its subtleties. Having had Uigeadail and Corryvreckan now, the Ten Year takes on new dimensions... there are vectors and angles here I hadn't sensed previously. Bottled at 46% ABV, let's get right to this one. 

Nose: Smoke and peat, right up front. But less than the first time I tried it. This time I got a lot more iodine and and sea salt/spray. Very maritime, like Talisker. But much smokier. A hint of citrus drifts around. 

Mouthfeel: Very very full, coats the whole mouth and stays there. 

Palate: Smoke comes and goes and comes again. Unlike my last time through the Ten Year, this is actually sweet throughout... a pleasant generic vanilla sweetness, not like the tropical fruit of Corryvreckan or the honey glaze of Uigeadail. Vanilla and citrus lace the smoke throughout, making for a nice balance. The citrus might be lemon, might be orange, might even be lime, it's indistinct. 

Finish: Peppery and alcoholic, with endless peat that goes on for days. Salt speckles the smoke. Very pleasant. 

Verdict: To me, this is the definitive entry-level Islay Scotch. I like Ardbeg's flavor profile more than Laphroaig, and the price point edges out Lagavulin. I recommend it IF you are interested in a smokey, medicinal whisky experience that will reward you the more you come back to it. I'll be seeing more of this dram...

Link to the Ardbeg website for the Ten Year: http://www.ardbeg.com/ardbeg/whisky/ten-years-old

Ardbeg Corryvreckan (NAS)

Not enough bottles of Scotch are named for unusual things; Ardbeg catches my interest when they release bottles named Alligator, AuriVerdes, and, of course, Corryvreckan - named for the famous whirlpool off of Scotland, between the Isle of Jura and Isle of Scarba. I understand and ultimately don't mind things like "Triple Wood" and "Fifteen Year" and "Sherry Cask" ... but I think it helps distinguish your distillery and product from among the dozens also using those phrases to come up with a unique descriptor like Ardbeg does here. 

Auchentoshan Classic (NAS)

Most people know that Scotch whisky is divided up geographically into five or six areas, all of which taste (more or less) distinctly different. The areas are Highland, Lowland, Speyside, Cambelltown, Islay...  and some say the Islands (Jura, Arran, Orkney, etc.) are their own, although I think I would group them in with Islay. 

Of the main five areas, Lowland is by far the least represented, with only three or four distilleries currently producing: Ailsa Bay, Glenkinchie, Bladnoch, and Auchentoshan (the web seems to disagree which are actually open and producing actively).

Laphroaig 10 Year

I have a little story about this whisky. Actually, two. The first is that I had a colleague that I particularly liked who was trying to get into single malt Scotch. He chose Laphroaig 10 Year as his gateway whisky, and had a really hard time getting into the swing of things. It challenged him every step of the way, and the last time I asked him how he was liking it, he just shook his head. 

Edradour 10 Year (2014 bottling, 40%)

Edradour is the smallest distillery in Scotland, at only three employees historically - and now only two. Owned by Signatory, it produces only a few expressions - but the 10 Year is worth notice. I absolutely loved this bottle, and am dying to try their other expressions, but many of them top of the $100 mark, making them rare birds in my household. 

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Laphroaig (la-FROYG) is what many drinkers would call hardcore. Like Ardbeg, it's not just intense, it's in your face, no holds barred, punch-to-the-mouth intense. It's not just smoke, it's coal tar, it's iodine, it's salt water and brine, sometimes it's even anchovies and heavy metals. Laphroaig and its heavier Islay brethren are not joking around. 

Highland Park 12 Year

I came late to the Highland Park table, because of a silly mistake that was entirely my fault; I had a distant, and wrong, memory that Highland Park was a cheap blend. Turns out I was thinking of the mouth swill known as Highland Mist. Understandable mistake, but one that sadly delayed my liquid journey to the Orkney Islands, home of the Highland Park distillery. 

Talisker 10 Year

Ah, Talisker. Called "brooding," "moody," and "intense," this is from the only distillery on the Isle of Skye, a rocky, craggy island; I recommend Google imaging the Isle of Skye and checking out the beautiful, stark landscapes for yourself. 

This is another big favorite of mine, like Ardbeg Uigeadail of the previous review. This was a Scotch that entranced me from the very first pour, and has kept me coming back for more time and again.

Ardbeg Uigeadail (NAS, 2013 bottling)

Ardbeg is a distillery I particularly like (being partial to the more intensely peated whiskies of the Islay region), and Uigeadail is my favorite whisky of theirs... one of my very favorites of all time, in fact. This is a whisky that will always be found on my shelf. 

Bowmore Legend (NAS)

I'm starting off this blog with a real flawed gem... sometime soon I'll try the other expressions from Bowmore, but at $25 Bowmore Legend positions itself squarely as a "liquor store impulse purchase." Which is what it was, so I guess Bowmore wins this round. On to the golden liquid itself...

Welcome to the world of Scotch whisky!

I've decided to start a new blog, this one centered around whisky... specifically, single-malt Scotch whisky. This blog is meant for everyone who enjoys a good dram of single malt, a nice fireside chuff of a fine blend, or that particular and unmistakable slip of peat on the tongue. It's also aimed at the drinker who finds poetry in a good sip, and doesn't mind a few flights of imagination now and again when the drink inspires. 

I am coming to the Scotch table rather late in the game - I'm in my mid 30s, and have been drinking spirits - especially my previous favorite, gin - since I was about 18, like most red-blooded Americans. But I only discovered my palette for Scotch about a year ago. I understood the subtleties of gin, bourbon, cognac, but the wonderful world of scotch blossomed unexpectedly late one night at a board game party where I brought some Glenlivet 12 Year.  

I have no mouth for wine, so the esoteric reviews that feature "oak, with a little candied green apple peel, maybe tanned leather, plums, fried peach skin, onion straws, and maybe .... maybe... yes, cherry wallpaper paste," were completely lost on me. Yet with Scotch, my mouth came alive. 

I suspect this is a similar experience for many Scotch drinkers - suddenly, descriptions like "Honey, heather, soft caramel, young herbs, and light smoke," make perfect sense. Sure, every tongue is different - I have read reviews of bottles that I found insane - I smelled varnish and wood glue, they somehow smelled vanilla and cream (!?) - but I think my mouth "understands" Scotch well enough that most reviews make perfect sense, and I have a good idea of the basic and, to a lesser degree, advanced flavors happening in Scotches good and indifferent and bad. 

So, I aim to post at least once a week, and hopefully much more, about some Scotch or other I've sampled, using the usual "nose/mouthfeel/palette/finish" method, and rather than give a score (which is unusually arbitrary, I think), I will follow ScotchNoob.com's example, and use a system that varies from Find This Immediately to Recommended to Avoid At All Costs. 

Prost!