Malt Mission 2009 #372

Bladnoch 8yo
Lowland Single Malt Whisky
46% abv
£36

A first! Dr. Whisky has not yet featured a dram from Bladnoch distillery. Well after 370 Malt Missions, it's about fricking time. And appropriate premiere for the distillery as this release is the oldest edition made wholly of spirit produced by the current owners.

Bladnoch had a rocky century since being founded in 1817 by Thomas and John McLelland. Production ceased in 1905, operated intermittently between 1911 and 1937, dismantled in 1941, reopened in the 1950s, came under the ownership of InverHouse distillers in teh 1970s, sold to Arthur Bell & Sons in 1983 and eventually Guiness and United Distillers (the artist eventually known as Diageo) and was mothballed in 1993.

In 1994, Irish developer Raymond Armstrong purchased the distillery buildings (initally as holiday homes for his brother and their wives). Realising the importance of the distillery to the local economy and heritage, Armstrong became determined to get Bladnoch up and running as a distillery again. By December 2000, spirit once again flowed from Scotland's southernmost stills.

Bladnoch is one of the few distilleries that sells casks outside of the industry, ie. to you and your buddies. They are currently filling in to fresh ex-bourbon barrels using their highly peated make (18-22ppm). Click HERE for more info.

On his Bladnoch 8yo post, HERE, Ralfy seems to suggest that the "intrinsic quality" of the spirit is affected by marketing budgets of large companies. Because of this, he says, he favours smaller independent distillers. While I probably agree with his conclusion, I don't follow this logic. Nonethless, I do enjoy following his reviews wherever his rationale rollercoaster takes me. But to suggest that the guys making the liquid at Bladnoch are easier to connect with ("they view you as CUSTOMERS rather than CONSUMERS" paraphrase) than the staff at Glenmorangie or Glenfiddich or Glendullan is a sweeping generalisation and doesn't take into consideration that Bladnoch was operating as a tourist site/museum for years before it went back into production in 2000. That being said, his statement is based in a romantic idealism that is seemingly getting chipped away at more and more every day. The whisky world needs more of Ralfy's rants, Richard Paterson's shameless enthusiasm, and generally more respect rather than the laptop pundits' platitudes about the how the whisky industry is failing us this time, that time, and next time. But I suppose like a new girlfriend, the more we learn about her the more we take her for granted.

Don't know where that came from but there it is. Let's taste!

TASTING NOTES:

Fresh, new makey punch. Lemons, grapefruit, balanced with honey, vanilla, and orchard fruits.

Citric bitterness at first, new make barley sweetness, honey, slight oakiness, pear and apples.

SUMMARY:

Simple, clean, youthful and a good representation of a lowland style.

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Malt Mission 2008 #320

Rosebank 25yo (1981)
Lowland Single Malt Whisky
61.4% abv
£130

First, I would ask you to draw your attention to is the abv of this puppy. Yowza.

Second thing is that I appreciate the emails of encouragement in spite of the fact that my posting rate has been irregular at best. THANK YOU. And thanks to those who continue to send samples. Dr. Whisky has no intention of stopping this mission, and goodness knows he hasn't; he just struggles to find time to write about it.

Third, YES, I will be doing a Christmas Picks post again where I list Dr. Whisky's choices of the best whisky to give (or receive) this Christmas, including whisky books and other stuff for the malt lover in your life.

Fourth, let's taste this gem from the closed Rosebank distillery. Hey! This is the first Rosebank had on the mission... Amazing. Well, sorry it has taken so long. It is a wide wide world of whisky out there.

Originally converted from the maltings at Camelon Distillery in Falkirk, Rosebank distillery was situatied on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal and, many believe, was "murdered" when in the late 1980s, DIAGEO decided to include Glenkinchie as one of its classic malts for the lowland region. Too little too late, but the world has since learned what fine spirit was being produced at this distillery, one of the last to practice triple distillation. It is said that there might still be some Rosebank contributing to Johnnie Walker Swing. Who knows?

This is one of 4,170 bottles produced. Today, notes are by TF, with a few additions by yours truly.

TASTING NOTES:

Waxy, sweet; plenty of forward oak, sweet orange, some butterscotch, fudge, spices, cloves. Big, powerful alcoholic prickle. It is over 120 proof! Rye bread, and some wine-like characteristics. Floral notes eventually fight their way through, along with ginger and melon. With water, becomes more biscuity and develops honey notes.

Big oak surge, then the alcohol, zoink! Oily with immense hot pepper and spice, clove and chilli seeds. Very full and oily. As the initial alcohol burn dies away, amazing polished malt comes through to spar with the spices. Delicious. Through the finish, lovely unctuous malt continues to envelop the tastebuds. The length is phenomenal. The clove and cracked black peppercorns have the last word.

COMMENTS:

Oof! This is a monster (in a good way). The official literature refers to this as 'ripe and mellow'. You're having a laugh, mate - ripe, perhaps; mellow? er, I think not. Clearly aged Rosebank has a different profile to the old 8yo people raved about. Hats off to whoever selected the casks for this - it emphatically gives the lie to the received wisdom that Rosebank had to be bottled young.

Thanks, Tim.

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Malt Mission 2008 #270

Auchentoshan 17yo
Lowland Single Malt Whisky
51% abv
£60
$125(USD)

Friday. Ah. Not that it really means anything necessarily lets up...
In Aberdeen now, then Edinburgh for some time and do not expect to be doing much on the Dr. Whisky front. Just a warning, but hope I can surprise myself. And you.

Although it is still typically understood that lowland distilleries triple distill their whiskies, Auchentoshan (awe-kin-taw-shin) is currently the only distillery to do so, apart for Springbank (Campbeltown) in their making of Hazelburn(see Malt Mission #266). In 1941 the distillery was severely damaged in a German bomb raid and is today part of the Morrison Bowmore(Suntory) company.

This whisky spent 8 years in bourbon casks and 9 in casks that held claret from the St. Julien region of Bordeaux. Ah-oui oui. Gouter le nectar. Pardon. Sorry. Shut up.

Tasted in the morning with Ran and Matt. We were hungry as hell.

TASTING NOTES:

Musty, damp towl, and sherried fruitiness. Gets grapey with white and black pepper, a little musk, and vine leaves. Organic sweetness with some spice.
"Port, tawny port"-RM

Quite eruptive , ginger, spicy, wet moss, grass. Late flavours are butterscotch, treacle, toasted almonds, some coconut oil and marzipan.
"the sweetness creeps up."-MH
"Rouses your appetite. Sort of scrubs away other flavours and gets me ready to eat"-RM

SUMMARY:

Unusual nose but strangely appealing. Initial palate is quite hard but the flavours in the mouth that persist are pleasant. With more than half of it's maturing life spent in a bordeaux cask it's hardly a 'finish', but it is unique and that alone could persuade you to try it.
"Drying on the finish"-MH
"Harsh foretatse that then settles down with the drying end note."-RM
Both guys like the addition of water.
I enjoyed the rustic nature of it, it had a mustiness suited for stone caverns.
"A medeival dram."-MH

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Malt Mission 2008 #269

Auchentoshan 10yo
Lowland Single Malt Whisky
40% abv
£24
$46.25(CAD)
$40(USD)

You might not believe it, but after 268 whiskies it IS still possible to have a 'first' on the Malt Mission. Yup, 268 whiskies and this is our first Auchentoshan. Crazy. But cool. There is a wide and wonderful world of whisky out there. Absolutely delighted that I am still able to explore it one dram at a time.

Yes, a wonderful world of whisky, 41,000 Scottish jobs in the industry, 65,000 across the UK, and worth well over £2.5 billion per annum to the economy... yes, wonderful.

And the industry has seen more excise duty fairness over the past 10 years, years which have coincided with great growth for the industry with many distilling companies launching new bottlings, new packaging, and some even building new distilleries. So things are good for the most heavily taxed alcoholic drink in the UK. Wonderful days.

Well, darlings, not for long.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling (a Scotsman!) announced his first budget yesterday and although much of what it included was expected, there remained a small hope that the impact wouldn't be too drastic. And I suppose it isn't. Whisky received a 6% increase; it's nothing. But it IS considering beer and wine were much more gently hit, and, I would argue, hit in the wrong way. There must be discretion between a pub pint tax and a can of strong lager tax, in my mind. Unless even the holy institution of the pub is falling below the status of drinking and social areas like curb, square, or alley. Is this a reaction against irresponsible drinking? A reaction to all the underage-drinking/rise in female alcoholics/24-hour licensing crises propaganda that has been stirring for the past year? Perhaps.

Now maybe I am crazy, but I don't see folks on the streets and loitering in parks drinking bottles of Glenmorangie Nectar d'Or or Balvenie Rose. Or even Bell's for that matter. Does Tennents Super (also known as 'purple court appearance') have an equivalent of the SWA that spreads the responsible drinking message? For goodness sake, they're called winos for a reason, no?

Now while it could be argued that the industry made a knee deep jump a bit enthusiastically with raising prices, rebranding, building new and reinvesting, etc., this tax hike could hurt whisky's world-wide momentum a great deal. Worst of all, it could hurt hard working people who farm the grain, malt the barley, make the spirit and spread the joys of responsible enjoyment of the spirit. Please remember folks, a cheap bottle of scotch whisky costs £10.70. That is an expensive buzz when there is £2 8% beer, £3 wine, or £4 sherry. AND that £10.70 BEFORE this new budget broke down into £5.48(excise duty), £1.59 (VAT) and 3.63 (whisky). That is 66% tax. And raising it will help British society? Keep hunting foxes, consolidating and deepening public and private debts, and putting up CCTV cameras. Some of us will just have a dram and hope it's all a bad dream.

Read more about the budget and whisky at BBC or wherever else you'd like to.

TASTING NOTES:

Fresh dough, gristy and yeasty. Chinese food element, starchy lemon chicken, cornflour and soy, ginger. Pleasant sour notes of lemon and soft red peppers.

Sweet and sour. Lemon cake with lemon icing. Yeah, very cakey. Vanilla. Cherries. Rounded and beer-like in it's sweet maltiness.

SUMMARY:

Good mouthfeel and quite a complex young whisky, although quite unbalanced. I know it is 10 years old, but it seems younger somehow. Could be the gristy element but there is something undercooked about this, half-baked. There is lots to be found in the nose, and although some of it isn't that pleasant the overall experience is quite refreshing. Great citrus sweetness on the palate with a real distinct maltiness. Probably excellent after a curry or something rich and spicy.

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Malt Mission 2008 #252

McClelland's Lowland
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
40%
£15
$31.85(CAD)
$20(USD)

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Kevin Erskine of Inebrio and The Scotch Blog will announce the 2007 winners of his people's choice awards, The Drammies. Dr. Whisky was a nominee for best new product and I want to thank all of you folks out there who voted. So this week, in gratitude, we will have whiskies "of the people," no single casks, no £100 bottles, no limited editions. This week we will taste our way through the popular and affordable regional malt whiskies from McClellands.

McClellands single malts are produced by Morrison Bowmore distillers and are the first stop for many budgeted whisky travellers the world over. We have had the whiskies from Ian Macleod Distillers who also do a regional entry-point series (see HERE).

These are single malt whiskies for people who are new to the world of single malt whisky or who are not prepared to spend more than thirty bucks on a bottle of booze. They are gentle drams that are chosen to be representative of the diversity of each region of production AND they are not expensive enough to deter potential buyers from taking the plunge.

TASTING NOTES:

Gentle and juicy. Apple pie, bubblegum, soft spice of cloves and cinnamon.

Nothing on tip of tongue, all in the back. Strange, but very easy to drink as the impact is so gentle. Grassy, dandelions, tea, even some milk, and a lingering woodiness.

SUMMARY:

Very passive in its expression of flavours, if you know what I mean. A more blunt way to describe it would be "flat." Loved the juicy nose. Very friendly and a great way to enter the world of Scottish whisky... from the south.

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Malt Mission 2007 #101

Nikka 'Red' Pure Malt
Vatted Whisky
43% abv
£24 (50cl)

This week we will try something new on the Malt Mission and look at a few international malts. This is a good starter as it is quite literally 'international', in that it is sourced from different countries.

After working for Kotobukiya (Suntory) for over 10 years, Masataka Taketsuru, arguably the grandfather of Japanese malt whisky, started The Great Japan Juice Company in 1934. The company did indeed produce juice, and by 1952 came to be known as Nikka Whisky Distilling Co.

Taketsuru learned his skills in distilling spirits studying at Glasgow University in Scotland in 1918. he followed this with further hands-on study at Hazelburn (Campbeltown), Lagavulin (Islay) and Longmorn (Speyside). He then worked at the company that is known today as Suntory, helping them build their first distillery in 1923 (Yamazaki). When he left Suntory to start his own company, he built Yoichi distillery on Japan's most northern major island, Hokkaido. Although inconveniently located, it was perfectly situated fro whisky production, according to Taketsuru (Nonjatta has a great piece on Taketsuru HERE). Surrounded by mountains on three sides and having pure a water source that comes from underground springs that rise through peat bogs, Yoichi is a very traditional-style distillery that still direct-fires its stills with coal (this once-common practice is a piece of history in Scotland, partly because of EU standards on coal emissions).

In 1969, Nikka built Miyagikyou/Sendai distillery on Honshu, Japan's main island. Teh site was picked after Masataka Taketsuru made a mizuwari using the water source of the prospective distillery and proclaimed, "This water is excellent. I've decided, this is the place!" The company produces the bulk of its malt for blending here using steam-heated stills. The distillery is also capable of producing grain whisky with its Coffey still.

The Pure Malt format was, at one time, the most common sort of whisky produced in Japan, and this is just one of Nikka's colours series (others are 'black' and 'white'). This one is a 'pure malt', or vatting of Japanese single malt whisky from Miyagikyo/Sendai Distillery (using the Coffey still) blended with Scottish single malt whiskies.

Notes in quotes can be attributed to Kristin.

TASTING NOTES:

Bright and fruity. Candied peanuts. Tahini. Peaches and cream. "Still, trapped air, like going into a tent, or a cottage or shack that has been locked up for a few seasons." Time allows some herbaceous (grass, parsley) elements to emerge and water softens the brightness and brings out a touch of peat, roasted aubergine/eggplant or soil. "Becomes outdoorsy"

Again, bright and fruity, butterscotch. Sugary black tea. Fresh and lively. Fills out with some earth and peat, but remains confection-ary. Slightly smoky in the toastiness at the end. Water really exaggerates the earthiness and it becomes a surprisingly chewy whisky.

SUMMARY:

Perfectly clean, fresh, summery malt. I loved the oscillation between candied orange and earthy smokiness. Wholly unique, but to offer some points of reference, Kristin finds it comparable with a features of Bell's blended whisky while I find it shares features with Rosebank, unpeated BenRiach and young Talisker. Love the packaging, too.

"Spirity. Woody. Sweet. That's about it. Blend-ish. Did they pour caramel into this?"

To each their own.

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Malt Mission 2007 #80

Rare Ayrshire 1975, 31yo
Signatory Vintage
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
47.7% abv
£132.95

Well, I thought I was going to end this week with a Balvenie, an appropriate finish to this William Grant & Sons themed week. But yesterday evening I had the pleasure of sticking my nose into a few glasses with Michael Hopert, manager at Royal Mile Whiskies here in London, and had to share notes on this rare gem.

East Ayrshire was not a distillery, it is just a designation often given to the (limited) releases from this unique and now dismantled distillery. Ladyburn Distillery was a malt distillery experiment of sorts within the Girvan grain distillery.

Girvan was built in 1963 to provide grain whisky for Grant's increasingly popular blends. In 1966, the malt distillery Ladyburn was built on the same site, again, mainly to go into Grant's blends. The distillery was very compact and could be operated by one employee. The site was chosen for these distilleries because of a good water source, good transport via rail and sea(only a mile from the coast), and proximity to the bonding and blending halls of southern Scotland.

Only nine years later, Ladyburn was closed, making it the shortest-lived of the "malt-within-a-grain" distilleries. Ben Wyvis in Invergordon survived just slightly longer, 1965-1977, while Inverleven (1938-1991) and Lomond (1956-1985) malts were produced within Dumbarton grain distillery, Kinclaith (1957-1976) at Strathclyde; Glen Flagler and Killyloch (1965-1985) were distilled within Moffat Distillery. Due to the rarity of these malts, not necessarily their outstanding quality, some of these bottlings had been known to fetch a pretty penny. In this regard, I find this expression from Signatory to be quite reasonable.

TASTING NOTES:

I unsually don't mention colour or viscosity, but because I was tasting this blind, I noted the v e r y SLOW legs in an attempt to guess the age (for the record, I guessed 30, but I was told the abv% and that helped, too)

Bubblegum sweetness, synthetic fruits, watermelon Hubba Bubba. Bourbon cask characteristics, creaminess, cool whip, tropical; lime, strawberries, molasses based Trinidad rum.

Bright, honey and bread, bannock. Pine, spruce, hemlock, a coniferous forest floor. Really develops its flavours as they linger in the tingly finish.

SUMMARY:

No water needed to reduce the abv%, but it did bring out even sweeter, fruitier essences in the nose. For me, it was really enjoyable whisky, fresh, fruity, and well matured.

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Malt Mission 2007 #57

Milroy's of Soho Auchentoshan 1990, 16yo
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
46% abv
£35

One of the three lowland distilleries to survive into the 21st century, Auchentoshan is a beautiful old distillery located near the Clyde west of Glasgow that sources its water from what would technically be classified as the Highlands and was seriously bombed during World War II. Auchentoshan is Scotland's only distillery to use one wash, one intermediate and one spirit still to triple distill the spirit. The resulting abv is 82%.

This is a single cask bottling from the reputable Milroy's of Soho and was discovered on our living room table upon our return from our North American Adventures. Our good friends Jonathan Seet and Michelle Buckley stayed here while we were away and left us several lovely thank-you treats, including this bottle. So let's taste it.

TASTING NOTES:

Light, but pleasingly dense nose. Carob and fresh tea leaves. Cherry pie, pickled ginger, oak and wet hay.

Raw meat, sour cream, warm butter, cooked broccoli, eventually turning to vanilla, pumpkin pie, and licorice allsorts.

SUMMARY:

Very deep dram from a region from which most people expect light, simple whiskies. I found the initial flavours initially off-putting, but upon revisiting the dram, the chewiness really endeared them to me. There is an alternating balance between oak and candied sweetness in the finish that can satisfy a palate for minutes.

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Malt Mission 2007 #54

St. Magdalene 1979, 19yo
Rare Malts Series
Lowland Single Malt Scotch
63.8% abv
£85*

This is a whisky praised by many, but never widely used when it was in production either as a single or for blending. St. Magdalene produced a double-distilled spirit, uncommmon for a lowlander, but standard in terms of most Scottish pot still whisky.

The site where this distillery was built accomodated a leper colony in the 12th century and later housed a covent, from which the name St. Magdalene's was borrowed. The distillery is also known as Linlithgow, and this whisky represents the last of the seven lost distilleries of the town of the same name. The buildings have been converted into flats and only the distinctive pagoda roof that remains offers a clue to future generations of the function the building once had. The distillery was closed in 1983.

*- hard-to-find bottling so the price given is based on an old list price. It would certainly fetch more today (£200ish)

TASTING NOTES:

Light, but full of aromas: sugar, newspaper, molasses, Supermalt, carob, pecans, ginger. Rooty and perfumy. Very appetising

Tight, but quite complex: Oats sweetened with dates and dried apricots, banana bread, tree sap, taste like the smell of lemon peels. Really holds together through the palate, not much development of flavour, maybe a whiff of smoke emerging? A real package from impact to finish.

SUMMARY:

Quite busy with flavours, but all wound up in a well-balanced ensemble that doesnt fuss about. Good, clean, well constructed whisky.

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