Malt Mission 2009 #337

Bunnahabhain 1979 28yo
Single Malts of Scotland
Islay Single Malt Whisky
46% abv
£80

The northernmost distillery on Islay (map), Bunnahabhain is also arguably the least well known. That is not to say it doesn't deserve to be better known but rather that the distillery has for generations been a quiet workhouse for some of the greatest blended whiskies in the world while consistently producing a well-loved 12yo without the backing of million-dolalr marketing campaigns or promotional pushes.

Hey, BUNNAHABHAIN is pronounced BOONAHAWVIN

For more distillery information and to see all Bunnahabhains had on the mission, click HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Butter and bread, celery and butterscotch. Damp cloths, maybe even sweaty socks.

Luscious old American oak influences that absolutely hit the spot. Creamy, sweet and savoury, croissants, almonds, and red grapefruit. Hot finish with more of the Italian sugared almond Ending on wood, like resiny pine.

SUMMARY:

A whisky that exists in two clear dimensions, or at least across two extremes: the sweet and the sour. And all the more fun for it as not a single note is "off", although most are "odd". Great discussion dram to share with friends. And the speed at which it seems to have sold out is a testament to its quality.

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Malt Mission 2009 #336

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."

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Malt Mission 2009 #335

Crazy Glen 1976
Highland (Blended) Malt Scotch Whisky
43% abv
$¢£ PRICE UNKNOWN

The bottle has a fantastic image of a wild-eyed horse and proudly states "Over 5 Years Old". Ah, what a surefire promise of quality.

Crazy Glen was featured in our crazy whisky bar at our crazy Canadian Norwegian Jewish Scottish Burns Night Wedding in London last month and was one of the few bottles completely drained (and, from what I understand, dumped into a trashcan in Hyde Park) by the end of the night. There can be no better whisky review than that, really. Nonetheless...

TASTING NOTES:

Waxy and full of apricot sweetness, and some leather. Clementines and shortbread, vanilla, apples, and still some leathery element. Shockingly complex and very pleasant.

Big wave of vanilla and lemons, buttery oak and a touch of smoke. Finish offers the first hints that the bottle might have been sitting around for over nearly 30 years with plastic or a dusty wrapping-paper drawer smell. Still, very full-flavoured and satisfying.

SUMMARY:

Overall, a crazy surprise that I am only too glad I managed to win at www.whiskyauction.com almost two years ago. An old-school, highland style whisky rarely found these days, especially at such a ripe young age. Perhaps whisky DOES mature in the bottle as a recent article in Malt Advocate First Quarter 2009 suggests...

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Drammies 2008

Perhaps a bit late for me to call this an "announcement," but Kevin Erskine has announced the reader-nominated candidates in the 2008 Drammies.

Go have a look and vote!

Last year Dr. Whisky himself was voted BY YOU as the Best New Product (non-whisky) and this year the contenders include Richard Paterson's Goodness Nose, the blog of whisky lovers I left back in London, and my absolutely favourite resource (in ANY given year), The Malt Whisky Yearbook 2009.

Other categories of note are the Best Packaging/Marketing Campaign (which remain very distinct categories in my mind, but even King Erskine cannot be perfect) which include both the monolithic Glenmorangie Signet from the mind of Dr. Bill Lumsden (the man largely responsible for his company's nomination in the Distiller of the Year category) and the scientifictional Elements of Islay from the clever bastards at Speciality Drinks.

Finally, one of my favourite categories in the Drammies, The Bang for Buck award has five nominations including the £50/$80 (bang for buck?) Highland Park 18yo, a longtime personal favourite budget tipple Black Bottle, and finally the everyman dram designed by David Stewart, The Balvenie Signature (Malt Mission #297).

Voting ends March 6, 2009

Malt Mission 2009 #334

The Balvenie Rose 16yo
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
53.4% abv
£100

I will follow on the Valentine's theme with a back-to-back post (a year after our friends at Whisky Grotto) partly to make up for the lack of activity on Dr. Whisky as of late, partly cuz the romantic back story suits the theme of the day, but also to get through the backlog of tasting notes I have from treats I have tasted.

The Balvenie Castle sits on a hill above the two distilleries William Grant built in the 19th century, Glenfiddich and The Balvenie. The Balvenie Rose takes its name from a 15th century story that surrounds one of the castle's most storied inhabitants, the Fair Maid of Galloway, Margaret Douglas.

Famously beautiful, Margaret married the Eighth Earl of Douglas, a man eventually thrown out a window to his death. She later wed his brother, the last of the Black Douglas line, who continued his family's rebellion against King James II and eventually found himself defeated, his title, estate, and hot wife taken from him. Margaret had no problem finding someone else to love her in the First Earl of Atholl (John Stewart). And so taken with her beauty was the King that he reinstated her in Balvenie Castle for the annual rent of one red rose.

The Balvenie Rose is much coveted by whisky lovers and was only available at the distillery in very limited amounts: it was selected from four casks from 1991 and finished in port pipes, giving it a rosey pink hue. The whisky has not been coloured, chill-filtered, and was released at cask strength.

For all Balvenie had on the mission, click HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Strong and sweet, a touch of earth and a busy array of fruits and flowers. A touch of water complicates matters by adding sour notes, fruits like plums and cranberries, and unleashing a spice of caraway seeds and a dairy element like milk.

Berries and bubblegum, spice and oak, hot and excited at bottle strength. Water unravels the tight array of spice revealing grassy elements, corn syrup and winey oak. Patience (and water) allow this puppy to show what it's made of.

SUMMARY:

An unusual Balvenie that surprises most with whom I have shared it. But what it lacks in the characteristic Balvenie-honeyed flavours it makes up for with suprises of fruit and smoke and a kick-ass abv%. Beautiful packaging, in my mind, and a real treat for the scotch hunter, malt advocate, malt maniac, or for those of us on continuing malt missions. Another modest marvel from the modest marvel of the industry himself, The Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart.

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Malt Mission 2009 #333

Ballantine's 17yo
Blended Scotch Whisky
43% abv
£45
$100 (USD)

Happy Ballantine's Day!

Have received some very sweet emails of encouragement in Dr. Whisky's absence (hasn't been a post here since Jan 19!), so I thank you all. I promise to try some interesting drops in the coming days and share them with you and hope it makes up for my lack of consistent posting.

So I come back with a bottle poured at our wedding whisky bar, a blend from a company that has re-focused their approach to market in the wake of diminishing sales in recent years. I have posted in the past about how much I enjoy this family of blends and wish them the best of luck in the complicated blended whisky market that single malt nerdom and a splash of economic downturn has created. Since the late fifties when this whisky was #1 in the USA, Ballantine's has slipped position and focused more in Europe and the Far East. It has always been held in high regard by the Dr., especially at mature ages.

For all Ballantine's had on the mission, click HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Fresh and appetising. Red plums and apples, vanilla and white wine. Chestnuts over a mineral note, salt and a touch of soot.

Starts with a gentle puff of smoke followed by a rich and creamy mid-palate with raspberries and vanilla yogurt. Spices emerge and each sip becomes a wondefully well-integrated mouthful of whisky happiness. Really hitting the spot for me today.

SUMMARY:

With a touch of alcohol prickle in the nose, time in the glass or a generous cut of water really opens this puppy up where a fresh fruitiness intermingles with earthy coastal elements. The palate only delivers more of the latter in the lead with a creamy baked fruit complexity making this blend so enjoyable. Cinnamon and burnt sugar add a dessert element that gives final evidence of the quality of blending at the world's #3 blending house.

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Malt Mission 2009 #332

Glenfiddich 40yo

Speyside Single Malt Whisky
45.4% abv
£1000

Yes, I have had three 40yo whiskies in a row on the Malt Mission, what of it? It's a hard life. The decadent dramming has been to celebrate our wedding this coming weekend. I welcome challengers for the best wedding whisky bar cuz I think we've nailed it. Naturally. Heheh...

Released about 9 months ago, this is the 5th edition of this ultra-premium release from family distillers, William Grant and Sons, and it is a commemorates the life and work of Michael Jackson who passed away back at Malt Mission #150. David Stewart selected 5 casks over 40 years old to vat with the remnants of past vattings of the 40yo creating a whisky that is incredibly deep and rich, but most importantly carries a consistency from year to year, batch to batch. Ludo from Glenfiddich explains HERE.

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

TASTING NOTES:

Sweet and rich with fistfuls of flavour punching out of the glass. Fudge, cinnamon and brown sugar with baked apples or pears, weighty sherried notes with oak and clotted cream. Brightness of lemon zest, sweet, layered honey and pastry (baklava?), and the slightest nose of leather, the only significant hint of the substantial age.

Caramel, rye, cranberry sweet/sourness, waffle cones and oak all lay their impressions upon my mouth simultaneously. Chocolate covered raisins and toffee. Increasingly toasty, even burnt, towards a woody and fruity finish. Dangerously drinkable with such well-rounded flavours.

SUMMARY:

Incredible, but I think we already knew that after all the awards this release has won. Jackson himself called Glenfiddich at mature ages "a raisiny, chocolatey after dinner malt" and this one fits his description perfectly. Elegant and world class. Not cheap, but casks of this quality (only 600 bottles, after all) are worth every penny.

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Malt Mission 2009 #331

Glenfarclas 105 40yo
Speyside Single Malt Whisky
60% abv
£500

In 1968 George S Grant, grandfather of the George Grant some of us might know from his whiskevangelism around the world on behalf of his family's distillery, created a Christmas gifts for family and friends. He selected a single cask that was 105° British Proof (60%abv). Glenfarclas 105 was born becoming the first commercially available, direct-from-distillery, cask strength whisky.

Now, 40 years later, John L.S. Grant (George S. Grant's son) has created this special bottling to commemorate this monumental creation. With only 893 bottles released, this is a very special offering.

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

TASTING NOTES:

Rich and sherry sweet, raisins, nutmeg and brown sugar. Meaty, braised short ribs, honey, toffee... finger lickin' good.

Oh man... sherry, sappy or beeswaxy, and tasty treats fresh from the oven. Bakery for boozehounds: mincemeat pies, shortbread soaked in tea, baklava. Wild berries, vanilla cupcakes and a syrupy element that is hard to shake; not that you'd want to.

SUMMARY:

I do not know how they do it, but even at 60%, this whisky is wholly nose-able and although high impact on the palate, somehow smooth. Puzzling. And amazing. And worth celebrating. An excellent honour to one of my favourite go-to malts out there.

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Malt Mission 2009 #330

Tomatin 1967 40yo
Speyside Single Malt Whisky

42.9% abv

£430
$1000(USD)

In 1974, Tomatin was the largest single malt distillery in Scotland with 23 stills, but Tomatin sold off many of its stills and in the past 4 years it has gone from number 2 (after Glenfiddich) to number 12 in distillery capacity.

Oh yes, the times they are a-changing in the whisky world, but change is nothing new to this industry. Phylloxera vastetrix, prohibition, war (see this)... When this whisky was made 40 years ago all cask management, stock ledgers, and blending sheets were handwritten, single malts weren't really available outside of Scotland, and distilleries were producing all of their required malted barley on site. Some of these things seem impossible from today's persepctive, and in many cases they are simply because the scale has increased by leaps and bounds.

So raise a glass with me to get through this Wednesday in January and toast positive change in whisky, in government, and in our pockets.

Only 1,614 bottles of this stuff, created from 7 hogsheads of mature spirit at Tomatin. For more distillery info and to see all Tomatin had on the mission, click HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Bittersweet with spicy oak. Caraway seeds and marzipan liqourice, freshly churned butter. Port wine. A handful of raisins and almonds.

Honey coated coconut. And chocolate. Lacy with surface impressions containing glimpses of what lies behind. Woven flavours are neither balanced nor conflicting. Exciting flavour ride. Late spice, again with the caraway seeds, juniper, and bitter chocolate.

SUMMARY:

Complex, and although not at all balanced, this is 100% positive. Caraway and marzipan make a Scandanavian Christmas whisky. Constantly redefines itself to the drinker, weaving new sides and new flavours never letting go of the former with the one that follows. Nose has elements of aquavit while the palate has elements of Macallan. Vibrant, exciting, if slightly hot; 40 years maturation and wise vatting creates a whisky as dynamic as 40 years of life should be. Alive, and life-affirming.

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Malt Mission 2009 #329

Tomatin 30yo 1976
Speyside Single Malt Whisky
49.3% abv
£167

There were many beautiful things made in 1976. Beautiful, handsome, smart, charming... and modest things. And while there is only one of me, there are 1500 bottles of this recent release from Tomatin.

Probably safe to say Tomatin is not the most beautiful distillery in Scotland, but inside its industrial complex over 30,000 visitors tread each year.

Most of Tomatin's production goes into blends, many in the far east leaving only about 2% for single malt releases. But the range has expanded since the 12yo was launched in 2004 with a 18 and 25yo, and now a 30yo and 40yo join the growing single malt line.

TASTING NOTES:

Vegetal with notes of juniper, cabbage, and cooked carrots start us off. A sherry-influenced sweetness follows with beer nuts, cashews, and fruit preserves. Pops and squeaks of lime, chocolate wafers, and nutmeg. Big oak, too, adding a solid spine to it all.

Immeasurable honey, toffee, and a sturdy green stalk bitterness that holds it together. Sweet buttered corn. Autumnal with leaves and oak. Ginger and lime. Exciting.

SUMMARY:

Alive and well after 30 years (like some of our best friends), this dram speaks volumes and has something new to show on each sip. Vivid. Engaging. Powerful. And the sherry finish does nothing to mute the notable distillery character. A brave success.

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