Malt Mission 2009 #358

Balvenie 17yo Islay Cask
Speyside Single Malt Whisky
43% abv
$£ varies

Okay, not technically an Islay whisky, but as a part of an Islay-themed week here on the Malt Mission I thought I had better get some notes for this drop out there while I can as I am fortunate enough to have a near empty bottle sitting in my living room.

Originally released in 2001, The Balvenie 17yo Islay Cask was the first of a string of 17 year old experiments from Balvenie Malt Master, David Stewart. It would be 4 years before the next in the series was released, just enough time for this drop to generate a sort of cult following and for all available bottles to be snapped up. It wasn't until the 2007 release of The Balvenie 17yo Sherry Cask that interest in the 17yo series from Balvenie really began to simmer again. The polarized responses to 2008's 17yo Rum Cask only continued this interest and with this year's 17yo Madiera Cask (available in September) already receiving whisky-nerd online buzz, I know I better stock our stalls at whisky fairs with a few extra bottles.

This seems a good time to remind folks that I do work for William Grant & Sons, family distillers and owners of The Balvenie. To some readers I am perhaps no longer 'independent,' John Glaser gave me a big drunk hug when I took this position 15 months ago and said "sellout" in my ear, but I have done everything possible (and been allowed by my employer to do everything possible) to keep Dr. Whisky independent and free to express honest opinions of our own and competitors' whiskies. And I feel that I do. But I leave that verdict to you, I just thought it fair to remind you that I work for this whisky company.

That being said, as a whisky lover I have collected all of the Balvenie 17yo variants (before and after I began work with WGS) and have always respected the distillery as one of Speyside's, indeed, Scotland's best. This Islay Cask that Michael Jackson called "a picnic on the cliffs... reminiscent of the days Speysiders were peatier," won me over back in 2004 and is similar in concept to another whisky from William Grant & Sons tasted back at Malt Mission #177.

For more distillery info and to see all Balvenies had on the mission, click HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Sweet, vegetal, oaky, and intriguing. Yellow plums, fresh corn, soy beans, salted butter, and cigarette filters.

Palate hints more at this drop's heritage with depth of age, creamy oak and luscious honey. Jammy and buttery before bursting with a puff of smoke and confusing the heck out of you. Endless finish of fresh fruits, cooked parsnip sweetness, and chimney smoke all in elegant harmony.

SUMMARY:

Not immensely complex, but a true drinking delight. An experiment that went right, as far as I am concerned. Beautiful whisky whose origin would puzzle even the most experienced malthead as s/he happily drinks the stuff. Yet more evidence of what an intergral part the casks (and their previous occupants) play in the final character of a given whisky. I have had similar Balvenies in the Single Barrel 15yo line that must have been filled into ex-Islay casks. Too bad it is nearly impossible to find this bottling anymore. Casks like this (ex-Islay) are in the system everywhere tho and I look forward to Balvenie, or any other typically unpeated-style distillery, releasing more of these onto the world.

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Malt Mission 2009 #357

Ardbeg 17yo
Islay Single Malt Whisky
43% abv
$£ variable

Ardbeg 17yo was a whisky revered by whisky lovers everywhere, a phenomenon that only increased when it was discontinued. Subsequent releases have satisfied the mourners, but Ardbeg 17 remains a malt martyr.

Have a bottle? Don't open it! I found a few of these bottles for their original prices (in USD) when I first moved over here. I now notice that The Whisky Exchange is asking £200 for a bottle. Wow. Our bottles will taste even better knowing that they are worth over 5 times what I paid for them. Cheers to that!

For all more distillery info or to see all Ardbeg had on the Malt Mission, click HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Soft and seaweedy, a vanilla and malt interplay that reminds of oatmeal cookies. Cereal notes with boiled kale and smoked gouda.

Soft again, sweet and oily. Some banana and applesauce before a dark and heavy weight of peat upon swallowing. Brightens up with some lemon but all the while maintaining that gentle rumble of peat smoke. Shorter finish than might be expected but typical Ardbeg length with that unique peatiness sticking around for ages.

SUMMARY:

Toronto Islands (Centre Island, to be precise), south shore. Most readers will not get that reference, but this Ardbeg is like finding a secluded spot near the city to enjoy the sunset not quite in silence, but seemingly so with the out-of-sight-out-of-mind phenomenon; you can still hear the hum of the metropolis but nothing you can see or smell or taste would indicate that it was, all the while, lurking behind you.

Not the big bad Ardbeg one might imagine, but at no point NOT Ardbeg. Elegant, wonderful, beautifully restrained stuff.

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Malt Mission 2009 #356

Bowmore Maltmen's Edition
Craftman's Choice
Islay Single Malt Whisky
54.6% abv
£150

I think I will do another string of Islay whiskies this "week" on the Malt Mission. I tasted many incredible drops while on Islay earlier this month but unfortunately I am quite anal about having a controlled environment for tasting if I intend to post them on this blog so I took very few notes. This is one I visited twice however, thanks to the kindness of Eddie and the ladies at the visitor centre. Thank you for your hospitality!

Bowmore is one of the last distilleries to still have a traditional floor maltings and one of only 6 (Balvenie, Bowmore, Highland Park, Kilchoman, Laphroaig and Springbank) to still use it for producing about 20% of it's malted barley needs. The malting process takes 5 days from steeping to kilning so the maltmen selected 5 casks to be vatted and bottled as their choice. The casks are all from 1995 producing a 13 year old malt whisky.

TASTING NOTES:

Canned fruit, prunes, plums, dry tobacco and grape juice. Sherry. Apple tobacco in a hookah.

Beachy. Sandy and salty with suntan lotion, jojoba, cocoa butter, papaya and banana. Spice comes through, too, with orange zest, cloves, and a hickory smokiness that sets the whole thing down on a bbq for dinner.

SUMMARY:

Rich, sweet, and beautiful. A very enjoyable drop that maintains the natural Bowmore characteristics while allowing the sherry influences to take the flavours in exciting new directions.

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Malt Mission 2009 #355

Bruichladdich 2001
The Resurrection Dram
46% abv
£35
$80 (USD)

Launched in November 2008, the Bruichladdich Resurrection Dram is sure to stand out on your whisky shelf. Do not stare directly at the bottle (or canister) for more than two seconds.

Called the "resurrection dram" because it is made up of the first spirit produced after re-opening under new ownership in 2001, this is a limited release of 24,000 bottles and is a slightly peatier version of typical Bruichladdich (10ppm).

The distillery notes say "In 2001 when BDC started distilling Bruichladdich at first the peated malt BDC could secure was 10ppm which BDC distilled for part of 2001 until it could procure the traditional specification of 3 to 5 ppm for Bruichladdich. This release has been selected 100% from the 10ppm distillation and therefore makes this quite a rare bottling , and may never be repeated as most of the 2001 vintage has been or is being used in the multi vintage bottlings (3D series , Infinity , Rocks , Waves and Peat)"

Good responses to this bottling from the always reliable Whisky Notes can be found HERE. Another report from the over-prolific Ralfy HERE. If you can watch more than 3 of his Whisky Review videos and not feel, well ralfy, then I will send you a bottle of whisky. Seriously! Although the muck up at Loch Fyne is absolutely classic, my fave is the one at Glen Gyle where poor Pete Currie has to patiently put up with this self-important whisky nerd with a tripod in his face. Watch for the eye-roll in Part 2, "So, so we'll just carry on..." Amazing.

At least the guy has links on his site... to himself. (*note- in the months following this post, Ralfy added external links. An extensive and valuable list, but I can't shake the feeling that he may have missed one...)

For more distillery info and for all Bruichladdich had on the Malt Mission, click HERE.

Tasted with AW and AF.

TASTING NOTES:

Fresh berries, strawberry cream tarts, honey on toast, cake mix. Lightly fudgy and sweet, with milk chocolate and a floral (violet-y) peat. More suggestion of fruits, perhaps tropical, or dried ginger and apricot with a chlorinated whiff of smoke.

Choco biscuit, wafers, fresh fruits like red grapes and plums, synthetic fruit like bubble gum(Juicy fruits) or shampoo. A gentle spice increases with a slight bitterness of unripe fruitskins.

SUMMARY:

Let is get some air before jumping in to your glass and you will be rewarded. It has to be said that first impressions were not great (baby sick, grape skins, wet dog) but after time we all were throwing out “this is like a lollipop”, “immensely fruity”, and "wonderful to nose”. A complex dram for such a young age (7 years). The fruitier, more typical (whatever that means with a distillery that has releases 40 bottlings per annum) Bruichladdich aromas were there, just buried under an old-school smoke, similar to Brora, that added a farmy element to be loved by some and loathed by others. Just like the stark bottling design.

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Malt Mission 2009 #354

Bunnahabhain 1988 17yo
Malt Trust

Islay Single Malt Whisky
53.3% abv
$55

Just back from a brilliant stretch spent in Scotland for work. Yes, I get to call traipsing across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dufftown, Campbeltown and Islay "work". I get to call spending my days with Andys Weir and Forrester, David Sole, David Stewart, Charlie Maclean, Richard Paterson, Pete Currie, John Campbell, Jim McEwan and Duncan MacGillivray (among others) "work". Still blows my mind and I remain so very grateful to be such a lucky sumvabitch.

And it seems I better get back to the Malt Mission before someone steals my format even further (Really?). I appreciate all the "where the hell are you?" emails and comments and promise I have been kept busy and far away from a laptop. But I have plenty of treats to share and am determined to get more than a handful out before the end of the month. It will happen, or my name isn't Dr. CaskStrength.net!!!

Independent bottler Malt Trust was founded in 2006 by Florida-based Joel Gosler, a former William Grant & Sons USA employee. I tried to get more information online with little luck so Pat McCarthy at the excellent Bayway Liquors put me in touch with Joel directly. Unfortunately, he didn't divulge much more information so all I've got is that David Bromige designed the label. Great. I am sure that is exactly what you were after.

For all Bunnahabhains had on the Malt Mission, click HERE.

Tasted with IM. His notes appear in quotes.

TASTING NOTES:

Chocolate, cherries, sherry and toffee. "All you smell in this is all the sherry notes". Vanilla and sherry-soaked oak. Pecan pie and char on a bbq.

Bitter and rooty, agnostura and Campari. Barely sweet but some chocolate. "Yeah, my mother's chocolate that tastes like dust and earth." Yeah, the kind of chocolate you stole from the counter when your mom was baking. "Regretfully." Water helps a touch with toasted almonds, burnt pine nuts, and cinnamon.

SUMMARY:

Sherried whisky? Totally. A friendly price? Yeah. Bunnahabhain? Not really.

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Malt Mission 2009 #353

Bunnahabhain Darach Ur
Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
46.3% abv
£33

Hi. Long time no see.

I know I promised a "week" of Islay whiskies and while these few past and few forthcoming posts are all Islay malts, they certainly have not been posted over a week. I want to get Dr. Whisky up to frequency he once had, I really do. Any tips? Advice? Serge, how the hell do you do it? I bow in the presence of all new whisky bloggers (Whisky for Everyone, Cask Strength, Edinburgh Whisky Blog, and many others) who in one way or the other followed in my footsteps/appeared in my wake but have proceeded leaps and bounds beyond what I am currently doing. Keep it up, lads; the world needs independent voices preaching the gospel of whisky. And your presence makes me feel less guilty for considering money-generating options to motivate increased activity on Dr. Whisky...

This duty free bottling of Bunnahabhain takes its name from the gaelic term DARACH UR, "oak new" and I couldn't find any good pics to steal online.

Duty Free-only bottlings are an increasingly popular item for distillers as they allow for a global reach of a single product without needing a huge production. I saw a few fun bottlings at the duty free when in the UK last week and I look forward to travelling to Scotland in July and rekindling my affinity for smuggling bottles overseas.

TASTING NOTES:

Heavy, damp, weighty aromas. Morning breath, browned slices of apples after too much exposure to air, prunes, honey, and dried spilled Strongbow.

Rich and sweet, woody and raisiny with a blast of toasty oak and vanilla. Nice full bodied flavour with a little lime and then maple syrup as it slowly erodes into a sweeter, gentler finish.

SUMMARY:

Organic, earthy, and slightly off-putting on the nose. Full bodied and sweet on the palate with a real emphasis on tannic influence. A wholly unique Bunnahabhain and not one to be ignored.

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Malt Mission 2009 #352

Bunnahabhain 1997 10yo
"Heavily Peated", cask 5366
Signatory Vintage
Islay Single Malt Whisky
60% abv

The peaty spirit being produced at Bunnahabhain (boonahawvin) is called "moines" and the contents of this puppy are of that variety. Some have hypothesised that some of the no-age statement peaty/islay brands on the market with mystery contents are actually some of this peaty Bunnahabhain. Very possible, Watson.

For more distillery info or to see all Bunnahabhains had on the mission, click HERE.

This was a wedding gift from BK. Thank you, you lovely Japanadian, bass-playing goalie.

TASTING NOTES:

Cranberries, plums, soil and salt. Faint eggy notes with gummy bears, sour cherries, and a general fruitiness that is quite appealing.

Cigarette butts and Halls lozenges, brownies, burnt crispy bits of cheese under the broiler, custard, raisins, and a puff of exhaust. Lengthy finish of sweet sherry and tarry smoke.

SUMMARY:

If you have been narrow minded enough to call Bunnahabhain the boring Islay malt, then it is about time you revisit it. Not that this is outstandingly delicious whisky, but it is outstandingly stand-out-ish. And those who like 'em down and dirty will drool over this sold out gem.

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Malt Mission 2009 #351

Islay Mist
Blended Scotch Whisky
40% abv
£16
$22 (USD)

Here begins a string of Islay whiskies to be tasted here on the malt mission and as "good cheap whisky" (and variations) is currently the most popular search bringing folks to Dr. Whisky, I figured I would start with a good, cheap whisky.

I sat at my laptop for a stretch of time this afternoon just looking over blogs and e-publications' responses to whisky events and/or tastings I have done for work in the past few months. Thank you all for you kind words and support of our family company.

Then, as I sat at a friend's book reading thinking, "I am laughing, I am feeling his words, I understand what he is saying", it occurred to me that as genius as I thought his short story was, I will not remember it accurately nor will I ever really KNOW what he was saying.

This impasse, I thought, is similar to that which lies between me presenting a Scotch 101/5-dram tasting and some blogger/writer/journalist/podcaster/chef attendee later responding to it with lines like "the peatiest barrels are the sherry ones" and "Japanese Scotch is increasingly popular." I did not directly convey these fallacies but I have no doubt that the attendee heard them.

Then I thought, if I feel this communication breakdown THERE then it must exist HERE, between what I have been taught/told/shown/tasted and what I know/think/observe/opine.

So a few minutes ago I pointed and clicked through a few whisky websites in my browser and realised/reaffirmed/noted that all these representations are spoiled by our pea-brained human influence that 100 Ian Buxtons, a vibrant Whiskypedia, and a reborn Michael Jackson could never remedy.

And then, just two seconds ago I sipped a single cask Bunnahabhain (thank you, BK) and thought of .... nothing

And I understood.

Islay Mist from MacDuff International is comprised of Laphroaig, some Speyside and Highland malts whiskies, along with some grain whisky. I used to buy a lot of this when I lived in Edinburgh.

TASTING NOTES:

Seaweed and key lime pie. Shortbread, shaving cream, and salt water. Good grain presence, too, adding backbone.

Malty, smoky, salty like black olives, luscious vanilla sweetness pressed hard against peat smoke.

SUMMARY:

Could drink this in large, satisfying sips. Very well constructed. The good malt presence adds a chewiness and depth that along with the clear medicinal Islay influence makes this a really satisfying dram with a distinct peaty tang. Great value for that Islay urge.

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Spirit of Toronto 2009

Last year around this time I told you about "a whisky lover's dream," The Spirit of Toronto.

This is a celebration of the water of life (whisky, whiskey, scotch whisky, and congnac) with over 100 drops to try, dozens of exhibitors, live jazz, a killer cocktail bar, a cigar lounge (outside), and ten truly excellent masterclasses, including local maverick John Hall leading folks through creations from Forty Creek, Dave Broom taking whisky lovers to some silent stills/closed distilleries, Mike Nicolson relaying his stories from the ten+ distilleries he worked at while sharing drops from a handful, and many more.

Spirit of Toronto
Friday May 8, 2009
6:30-10:30pm
Roy Thompson Hall
$115(advance)/$145(door)

Yes, ticket prices have gone up by ten bucks both advance and at the door this year, but the event is worth every penny in that it allows the subjects of Totalitario to enjoy spirits of their choosing without coupon-per-serving systems used by other festivals, perhaps proving that the citizen CAN control their liquor intake and perhaps do not need the state to interfere in selecting what they can and cannot drink.

It will no doubt be a great event and the only thing of its kind in 2009.

Attend. Enjoy. Say "hi".

Malt Mission 2009 #350

Glenmorangie Signet
Highland Single Malt Whisky
46% abv
£115
$185 (USD)

In the autumn of 2008, it was hard to be in any whisky nerd conversation, geeky whisky forum, or read whisky magazines without coming across the buzz around Glenmorangie Signet.

Designed by Dr. Bill Lumsden over the past decade, Signet is made with spirit that included some roasted and chocolate barley (refers to the toasting level, not actual chocolate) vatted with mature Gelnmorangie of older vintages. More details of the recipe and cask selection at Whisky Pages. Its name is inspired by the 8th century pict logo on the Cadbol Stone found on distillery property and the packaging is absolutely stunning, in my opinion. Good post on the stone and the whisky at WhiskyViking.

Hearing Dr. Bill talk about the Signet is quite an experience as his excitement for the spirit goes beyond that of a biochemist proud of his test results into the realm of a mad whisky scientist enthusiastically celebrating a successful experiment, in his words, "one of our greatest and most complex creations to date."

I remember drinking this on a boat on the Hudson River, under stars and memorial bars of light from the site of the twin towers, among people relaying stories of where they were that tragic day in September. An inspiring moment with an inspiring dram.

For more distillery info and to see all Glenmorangies had on the mission, click HERE. Cheers for the drop, DB.

TASTING NOTES:

Intimidatingly complex. Rye (the grain, not the spirit), almond oil, pepper, face cream, Japanese seaweed crackers, vintage clothing shops, cocoa powder, kiwi, 3 Musketeers, black bean sauce, pecan pie... I could go on. And will on my own time. Incredibly un-Scotch-y, in a way. I could be convinced that this is some new creation from John Hall's Forty Creek.

Toasty and malty with a complex and punchy array of coffee, mint chocolate, kidney beans, raspberries, pecans, crepes, maple, and more. Gorgeous nutty finish with the balance of oak influences reaching for heaven.

SUMMARY:

Un-traditional, or perhaps more accurately atypical, whisky in every sense and to every sense, and quite exhilarating as a result. A drop of water sweetens the nose but really collapses the delivery on the palate, although it unpacks the tight package of flavour in a most pleasing way.

"Unlike anything released before," reads the press release, and the grand statement is completely true. I have also read Signet referred to as "the dark side of Glenmorangie." Also true. But more than just an impressive whisky, this release is monumental in that it takes our perception of Glenmorangie from Scotland's Favourite Malt Whisky to One of the World's Greatest Malt Whiskies, a key step in markets like Singapore, where this whisky was initially launched, and world-wide. Perfect balance of wise marketing and wonderful whisky-making. If only I could afford a bottle. I imagine the packaging alone, as gorgeous as it is, would put a dent in my wallet... literally; the stopper is even heavier than Dewar's Signature.

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