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Arran 10yo, 10th Anniversary (1995-2005)Single Malt Scotch Whisky46% abv£85Once the new kid on the block, Arran has settled in to its existence as the Harry Belafonte of malt whisky, the charming islander with mainland appeal. Day-O! Now in its 16th year of production, Isle of Arran continues to show what a fine spirit they have been quietly making on "Scotland in minature." It has always been tasty and many have written about it's "potential," but age is allowing Arran to figure out who it is and wants to be at least as much showing folks that they were right. For more distillery info or to see all the Isle of Arran malt that Dr. Whisky has enjoyed, click HERE.TASTING NOTES
Comes across like a classic speysider (which it is not) with great mellow fruitiness and soft oak influence. Raisins, apples and salt taffy. Spicy, bready rye notes, raisins and apples again, and a toasty oak impression of dry amontillado sherry casks and sweet treacly notes of oloroso. Nuts and fudge through the finish.SUMMARY: I loved this today just as I remember loving it when Ewan from Arran poured us some at a Water of Life Society meeting in Edinburgh back in 2005. That was the same night, after tasting new make, 3 year old, various 7 year olds and this Anniversary malt, that I uttered the classic "it is so cool tasting the progression, it is like a child growing in your mouth!" Umm...
I bought a bottle that I have lost somewhere between my moves to London, New York, and back again, although our running hypothesis is that they guy with whom we left other bottles for safe keeping (including JMR original Irish-only Smooth Sweeter and Hazelburn 8yo 1st edition, BOTH of which he consumed) may have had something to do with this disappearance. That's what friends are for.
Highland Park 23yo (1984)
SMWS 4.128
"Bruised pears on a ground sheet"
Single Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky
52.1% abv
£83
Another "week" here on the mission. Even though I am no longer able to keep posting at a Monday-Friday daily rate, I still enjoy bundling them in groups of five by theme as I have done since the beginning of this mission; sort of mini tastings or flights that help me arrage the order here on the mission.
Now begins a week of independent bottlings.
Although the SMWS website indicates that this is from the region of Campbeltown, I assure you that Highland Park is in the Orkney islands. But that it is only error on an otherwise beautiful revamped website. The re-branding of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society began just before I became their Ambassador in 2007 and they seem to have done an outstanding job recreating the look of the SMWS with new bottles, new fonts, new website and images. Of course, one whisky nerd's opinion is not enough (sorry, brothers and sisters) and only they know if it has been a successful investment of creativity, time, and of course, money.
For all Highland Parks had on the Malt Mission click HERE. TASTING NOTES:
Musty and humid, earthy and fruity like apples on the orchard floor. A very perfumy peat, floral and musky.
Begins sweet like some kind of syrup or sweet fruit vinegar reduction. Candied plums and extinguished candles. Turns smoky, or more like exhaust from a generator at a fair. Ends juicy and nutty leaving a real desire for me to have another sip.
SUMMARY:
Even at 52% abv this dram demanded no water before allowing me to fully inhale its aromas. It was also completely palatable at full strength. With a wonderful spread of flavours from cold musty cellars to humid days at the sea balanced with fruit and flowers this initially nosed like an aged blend. To taste, however, showed an utterly unique style of peatiness only available at one distillery, the one the Emperor of Russia and the King of Denmark in 1883 "pronounced it to be the finest they had ever tasted."
Malt Mission #335
Malt Mission #337Malt Mission #338 Malt Mission #339
Malt Mission #340
Malt Mission HOME
Talisker 25yo
Island Single Malt Whisky bot. 2004
57.8%
abv £110
£180 (USD)
Readers of this blog will know I am not a peat freak but I do find Talisker to have the most sublime balance of sweetness and peatiness, so much so that I picked the 10yo and the 18yo as two of the best whiskies I ever tried here on the mission (The Tops So Far II). Yes, some find it too sweet, but that is the is part of the fun! If we all agreed, tasting and sharing impressions would be a pretty boring exercise. Perhaps, for some, it remains so.
I had a great email from a guy some time ago asking "what does Talisker mean?" cuz it was one of his names. The name Talisker comes from "Thallas Geir", meaning "sloping rock/land of stones". It is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye and it receives over 40,000 visitors per year. One visitor was Robert Louis Stevenson, who refered to it in A Scotsman's Return from Abroad(1880), writing, "....the King o' drinks, as I conceive it, Talisker, Islay, or Glenlivet." Worth noting, of course, that at the time "Islay" and "Glenlivet" would have referred to areas of production (the isle of Islay and the region of Speyside) and thus Talisker is the sole named distillery dubbed "the King o' drinks."
Had a more recent bottling of this expression back HERE. For more distillery info and for all Taliskers had on the mission, click HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Initially bright, liquid sunshine, but dry. Then gets juicy with cream, cloves, and shortbread. Aromatic sweet and fruity smokiness like pipe smoke, some synthetic fruitiness like shampoo or green gummy bears. Smoke again and still.
Big and bourbony, but salty. Grows sweet and creamy with emerging spices (cloves again, white pepper?) and a lemony brininess. The smokiness is very earthy, like burnt celeriac or parsnips.
SUMMARY:
First impressions left me wanting more in the finish, a final denoument in the realm of sweet but all I get is oak and vegatal smokiness. So be it. A punchy and bright Talisker even at such a ripe old age. Currently 20% off at The Whisky Exchange.
Malt Mission #326
Malt Mission #327
Malt Mission #329Malt Mission #330
Malt Mission HOME
Highland Park 16
Island Single Malt Whisky
40% abv
£35
Twenty (20!) days since my last Dr. Whisky post and it is not for lack of dramming. Been crazy busy with work and the whiskevangelism has taken me west to Chicago, further to San Francisco and LA, south to Tampa and Miami with roadtrips to Boston, Washington and Philadelphia in between. And yes, a few drams have been had. Have been very fortunate to meet many amazing folks and to see the best and worst bits of this disparate and expansive land. Stories to come in my published chronicles, "Dr. Whisky's Casebook"... heheh.
I recently met Martin Daraz, Highland Park's Ambassador here in the USA. Martin is infected with a sharp wit and the only remedy is, you guessed it, uisge. He insisted on calling me DOCTOR so I insist on featuring some HP sauce on my return to the mission. This expression is only available at Duty Free in the UK (elsewhere?)
Tasted with PK. His notes appear in quotes. For all Highland Parks had on the mission, click HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Cocktail orange. "Bright notes, a lot of candy, fresh, open feeling as well. Candy floss" Slightly winey, honeyed. Woody, "yeah, like fresh construction." This oaky element develops over time, with malty sweetness, opening up to melon and green strawberries. "A light hint of darkness, not ebony, but mahogany. Goes towards the dark."
Dry at first with a candied plum, and a flambéed sugar toastiness. "It's got a bite. Definitely." Floral and sweet like white port ("yeah, vin santo"), some sherry spiciness, but dry and quite oaky. Grapefruit. Lavender candies. And again, oak.
SUMMARY:
Patience is this dram's friend. With time and air "it suits a spring-feel, bright notes and playfulness. Warm sunlight in cool air, blossoms and, I don't want to go over the top here, but sort of free (hand genstures), you know what I mean?" It must be said, Paul is expressive in art and music as well as whisky-soaked verbiage.
I loved taking my time with this and each nosing or tasting brought new impressions. Distinctly different from the 12 or 18 year olds, and endlessly fascinating. Just enough dry edge to to be puckering and encourage another sip. Might match very well with creamy sweetness like creme brulée or certain cheeses. And the Scotch Chix dug it.
Malt Mission #316
Malt Mission #317
Malt Mission #318
Malt Mission #320
Malt Mission HOME
Scapa 14yo
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
40% abv
£30
$56.96 (CAD)
$45(USD)
NOMINATED in the 2008 DRAMMIES
*Most Under-rated whisky
Vote HERE (before Mar 6, 2009)
Based on the northern Orkney islands, Scapa is somewhat of a neglected jewel in the Pernod Ricard (Chivas, Glenlivet, Aberlour) portfolio. The distillery is only producing spirit 3 days a week. It is unsual in still using a lomond still, although it is operated as a normal still today (the parallel plates have been removed), and Scapa practices the longest fermentation time of any distillery: 160 hours.
This Scapa 14 expression replaced the Scapa 12 (Malt Mission #67) expression in 2004 and the rumours are that a Scapa 16 may be soon replacing this 14yo. To be fair, this sort of thing makes sense as their stocks from a period of when the distillery was mothalled (1994-2004) must be very limited as the only spirit produced during these years was when staff from the nearby Highland Park distillery would come by for a couple months per year to fire up the stills. So most the stock to be used to make a well-rounded spirit may actually be quite a bit older than 12, 14, or 16 (hence the age jumps, and justifiable price jumps).
For more distillery info or to see all Scapas had on the Malt Mission, click HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Powdered candied sweets. Earth, soil and salt, oak and fruits. Little jojoba. FunDip. Really quite appetising.
Soft and juicy, like actual juice... and booze. Toffee sweet, drying with time. Dirtier and drier with time. Feels good in the mouth.
SUMMARY:
Extremely enjoyable. Light nose, heavier body, sweet and salty dram with few comparisons.
Malt Mission #316
Malt Mission #318Malt Mission #319Malt Mission #320
Malt Mission HOME
Tobermory 10yo
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
40% abv
£24
$69.40 (CAD)*
$35 (USD)
Tobermory is a picturesque distillery on the gorgeous Isle of Mull on the west coast of Scotland, most easily accessed via ferry. But you could try to swim it. One of the last operating distilleries founded in the 18th century, Tobermory has been closed and reopened four times since 1798.
Today, the unpeated make at Tobermory goes under that name and the peated version (using barley peated to 35ppm from Port Ellen Maltings on Islay) is known as Ledaig (pronounced "led-cheg"). As many of the warehouses at the distillery were converted into flats in 1982, spirit from Tobermory and Ledaig are tankered to Deanston distillery on the mainland for filling to cask and to Bunnahabhain on Islay for maturation. This 10 year old is the only official version of Tobermory but it is a big part of Scottish Leader and Black Prince blended whiskies and can be found bottled by several independent bottlers.
For other whisky from Tobermory distillery had on the mission, click HERE.
* are you surprised you're getting raped in Ontario?
TASTING NOTES:
Please remember, I am not making judgments, just trying my best to objectively observe flavour impressions.
Polluted sea, melted strong cheese, or cheese curds. Oatmeal raisin cookies. Salt and brine, black olives, Twiglets.
Malted milk, licorice, oats and spice. Simple and quite well-balanced. Late antiseptic flavour that slightly ruins the ride but encourages another sip, if just to wash it away.
SUMMARY:
Moody and quite different worlds in the nose and on the palate. Smells like the mood at a seamans' strike... or any transport strike in 1910s Britain. Tastes like attending your daughter's ballet recital or your niece's Christening. Different moods, but as such, this is a whisky that demands quick and frequent movements from table to mouth. Another pleasant surprise, but I fricking LOVE whisky.
Malt Mission #276
Malt Mission #277
Malt Mission #279
Malt Mission #280
Malt Mission HOME
Arran First 1995
Island Single Malt Whisky
46%* abv
£32**
Specially selected casks from the first distillations at Isle of Arran distillery (b.1995) make up this limited release of 2784 bottles that was released in 2004 and is hard to find today.
Gordon Mitchell, distillery manager from the beginning, retired this past summer (2007) and was commemorated with the limited release Gordon's Dram. He has been replaced by James MacTaggart, formerly of Bowmore. We all hope that success continues to come to Arran, that the spirit remains as tasty as it has been throughout its young life, and that the peated version(12ppm) of Arran that has been produced for the past three years will continue long enough for all of us to try some when it is ready.
For all bottles from Arran had on the mission and for more distillery info click HERE.
* - at the LCBO there was a sticker amendment on the box reading 45.2%
** - price likely to be higher if you can find this bottle.
TASTING NOTES:
Apples, pears, some green chillies and butterscotch. Malt, oat cakes, and spice. Hard to describe the pepperiness, but it is crisp and vegetal.
Sweet and light, with the tree fruits above now cooked. Some nuttiness, too... hazelnut paste, Nutella. Salt, earth and cinnamon. Fresh and creamy with some woodiness like a sauna (cedar).
SUMMARY:
Light but pungent. Quite an invigorating nose.The Arran bottle reads, "the result has surpassed out expectations." Indeed, this drop is well-balanced and wonderfully promising. We continue to be charmed by the young Arran Distillery.
Malt Mission #245
Malt Mission #247
Malt Mission #248
Malt Mission #249
Malt Mission #250
Malt Mission HOME
Talisker 1982, 25yo
Island Single Malt Whisky
58.1% abv
£120
During the late 1980s, DIAGEO introduced what would become the benchmark expressions of single malt whiskies from six single malt distilleries under the CLASSIC MALTS name. Without doubt, and giving credit where credit is due, this played a part in fostering the growing interest in malt whiskies during this period. One product of this surge of interest was the introduction of DIAGEO's RARE MALTS range, a series of rarer whiskies begun in 1995 but discontinued in 2005 as stocks declined, after all, RARE MALTS are by definition an exhaustible resource.
The interest in unusual, distinctive, older and unrepeatable cask strength bottling also saw a rise in the 21st century and to satisfy this demand and move some of the stocks from warehouses across Scotland, DIAGEO's SPECIAL RELEASES was born. The first of these was a 28yo Talisker in 2001, initially priced at £495 and now, if you can find the stuff, fetching at least 3 times that amount. Obviously, it was decided that these SPECIAL RELEASES were a good idea. A Port Ellen 22yo (now in it's 7th release and aged 28yo) and a Talisker 25 followed and both also sold out quickly. The demand was obviously present and the special releases have continued annually ever since. There are a total of 59 bottlings in this elite range to date. So demand is certainly present, the challenge has been to maintain supply, and the quality of that supply. By all accounts, Nick Morgan and DIAGEO have done brilliant job at this.
This 25yo Talisker is the ninth offering from the only distiller on the Isle of Skye in the Special Releases range and is one of 6,894 bottles. For more distillery info and for past expressions from Talisker had on the mission, click HERE.
Guest-tasted today by TF (cuz I wanted post on this baby and wasn't invited to the launch or get drops through the post. Oh well). Thanks, mate. With only a laugh and more clarity intended, I will translate of few of his 'local' descriptors.
TASTING NOTES:
Rich, sweet. Golden syrup, brown sugar, sticky home-made gingerbread, with sweet oak lurking in the background. Peat, white pepper. Clearly a few top-quality sherry casks in the mix.
All the flavours from the nose, but with an extra smack of coal and dry peat, rounded by a fabulously delicate honeysuckle. Full and rich, silky smooth but packing a great chewy, peppery punch. The spices are perfect. Finish is long, strong and somehow manages to be both brash and graceful at the same time, like a ballerina with a Mohican (British term for the hairstyle that some/most call a mowhawk). The spices and the sherry are perfectly complemented by the succulent peat.
SUMMARY:
Wow. Just stunning. Phwoarr!! (another Briticism, the kind of term you see printed across the bottom of a picture of a topless footballer/soccer player or actor from LOST, etc.). Gorgeous nose, even better on the palate! This is sumptuous stuff.
Malt Mission #191
Malt Mission #192
Malt Mission #193
Malt Mission #195
Malt Mission HOME
Talisker 18yo
Island Single Malt Whisky
45.8% abv
£38
$94.50(CAD)
$75(USD)
Tasted blind by a bunch of whisky folk, this was awarded Best Whisky in the World at The World Whisky Awards 2007. The 30 friends who got together while I was in Toronto to have a tasting a few weeks ago thought it was pretty darn tasty, too. This week we have been reliving that tasting one dram at a time.
Talisker is currently the only distillery on the Isle of Skye and is bottled at the unusual strength of 45.8% by its owners. It has been a part of Diageo's Classic Malts Selection since 1987. When the still house was burnt down in 1960, the distillery fell silent for 2 years. The phenolic content of the malt (peat level) is 25-30 ppm(parts per million). To make relative sense of that, Charlie Maclean has a formulation: 1ppm in a 700ml bottle of whisky is like 10 minutes in 20 years. So what makes more of an impact, 5 hours of the past 20 years of your life or the peat in that dram of Talisker you're drinking right now?
Notes in quotes are from folks at the tasting. All Talisker we've had on the mission can be read HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
"Bitter dark chocolate" cinnamon tea, dark rum, vanilla. A little orange zest, creamy bourbon element. Some folks got salt from coastal aromas, others got salt from licorice. "Can I say smoke and cherries? cuz they seem to go together. Sweet smoke." Time brought out more peat and bonfire on the beach-type of aromas.
Gorgeous creaminess, but with an oaky bite up front, green bitternes, raw celery. "Its definitely got that book mustiness"
"Ooo, very sweet. Saccrin and cherry. Once you swallow you get that bitterness. Blunt smoke. Two tones."
Immensely drinkable and full of tasty oak influence. Honey cured ham and toffee. Pepper late in the game.
SUMMARY:
Delicious, but a bit too sweet for some. For me, the pepper and bitter rootiness helped rein-in the luscious vanilla and bourbon sweetness creating a dangerously drinkable treat. Well-rounded, beautifully crafted stuff. Very fair price, too!
Malt Mission #161
Malt Mission #162
Malt Mission #163
Malt Mission #164
Malt Mission HOME
Scapa 23yo, Sherry finish
Douglas Laing, Old Malt Cask 1978-2001 612 bottles
Island Single Malt Whisky
50% abv
£50
Scapa distillery lives in the shadow of its more famous Orkney neighbour, Highland Park. Scapa flow is the stretch of sea linking the North Sea with the Atlantic. German vessels were sunk there in 1919 and now rest on the sea floor. The Royal Viking Fleet of King Haakon (pronounced hawk-un) was stationed in Scapa flow in the 13th century. Old Norse gives Scapa its name, meaning 'ship' or 'boat'. Find all Scapas enjoyed on the mission HERE.
Douglas Laing is an independent bottler of good repute, but as supplies get tighter and tighter in the whisky industry one wonders from where they will be sourcing casks for the future security of their company. Most indies have bought up or partnered up with distilleries so they have some cask-trading power because in the future, money won't be enough to acquire casks of mature or maturing whisky. What is Douglas Laing's plan?
The company releases bottlings under different brand and blend names. This expression is from their Old Malt Cask range and always bottled at 50%abv. It was finished for 6 months in a sherry cask.This whisky was voted 'dram of the night', just beating tomorrow drop by one or two votes in the tasting we had in Toronto. Each dram we had is featured this week on the mission. We even had the control to leave 3-4 servings in the bottom of the bottle for the hosts who let us use their flat. Kind or stupid?
TASTING NOTES:
Gentle and sumptuous sherry, plums, brown sugar and oak. Very complex nose, with big depth. Salty like peanuts. Creamy honeyed tones. Apples and honey. Earthy. Ginger biscuits. Malt is miraculously still present coming across as a hard, dry, oatiness. Slightly perfumy.
Firm, caressing, sensual mouthfeel. Oatmeal cookies, cardboard, sweetness and fruitiness of sherry balances the musty dry oakiness. Salt-and-sweet where the sherry lingers in a soft oak and cocoa finish.
SUMMARY:
An excellent Scapa. The sherry compliments the salt and honey-nut distillery character character with the musty vanilla and pulp and paper mill influence from 20-some years in bourbon.
Malt Mission #161
Malt Mission #162
Malt Mission #163
Malt Mission #165
Malt Mission HOME
Isle of Arran
Cream Sherry Cask finish(Gonzalez byass)
Island Single Malt Whisky
57.5% abv
£39.99
$78(USD)
Another one of Arran's gazillion finishes... and, to be fair, many of them have turned out pretty darn well.
We've had Arran on the mission before, but it is always a treat. And we are always ready to try more as the results from this new distillery have been very promising since opening in 1995. Arran was the first distillery on the island bearing the same name since Lagg distillery closed in 1836. The stills are similar to those at Glengyle(Campbeltown) and their washbacks AREN'T oregon pine but larch and Norwegian spruce. Whistle melody here... "she once had me," etc.
Short on time so short on words. Let's get down to business...
TASTING NOTES:
Big toffeed sweetness, sherry, candy apples. "Coffee Crisp"(a very Canadian tasting note brought to you by JM) Chocolate milk. Cereal, and a slight vegetal element. Glue. Quite gentle on the nose for the abv%.
Slightly punchy, but some really wimpy punches. Sugar in tea, balsa wood, freshly baked cookies, apple cider, flower gardens. A caramelised element as well. Turns toasty as burnt sherry flavours resonate through the finish.
SUMMARY:
Sweet, but remarkably pleasant. Autumnal whisky, whisky for when its not quite warm enough for a shorts or young bourbon-cask Speysiders, but not quite cold enough for woolly jumpers or heavily sherried peat monsters. October, trick-or-treat whisky.
Malt Mission #161
Malt Mission #162
Malt Mission #164
Malt Mission #165
Malt Mission HOME
Ledaig Island
Island Single Malt Whisky
42% abv
£15
$40(CAD)
$32(USD)
Pronounced 'led-chig', this is the peated expression of whisky from Tobermory distillery on the isle of Mull. In fact, it was the original name of the distillery when it was built in 1798 and has produced two different whiskies since its early days. This is the more heavily peated expression. The last whisky from this distillery to be had on the Malt Mission can be found HERE.
Tobermory comes from 'Tobar Moire', meaning "Mary's well". Ledaig means "safe haven".
The limited supplies of Ledaig from the 70s that have been bottled have really impressed amateur and professional whisky critics across the globe. This good reputation is being cashed in on (?) with reasonably new proprietary bottlings of unaged Ledaig, from sherry and bourbon casks. This expression is from bourbon and is shockingly cheap. In a blind tasting we held years ago in Edinburgh where the objective was to find the expensive bottle among the cheap ones, this whisky was thought by most to be the pricey one.
TASTING NOTES:
Not what I would call an appetizing nose, but pretty busy. Herring, brine, bad morning breath. Orange pekoe tea. Strawberry jam. Toast and butter. Fresh raw shellfish and Dark chocolate. Verging on butryic.
Buttery and sweet, green grapes, stamp glue. Soy and fish sauce and smoke, but mainly sweeter, saltier characteristics. Light but full of character. Thin finish of campino.
SUMMARY:
Light but flavourful. Quaffable and not overly offensive, in spite of some of my chosen adjectives, with maritime characters coming out the wazoo. Very impactful for such a young, cheap whisky, just not an impact that would be welcomed by all. If you like you whisky fishy, smoky and salty, this is for you. In a character to price ratio, this scores very highly.
Malt Mission #161
Malt Mission #163
Malt Mission #164
Malt Mission #165
Malt Mission HOME
The Six Isles
Vatted/Blended Malt
43% abv
£19
This is an unchillfiltered vatting of whiskies from the 6 isles of whisky production, Arran, Mull, Islay, Skye, Jura, and Orkney. We used it as a warm-up dram at a tasting we held for 30 friends when we were in Toronto two weeks ago and it went down a treat. Folks really liked it. This week we will be re-living that tasting one day/dram at a time.
Discontinued at the LCBO, and only $35.35(CAD) right now if you can find a bottle near you, Jim Murray has praised this stuff calling it, "island whisky to the max!" (2003) and, "The best standard, non-deluxe blend I have found in my lifetime."(2004) Like I said, it went down well with friends on a cool, late-summer, Toronto night.
All Ian Macleod products can be viewed HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Laid back, peaty and earthy, with a layer of salty nuts and smoke. Chlorine. Sooty. Apricots. Custard. Cocoa dustings. All freshened with a citrus zing.
Spring. Cut grass. Lemon curd. Metallic smoke takes over and a minty, or Listerine effect lingers in the medium long, but pleasantly thin, finish.
SUMMARY:
Tobermory/Ledaig and Islay malts(Bowmore?) dominate this whisky, and blind, one might think it's a peated Speysider. Yeah, that is due to the smoke mixed with the janitor's closet smells, but also the weighty sweetness on the nose, the floral element on the palate, and the sheer drinkability. For peat freaks and the new drinkers they insist "have gotta try this..."
Malt Mission #160
Malt Mission #162
Malt Mission #163
Malt Mission #164
Malt Mission #165
Malt Mission HOME
Isle of Jura 21 yo
Island Single Malt Whisky
40% abv
£80
Another Friday on the Malt Mission and another week gone. Still blows my mind and will continue to do so until this whisky lake dries up. Thanks for reading. The Guardian finally ran an obit for Michael Jackson yesterday.
Am off to Canada again for some family-and-friends-time, so the mission will be on hiatus... officially. We will certainly still be trying a few drops and I will post anything of interest like last time.
The people behind Isle of Jura are very proud of their product, and they ought to be. As I have said before, in many ways it shouldn't exist; it makes little economic sense, but it is the pride of the small population of the island from which it comes and most inhabitants are employed, directly or indirectly, thanks to its existence. For every one vocal person who says something detracting about Jura there are two who love the stuff. Sure, I admit, I am no big fan of the 10yo, but lots of folks love it, so who am I to say "Jura sucks"? Who are you?
If you get out to Islay, and many people do, don't miss Jura. It is worth the short trip. Drive the island. Visit the distillery. Sit by the palm trees, watch the seals, sip on a dram of Jura. In the tranquility of that environment critics will be silenced. Shhhh...
Click through to the company tasting notes video here: it turns these guys on.
"Mmm mm mm mm mm mm m mmmm." - Richard Paterson
And they've just released a 40yo.
All Juras tasted on the mission can be viewed HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Okay; wood, wood, and wood. Maple syrup. Damp wood. Gauze, mango juice, and heavy/weighty maltiness. Slightly fishy, as well. Cod liver oil.
That fishiness leads on the palate, and then erupts with dense sherry, maple, and more malt. Milk foam and cinnamon and then a long finish of bitter fruits and coffee cake. Very weighty stuff.
SUMMARY:
Not a morning whisky. This is the stuff they should have been drinking in the original Jaws in that scene where they show off their scars on the boat and sing 'Show me the way to go home'
Malt Mission #151
Malt Mission #152
Malt Mission #153
Malt Mission #154
Malt Mission HOME
Highland Park 1990 16 yo
The Single Malts of Scotland
Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky
46% abv
£35
Highland Park was built in the same year as Tobermory (tasted Tuesday), 1798. Sometimes lovingly refered to as HP sauce, Highland Park is well known for adding depth of flavour to blended whiskies. But Highland Park is a respected brand as a single malt, winning awards and accolades the world over. Michael Jackson has called it 'the greatest all-rounder in the world of whisky" and F. Paul Pacult decided the 18yo was "The Best Spirit in the World" in 2005.
Highland Park shares at least one unique feature with Glenmorangie and Bunnahabhain (among others), and that is the use of hard, mineral-rich water in the production of its whisky. Most distilleries source their water from springs or burns with soft water, water with little or no calcium or magnesium ions and the old rule of thumb for distilling was "soft water, through peat, over granite."
Orcadians, the people who live in the Orkney islands, have a special history quite separate from that of the rest of Scotland. Neolithic tribes inhabited the islands before the Picts, and Orcadians also have heritage ties to the Norse who annexed the islands in 875 and ruled until 1472. The flag of Orkney is exactly like that of Norway, with yellow replacing white around the cross.
This is another bottling from The Single Malts of Scotland range from The Whisky Exchange/Speciality Drinks. For more info, or to read about other Highland Parks tasted on the Malt Mission, click HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Perfumy, but in an odd way; like scented candles or fake plastic fruit. Some pear, shortbread, and vanilla. The processed impressions remain: newspaper, CD cases, pomade. Really interesting and unusual. After some minutes tropical impressions come to the fore. Islands irie, Jamaica no problem.
Big malty impact, nutty and very spicy, with cumin and sumac. Bubblegum underneath a spicy herbal concoction, like some European homeopathic extract that is supposed to prevent against illness/remedy baldness/cure cancer. Finish, or the lingering flavours, have been different with every sip so I really have no note that would be fair to share. Medium-long, in any event.
SUMMARY:
Not for the casual drinker, this is an experience. Changes a great deal with time in the glass and with water, but remains a odd-ball. To be enjoyed among friends and discussion. Tried all the standard bottlings from Highland Park? Interested in what else goes on in the dark corners of their warehouses? This is for you.
Malt Mission #151
Malt Mission #152
Malt Mission #153
Malt Mission #155
Malt Mission HOME
Isle of Arran 9 yo
SMWS 121.20
"Indian Summer"
Single Cask Single Malt Whisky
56.5% abv
£38
It is hard to believe, but the Scotch Malt Whisky Society is really not as pretentious or pompous as some of its members like to think. Sure, it is a members club, with private members rooms and membership fees, all of which can be objectionable to egalitarian whisky folk, but whether you are a member or not, walk through a society venue door and if any staff treats you with a lack of respect and kindness, I will buy you a dram. Seriously. Sure, like I said, there are assholes everywhere, but anyone who works there or knows what the society is about will be kind, friendly and helpful. Guaranteed. That, and they host some of the greatest tastings in the UK, bottle some absolutely killer malts, rums, and ciders, and have one of the comfiest drinking venues in the world at the Vaults in Leith, Scotland.
The society uses a number system to classify their whiskies both to protect the integrity of the distilleries as brands and to encourage the exploration of under-appreciated or stigmatised distilleries. 121 is Arran, and they have managed to bottle some great expressions from this young distillery, 20 to be exact, which is what the second number in the classification represents.
Their description for this bottling, written by Robin Laing with the help of the noses and imaginations of the society tasting panels, reads as follows:
"This distillery is situated in the picturesque village of Lochranza, on the island commonly described as ‘Scotland in miniature’. A refill sherry butt has given this dram a dark wood colour. The wonderfully complex nose takes time to develop with overripe fruits, salt, oil and roasted coffee. With water there are marmalade notes, vanilla fudge and cloves. In the mout h it is pleasantly warm and spicy, with lots of vanilla and woody notes. With water it’s comforting with Demerara sugar and fresh mint. There is also a long chewy finish with a hint of sulphur. This is a perfectly balanced dram, ideal for an Indian summer."
For more info and past expressions tasted on the mission, click HERE.
Tasted one morning in Edinburgh a few weeks ago while staying with Claire and Ran. Thanks, guys.
TASTING NOTES:
Warming, buttery sherry tones, with toffee and cream, orange rind, raisins and raw oats. Peppery spice beneath.
Honey, spice, fresh plums and a real oak presence. Woody, indeed. Flavour curve from buttery sweetness becoming leafy with dry sherry notes, and getting drier and drier. Water brings out an impression of the outhouse by the lake, toffee, but still really drying.
SUMMARY:
United flavours, concentrated but lacking substance. But the delicacy that I love about Arran is overpowered, especially on the palate. Sherry dries beyond my comfort level and makes the whole experience quite one-dimensional. Great first impressions that only get more disappointing with time and/or water. But hey, I am not a sherry freak. I am certain this would be right up someone's alley. The SMWS tasting panel thought it was well balanced, so who am I to talk?
Malt Mission #151
Malt Mission #152
Malt Mission #154
Malt Mission #155
Malt Mission HOME
Tobermory 1995 12 yo
The Single Malts of Scotland
Island Single Malt Whisky
56.9% abv
£29.99
So I learned later in the day yesterday that The Independent ran an obituary for Michael Jackson and that the Telegraph had done so over the weekend. So no more bitching from me about the lack of attention his passing attracted in the British press. I promise.
This is the first Tobermory (or Ledaig) I have had on the Malt Mission. Tobermory is a distillery on the Isle of Mull, a gorgeous island with adorable towns all within easy reach of the mainland via Oban. Tobermory is one of the nine(9) distilleries still in operation that was built in the 18th century. Originally christened Ledaig in 1798, it was called Tobermory after the town in which it is located. It is, and always has been, the only distillery on the island but has had a split personality since its birth. Bottlings released as Tobermory, about 5% of production, go into an lightly peated 10yo single malt sold in a green dumpy bottle. About 10% of production is released as a heavily peated expression called Ledaig. The rest finds its way into blended whiskies in Burn Stewart Distillers' stable (Scottish Leader, etc.) and beyond.
The distillery was closed many times during its long history. On one of those sad occasions, in June 1930, it was used as a power station and a canteen. Additionally, after the stills were removed it was rented to a local dairy farmer to mature the famed Isle of Mull cheddar, and, according to Misako Udo, was closed down after a hygiene disaster. Let your imaginations run wild.
This bottling is a single cask offering from the ever-expanding line from The Whisky Exchange/Speciality Drinks called The Single Malts of Scotland. Other bottlings in the series tasted on the mission can be found HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Two planes of aromas, can be generally classified as the malty and the sweaty. But there's more at work here. A lot of smells I am personally nostalgic for: Candy apples, salt water and potatoes, Clearasil, Neilson's Jersey Milk, SaraLee chocolate cakes, ginger and soy sauce.
Big chewy maltiness that envelops your mouth but quickly pulls back in, becoming slightly astringent. A drop of water not only mutes the astringency but really opens up a barrel of fermenting fruits and sugar. Medicinal characteristics too, Alka Seltzer, herbal throat lozenges, acetaminophen. Chocolate and berry jam in the medium-length finish with a maritime saltiness, too.
SUMMARY:
Like songs on an old cassette, "Summer Mix 1986", that take you back in time, this dram really transported me. And to be totally honest, I am surprised to have enjoyed this as much as I did. Brilliant island character with a good depth of flavour. Enjoyable in the nose, a challenge on the palate. No, not sophisticated or subtle, but hearty and distinct.
Malt Mission #151
Malt Mission #153
Malt Mission #154
Malt Mission #155
Malt Mission HOME
Macleod's Island 8yo
Island Single Malt Whisky
40% abv
£19
Well it is days later and still a great absence of mainstream coverage of the death of Michael Jackson who passed away last Thursday. I am still shocked at this shameful oversight. But the grassroots media of the web proves that he is mourned throughout the world as a journalist, a lover of English pubs, renowned beer critic, and a whisky legend. Newspapers? Radio? TV? Let me know if anything you read, heard, or saw commemorated the man that I might have missed.
And just to be clear, I am not overplaying this just because I happen to be a part of some small esoteric demographic he addressed. He was a tourism writer that did wonderful things for London, Yorkshire, and England, a saviour of many pubs due to his lovingly written ode to the institutions simply titled, The English Pub, a television star as The Beer Hunter, a regular contributor to many magazines and newspapers, and the writer of several books on whisky, one of which saw five revised editions. This is no small contribution to British culture or influence in the world. BBC? Big Boardroom of Crackheads. Anyways...
We tried the Speyside expression (Malt Mission #141) of this budget line from Ian Macleod Distillers two weeks ago, and today we will have Macleod's Islands to kick-off an Island themed week. No, not THIS Macleod's Island.
The Islands are an odd region, offering a wide variety of flavours from distillery to distillery, even ones only miles away from eachother (Scapa and Highland Park), and one that could convince you to stop believing in the regional classifications altogether. David Wishart has pushed against the belief in regional styles while others, legends like the late Michael Jackson, have been proponents of the idea of terroir in whisky production. Charles Maclean has this to say. Today, many agree that if nothing else, the idea of regions in Scottish malt whisky has provided a good marketing(is that a bad word?) or educational(is that worse?) tool for entry-level drinkers.
The islands region includes those Scottish isles with distilleries, excluding Islay, which constitutes its own region. Mull (Tobermory/Ledaig), Jura (Isle of Jura), Arran (Isle of Arran), Skye (Talisker), and Orkney (Highland Park, Scapa).
This bottling is from a company that also has these other Island malts in their stable: the Isle of Skye blend, Dun Bheagan Island Malt, 'AS WE GET IT' Island Malt, and Six Isles. More island fun and info can be read in The Island Whisky Trail and all island whiskies tasted on the Malt Mission can be found HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Very laid back nose, some pine, some ginger, vanilla and oak. Calamine lotion. Some wet dog, too.
Soft on the palate, as well. Woodsy impressions from oak along with outdoorsy coastal impressions. Buttery and a touch salty, becoming very piney with some celery and raw potatoes, sweetened by a toffeed maltiness.
SUMMARY:
Whatever impression I may have given above, this whisky does succeed in offering a nice overview of an Island malt style. Great whisky for the uninitiated, but the experienced whisky drinker will find something to enjoy here as well, and not just the pretty price.
Malt Mission #150
Malt Mission #152
Malt Mission #153
Malt Mission #154
Malt Mission #155
Malt Mission HOME
Isle of Jura Superstition
Single Malt Whisky
45% abv
£27
$45(USD)
It is hard to keep your eyes off Jura's paps... the mountains so named because of their resemblance to a pair of breasts. And if it weren't for these two beauties, the climate on Jura would perhaps not be so unique. Inspired by the tall peaks, Jura's 17-foot tall stills produce a spirit as pure as the water that runs down the sides of each of these shapely paps.
Closed from 1908 unil 1963, Isle of Jura distillery produces a spirit that is not necessarily what one would expect from an Island malt. The island is covered with peat bogs, but since re-opening in 1963, the make produced here has been largely unpeated. In recent years this has changed, in part to supply some smoke to the Whyte & Mackay blended whiskies. Some of this peated Jura has found its way into independent releases. More has been used to make up a small component of this vatted expression: young peated Jura(30%) and older unpeated sherried Jura (70%).
The distillery has always taken great effort to exist, and its perseverance is part luck and part practicality. At one time all the barley had to be lugged from the pier to the distillery and today all incoming materials, outgoing waste and finished products need to travel by sea twice. It is thus remarkable that such a place has a distillery as we know the board room can be an unfair place to distilleries who don't make much sense on paper. Once employing a quarter of the male work force of Jura, advances in technology have assisted the financial viability of the distillery. But still, it could be argued that Isle of Jura distillery only exists to this day (post-1993) because it manages to meet the malt-style requirements of Whyte & Mackay's Master Blender, Richard Paterson. More info back at Malt Mission #39.
Hate the deer hunting 'game' on the website.
TASTING NOTES:
Brown sauce with gammon and chips, followed by sweet sherry. Some hot empty-oven aroma, peaches and nuts. Tropical fruit drink and smoke.
Incredibly soft, very reminiscent of the Whyte & Mackay 12 Premium Reserve (Malt Mission #58) impact. Sherry and smoke. Brioche. Some of that Jura pine and honey. Finish gets surprisingly astringent in the cheeks with flavours of hot chocolate, smoke and a touch of salt.
SUMMARY:
Many people I have known or worked with cringe when you say the name Jura, while others sing its praises. Ignoring the geographical and economic constraints the distillery faces and yet still perserveres(let's hope this doesnt change under Vijay Mallya and UB), for me, Superstition fulfills the classic equation of Character + Drinkability + good value = Nice one. Also feels good to support the economics of a whole Island with every purchase. Be a hero. Buy a Jura.
Malt Mission #86
Malt Mission #87
Malt Mission #88
Malt Mission #90
Malt Mission HOME
Scapa 12 yo
Island Single Malt Whisky
40% abv
£40*
60(USD)*
This is one of the two distilleries on the northern Orkney Islands. There are 70 islands that fall under that title and 17 are inhabited. On what the locals call 'the mainland' one finds Highland Park and, just down the road, Scapa.
In 2003, it seemed that Scapa's days were numbered. It is really with gratitude to neighboring Highland Park and crew that Scapa has stocks from the years between 1994 and 2004. They used to come to the run-down distillery and fire up the stills for a few weeks each year.
Orkney and Scapa Flow have a rich history from Viking rule in the 11th century to the world wars.
This has been replaced by the new standard release Scapa 14 year old which won the 2005 Bottling of the Year from Loch Fyne Whisky in Inverary, Scotland.
TASTING NOTES:
Salty and sweet. Fresh and outdoorsy, spring, hay or cut grass. Smells of a distillery, or a bakery in a distillery; Bailey's and shortbread. With time, sherry and toasted oak characteristics emerge.
Malty and sweetened with vanilla and powdered sugar. Quick and fleeting peat presence. Jam and bread, jelly donuts. Great development into a rich, green sort of oakiness that makes me lick my lips and suck the roof of my mouth. This only increases with time in the glass as more sherry and toastiness make their presence felt. Some white pepper and just a trickle of smoke as the finish fades... slowly.
SUMMARY:
I have always loved this whisky, good honest malt character, good complexity and balance, and great value. When I first got the whisky bug, this distillery had no guarantee of a future so when Chivas Brothers/Pernod Ricard reinvested in 2004, got the stills up and running, and released the 14yo, I can admit to being a happy man. But I did need to scurry and buy a few 12s before they disappeared. Sad that one has to nurse every last drop of this discontinued bottling, but the Scapa 14 is also stellar, and with the intermittent production over the last 13 years it serves as a good reminder of the fact that the age statement on any given whisky indicates the age of the youngest whisky in the bottle. So the good news is that the immediate future looks secure for Scapa.
* - prices listed may vary as this is a discontinued bottling and is no longer widely available. When it was around in OddBins, for example, it sold for around £24, and $50 at the LCBO.
Malt Mission #66
Malt Mission #68
Malt Mission #69
Malt Mission #70
Malt Mission HOME
