I live in the city with the best selection of Scotch outside of Scotland (some might say we have a better selection than even Scotland does). We have access to some of the rarest and most exclusive bottlings there are. Alas, beer is my main occupation, so I have time for but a wee dram of the water of life.
Michael Urquhart Retirement Dinner
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When you look up to the skies, you are seeing starlight
that, in some cases, is thousands of years old.
While we are experiencing the light today, a lot has transpired since
the light left the star before reaching our eyes today.
It is a strange thought. And it is a thought I often have when I taste really old Scotch, particularly those that were distilled before I was born. Hold that thought. Michael Urquhart of Gordon & MacPhail has retired. He is going on a global farewell tour and I was privileged to attend a retirement dinner for him. The dinner was hosted by Gold Medal Marketing (Canadian agents for Gordon & MacPhail) and Buchanans, a famous chop house with one of the deepest Scotch menus in the world. For the food portion of the evening, Michael and Carol Buchanan pulled out all of the stops, offering canapés of duck leg confit cornet and lacquered duck breast pancake. We snacked on these as we sipped on Benromach 10-year-old, a Speyside distillery owned by Gordon & MacPhail. |
Michael Urquhart, retired Managing Director of Gordon & MacPhail.
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As we sat down to dinner, we were treated to four courses: vanilla bean poached apple, pear and parsnip soup; toasted pecan and walnut Boursin cheese salad with candied pork belly and pumpkin vinaigrette; Alberta bison with bone marrow Benromach bordelaise turnip and potato cake with fall vegetable crottin; and white chocolate bread pudding with sultanas and Strathisla maple reduction.
These dishes were enjoyed with paired wines. While it would not be uncommon for Buchanans to prepare meals to pair with Scotch, the Scotch we were to taste required our palates to be focused on the liquid. Food would only be a distraction from the Scotch to come, so we sipped wine, patiently waiting for the remarkable Scotch. |
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The whisky tasting started with a Linkwood distilled in 1954. Interestingly, a sample had been drawn from the cask in 1968, when the spirit was 14 years old. This small sample bottle had sat in Gordon & MacPhail's archives until our dinner, where we were given the opportunity to sample the only 500mL of this Scotch that exist. This was a very rare opportunity to taste a 14-year-old spirit as it would have tasted in 1968.
This was immediately followed by another sample of Linkwood that was also distilled in 1954, but which was bottled in 2010 at 56 years old. Not surprisingly, the elder had a darker colour, though both were remarkably dark. The fruit in the younger expression was phenomenal, with a strong aroma of cantaloupe and notes of mint. The more mature expression, not surprisingly, featured more wood and spice, though it also featured an interesting mintiness. |
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The last of the Scotch presented by Gordon & MacPhail was a cask sample of Strathisla from 1957. It was bottled in 2014 and therefore was 57 years old. As one would expect from Strathisla, there was a wonderful sweetness with notes of brown sugar and dates with significant wood.
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Michael Urquhart, during his brief speech, pointed out that 1957 was the year in which John Lennon met Paul McCartney. In the intervening period, the world has seen the Vietnam and Korean wars, tanks roll through Tiananmen Square, the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapse after terrorist attack, ridiculous hair styles and fashion fads, the collapse of Apartheid, the end of the Cold War, the beginning and end of the American space shuttle program and an uncountable number of other historic events. While all of those events happened, casks of whisky sat waiting for their triumphant debut. A debut that would not occur until a sufficiently worthy event. A debut that would not occur until Michael Urquhart, ending a 33-year career in the Scotch business (a career that, despite its longevity and endurance started AFTER all of that Scotch had been distilled), decided to retire.
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When I look up to the stars, I think of how much has happened since that light left the stars, before it reached my eyes. It is a humbling thought. It is a humility I feel when I taste whisky that is decades old, particularly when I taste it in the presence of an industry legend.
Slainté, Michael Urquhart! Happy retirement! (11/14)
Slainté, Michael Urquhart! Happy retirement! (11/14)
Bowmore Trilogy - the Most Epic Scotch Tasting Ever
The Bowmore Trilogy is perhaps the most sought after Scotch ever bottled.
Thirty Scotch lovers from across North America gathered at the Rimrock Resort in scenic Banff, Alberta from November 1 to 3, 2013 to partake in the most epic Scotch tasting in the history of man. The four tastings over the weekend were led by Bowmore's Global Master of Malts, Iain McCallum, culminating in a tasting that included the Bowmore Trilogy. That's right, "included", meaning not only did we taste Black Bowmore, White Bowmore and Gold Bowmore, but we tasted an original Black Bowmore and a Bowmore 1964 Fino Sherry Cask. The five bottles collected for this tasting have collectively fetched more than $40,000 at auction. In addition, a sixth bottle, a Bowmore 1981, was contributed to the tasting by one of the attendees.
The tasting was arranged by Ferguson Whisky Tours and sponsored in part by Morrison Bowmore and Lifford Wine & Spirits.
As guests arrived on Friday evening, they were welcomed with drams of Bowmore 12 Year Old and Bowmore Lamrig, which is finished in sherry butts and bottled at a cask-strength 53.7% ABV.
The tasting was arranged by Ferguson Whisky Tours and sponsored in part by Morrison Bowmore and Lifford Wine & Spirits.
As guests arrived on Friday evening, they were welcomed with drams of Bowmore 12 Year Old and Bowmore Lamrig, which is finished in sherry butts and bottled at a cask-strength 53.7% ABV.
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After this reception, we all went into the town of Banff for dinner at the Maple Leaf Grill. Dinner started with a cocktail made with Bowmore Legend before we moved on to four courses of dinner, each course followed by Bowmore 15 Year Old, Bowmore 18 Year Old, Bowmore Tempest 4 and Bowmore Lamrig, respectively. After dinner, we enjoyed a "final final" of Bowmore 25 Year Old.
This was my first time dining at Maple Leaf Grill and I was thoroughly impressed by both the food and the service. A nice green salad, prawn fritters, oven roasted chicken supreme and cheesecake were perfect accompaniments to our famous Islay Scotch accompaniments. The following morning, Scotch tasting resumed at 10:00 a.m. with an Auchentoshan master class. |
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We tasted the entire lowland, triple-distilled, Auchentoshan line-up of 12 Year Old, Three Wood, 18 Year Old, 21 Year Old and Valinch, along with Auchentoshan 1979.
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Auchentoshan is typically matured in American bourbon and Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, but Three Wood also includes whisky aged in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, originally purchased in error. Iain McCallum refers to the Three Wood as the best mistake he ever made! Meanwhile, the Auchentoshan 1979, bottled at 32 years old at cask-strength 50.5% ABV, is fully matured in first-fill sherry butts.
For lunch, we moved on to six expressions of the highland Glen Garioch. We sampled five distillery bottlings and one exclusive bottling. The distillery bottlings were 1779 Founders Reserve, 12 Year Old, 1994, 1986 and 1978 while the exclusive bottling was the Kensington Wine Market 1997 MS Society Cask 844, which was bottled as a fundraiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. |
Normally, I would describe each of the Bowmores, Auchentoshans and Glen Gariochs we sampled and normally, each of these would be fantastic tastings in their own right, but in this case, each of these tastings was merely a prelude to the ultimate tasting on Saturday evening of six incredible expressions of Bowmore paired with the full tasting menu at internationally-acclaimed Eden restaurant in the Rimrock Resort.
We started with Bowmore 1981, added as a last-minute surprise and donated by one of the attendees. From there, we moved on to one of the original three releases of Black Bowmore, distilled in 1964 and bottled at 31 years old in 1995. This was then compared against the first of the Bowmore Trilogy, the Black Bowmore released in 2006 at 42 years old, coming from the same batch of Oloroso sherry cask matured spirit from 1964. While additional age can either have a muting effect or over-wood a Scotch, I found the more mature Black Bowmore to be richer in flavour, more complex and more luscious. With aromas reminiscent of melon fruits and a touch of citrus, Black Bowmore is one of the top ten drams I've ever had the privelege to sample.
We started with Bowmore 1981, added as a last-minute surprise and donated by one of the attendees. From there, we moved on to one of the original three releases of Black Bowmore, distilled in 1964 and bottled at 31 years old in 1995. This was then compared against the first of the Bowmore Trilogy, the Black Bowmore released in 2006 at 42 years old, coming from the same batch of Oloroso sherry cask matured spirit from 1964. While additional age can either have a muting effect or over-wood a Scotch, I found the more mature Black Bowmore to be richer in flavour, more complex and more luscious. With aromas reminiscent of melon fruits and a touch of citrus, Black Bowmore is one of the top ten drams I've ever had the privelege to sample.
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The next two of the Bowmore Trilogy were the White and Gold, both distilled on the same day as the Black Bowmore in 1964. The White was matured for 43 years in bourbon casks while the Gold was matured for 44 years in four casks, three bourbon and one Oloroso sherry, which were vatted for bottling. Only 827 bottles of Black, 732 bottles of White and 701 bottles of Gold were ever made.
Of the Trilogy, my favourite was the Black, which I also preferred over the original Black, although all five are obviously exceptional drams. There are usually reasons certain expressions of Scotch become legendary and these unbelievable bottlings demonstrate those reasons remarkably. With only the lightest traces of peat, these expressions of Bowmore showcased fruitiness and, in some cases, a delicate spiciness married in an exquisite dram that deny their Islay upbringing. |
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Despite the Bowmore Trilogy being some of the most highly regarded Scotch ever created, by far and away my favourite whisky of the evening, and indeed of my life, was the final dram, the Bowmore 1964 Fino. This was bottled at 46 years old, having been matured in an American bourbon cask and finished in a Fino sherry cask. This incredibly complex Scotch was more delicate than any of the Trilogy and because if this, it commanded attention. Indeed, for the first moments while tasting this dram, all of the noises of the busy restaurant and all of the conversations of the other Scotch tasters were drowned out as I focussed on the story this Scotch was telling me. The flavours changed as the whisky sat on the palate and because these flavours were delicate, they required me to focus on them to tease them out.
I have never been so drawn in by a whisky and my first sip of the Bowmore 1964 Fino is a moment I will never forget. Indeed, the weekend, as a whole, is something I will never forget. (12/13)
I have never been so drawn in by a whisky and my first sip of the Bowmore 1964 Fino is a moment I will never forget. Indeed, the weekend, as a whole, is something I will never forget. (12/13)
Some Thoughts on Selecting a Cask
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I have had the opportunity, from time to time, to help select casks of whisky, usually Scotch, for bottling. These are single-cask bottlings, always at cask strength. The bottled product is then an exclusive for a store, a fantastic corporate gift, something special for a whisky club or the stuff that jealousy is made of.
The beauty of selecting your own cask of whisky is, of course, getting exactly what you want. For this reason, I won't tell you what to look for when purchasing a cask. Instead, here are some (somewhat random) observations from having selected, or helping select, many casks. The first step is to reach out to distilleries to see, first, if they are willing to sell a cask at all (many do not, regardless of how much you are willing to pay) and second, if they are willing to bottle and export it to you. Don't forget independent bottlers, who may have casks of your favourite distillery. |
Depending on the laws where you live, you will probably need to engage an import agent to bring the bottled whisky into the country and may even need to ultimately purchase all of the bottles through a retailer. Both the import agent and the retailer will expect a profit, though you can probably negotiate a smaller margin than they would normally charge, since you are going to purchase everything, without much marketing or effort on their part.
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Different distilleries will offer different packaging options at different prices. All will at least indicate that the bottling was exclusively yours on the label, but you can also purchase fancy cartons or wooden boxes lined with a tartan of your choosing.
When you've chosen the distillery you want to buy from, they'll send you between three and six samples from casks, selected based upon how much you wish to spend. Some distilleries will merely send you consecutive casks. Others will send you a variety of different casks. The first thing you'll notice is how incredibly different two casks can taste, even though they have been aging for years right next to each other in the distillery, are in the same variety of wood and are of the same age. It's incredible how different two casks can taste. |
A custom label is applied when you bottle your own Scotch!
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Tullibardine will let you pick your own tartan and put a logo on the outer box.
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When selecting your cask, you'll need to decide if you're going to simply pick the whisky that tastes best, or the one that best displays the character of the distillery. Of course, you don't want to buy a cask that is almost identical to, or is only as good as, that distillery's regular line-up, but how far do you want to deviate from that?
Once you've selected the single sample that you like best, take the time to step back and ask if you really want to buy an entire cask of this whisky. The financial commitment to buy a cask is not small and it may be the case that none of the samples you've received are worth it. In that case, you can simply say "no" or you can ask for more samples. Be careful not to abuse this. The distillery will only be willing to send so many samples. And if you ask for too many samples and never buy a cask, no distillery, import agent or retailer will be willing to work with you again. The world of whisky is a small community; word will get around. If buying an entire cask is beyond your financial means, or the means of your liver, you may be able to split the cask between two buyers. The distillery may be willing to print separate labels for you and your buying partner and the purchase might not have to be 50/50. I've only been able to get separate labels for two buyers, but if you and your buying partners are willing to share the same label, you can have as many buying partners as you wish. A whisky club is perfect for this! (07/13) |
Glenmorangie Cask Masters
Glenmorangie Cask Masters samples.
On May 1, 2013, a hand-selected dozen local Scotch fanatics sampled three expressions of Glenmorangie as part of their Cask Masters promotion. The tasting was lead by Glenmorangie Brand Ambassador Ruaridh McIntyre. The three expressions had been matured in Grand Cru Burgundy, Grand Cru Bordeaux and Manzanilla casks and all three were cut to 46% ABV. Gatherings of Glenmorangie fans are being held at select locations around the world and attendees are being ask to vote on their favourite, which will be bottled and made available for sale.
As of the time of writing this post, the leader is Cask C (Manzanilla), though at the particular tasting I attended, Cask A (Grand Cru Burgundy) got the most votes.
All three were enjoyable drams and all three were quite approachable. To my palate, Cask A (Grand Cru Burgundy) was a little bland and I got a little sulphur in both the nose and the flavour. It has a light graininess and a short, clean finish. The various tasting notes I read describing this cask described a much deeper complexity than I was able to get from it. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it; it was merely a little straight forward for my liking.
Cask B (Grand Cru Bordeaux) and Cask C (Manzanilla) were sweeter with caramel notes, spices and gentle fruitiness. The initial impressions of both of these expressions were very similar, but while Cask B emphasized spice over fruit and developed a slightly alcoholic note in its finish, Cask C emphasized fruit over spice and remained fruity throughout with a longer finish than Cask B. I would happily drink either (and I would happily drink Cask A, as well), but I preferred the finish to Cask C. And so, it got my vote.
As of the time of writing this post, the leader is Cask C (Manzanilla), though at the particular tasting I attended, Cask A (Grand Cru Burgundy) got the most votes.
All three were enjoyable drams and all three were quite approachable. To my palate, Cask A (Grand Cru Burgundy) was a little bland and I got a little sulphur in both the nose and the flavour. It has a light graininess and a short, clean finish. The various tasting notes I read describing this cask described a much deeper complexity than I was able to get from it. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it; it was merely a little straight forward for my liking.
Cask B (Grand Cru Bordeaux) and Cask C (Manzanilla) were sweeter with caramel notes, spices and gentle fruitiness. The initial impressions of both of these expressions were very similar, but while Cask B emphasized spice over fruit and developed a slightly alcoholic note in its finish, Cask C emphasized fruit over spice and remained fruity throughout with a longer finish than Cask B. I would happily drink either (and I would happily drink Cask A, as well), but I preferred the finish to Cask C. And so, it got my vote.
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The official tasting notes from Glenmorangie are in the photographs to the left (click to enlarge).
And just to remind us all of just how great Glenmorangie can be, we ended the evening with a dram of The Signet, the most beautifully packaged, delicate Glenmorangie I have ever sampled. (05/13) |
BenRiach Vertical Tasting
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BenRiach is an interesting distillery because of the broad range of whiskies they make. Although located in Speyside, they make both peated and unpeated expressions, with the peated expressions being very similar to whiskies from Islay.
On March 13, 2013, I attended a tasting of seven peated expressions of BenRiach at Kensington Wine Market in Calgary, Alberta, led by KWM's Andrew Ferguson (Twitter handle @scotch_guy). There was a separate, prior tasting of unpeated expressions of BenRiach, but I was not able to attend. |
I love tastings like this one because by focusing on one distillery, you know that the underlying malt, the still shape and size, the water source and most other elements are the same across whiskies. The only variables are the barrels and the amount of time spent in them. You can therefore see the immense differences that these two factors alone contribute to the whisky. As you will see in the tasting notes below, we even tasted two casks that were sequentially adjacent and I was taken by the incredible difference between the two.
BenRiach Septendicum - Septendicum is BenRiach's "standard" peated 17-year-old. It retails for about $94 and is bottled at 46% ABV. It is aged in American oak barrels and this is evident immediately in its colour, which is pale straw in colour with green tinges at its edges. The aroma and flavour are somewhat reminiscent of Caol Ila with a nice, smoky peatiness and a little oiliness. The finish even has a little honey in it.
BenRiach 1976 Cask 8804 - Bottled in July 2012, this single-cask expression is 35 years old. It was bottled at cask strength, 54.9% ABV. Similar to the Septendicum, this Scotch was obviously matured in American oak, in this case, a hogshead. Despite the almost identical colour, this expression has minimal peat and lots of fruit. I get apples and peaches, as well as dark fruits like dates, on the nose. These fruits are present in the flavour as well, but the flavour also has some robust malt flavours, including a touch of chocolate in the finish. Retail price is approximately $417.
BenRiach 1985 Cask 7190 - Bottled at cask strength of 48.7% ABV, this expression was aged in American oak and finished in a Pedro Ximenez sherry butt. The retail price is approximately $175. The PX sherry finishing is obvious in this dark brown Scotch with golden highlights. The nose is that of caramel apples and figs. The flavour has sweet, dark-fruit flavours while the finish has a touch of spice and some chocolate. There is minimal peat aroma or flavour in this 26-year-old Scotch, demonstrating, like with the 1976 35-year-old above, how peat fades with age.
BenRiach 1984 Cask 4050 - The retail price of this bottle was $180. Even at that price, it was a bargain, given the complex layers of flavours in this 27-year-old Scotch. Consumers obviously agreed, since it is now sold out. The colour of this dram is also dark amber, darkened by having been finished in a tawny port pipe. The aroma features peat (showing that some old whisky can hold its peat flavours), port and cantelope aromas. Meanwhile, the flavour has an initial, sharp, sweet alcohol flavour, some oiliness and peat smoke. This gives way to some caramel and a little chocolate. Later, there are delicate spices and more fruits. What was great about this whisky was its distinct layers of flavours. While many flavours can blend together like a stew, these flavours remained separated and you could choose how far down into the layers you wanted to reach with each sip. Remarkable. 52.2% ABV.
BenRiach 1976 Cask 5317 - Bottled at 35 years of age and correspondingly priced at a lofty $417, this dram is dark brown in colour, evidencing its finishing in a Pedro Ximenez cask. The aroma features caramel, fruit and maple syrup. The flavour is rich with candied fruit and cinnamon while some anise flavours emerge in the finish. No peat aromas or flavours. 54.1% ABV.
BenRiach 1994 Cask 3806 - This cask was bottled exclusively for Kensington Wine Market. The last whisky, described below, is a sister cask, distilled and casked on the same day and it was very interesting to compare the two, side-by-side. Retail price of about $117. This whisky was finished in virgin American oak for four years. The aroma of this dram has a nice banana-like aroma with some creamy vanilla. In this sense, the whisky reminds me of Bananas Foster, the dessert invented and made famous by Brennan's Restaurant in Louisiana, New Orleans. The flavour is similar, though it has some additional notes of toast and peat.
BenRiach 1994 Cask 3807 - This cask was bottled exclusively for the Companions of the Quaich clubs in Calgary and Victoria. Like its sister cask described above, the retail price of this bottle is about $117 and the whisky was finished in virgin American oak for four years. The nose of this whisky is much softer and you have to reach for the aromas. There are touches of mint and of shoe polish. The flavour features a big peatiness, liquorice and lots of smoke.
(03/13)
BenRiach Septendicum - Septendicum is BenRiach's "standard" peated 17-year-old. It retails for about $94 and is bottled at 46% ABV. It is aged in American oak barrels and this is evident immediately in its colour, which is pale straw in colour with green tinges at its edges. The aroma and flavour are somewhat reminiscent of Caol Ila with a nice, smoky peatiness and a little oiliness. The finish even has a little honey in it.
BenRiach 1976 Cask 8804 - Bottled in July 2012, this single-cask expression is 35 years old. It was bottled at cask strength, 54.9% ABV. Similar to the Septendicum, this Scotch was obviously matured in American oak, in this case, a hogshead. Despite the almost identical colour, this expression has minimal peat and lots of fruit. I get apples and peaches, as well as dark fruits like dates, on the nose. These fruits are present in the flavour as well, but the flavour also has some robust malt flavours, including a touch of chocolate in the finish. Retail price is approximately $417.
BenRiach 1985 Cask 7190 - Bottled at cask strength of 48.7% ABV, this expression was aged in American oak and finished in a Pedro Ximenez sherry butt. The retail price is approximately $175. The PX sherry finishing is obvious in this dark brown Scotch with golden highlights. The nose is that of caramel apples and figs. The flavour has sweet, dark-fruit flavours while the finish has a touch of spice and some chocolate. There is minimal peat aroma or flavour in this 26-year-old Scotch, demonstrating, like with the 1976 35-year-old above, how peat fades with age.
BenRiach 1984 Cask 4050 - The retail price of this bottle was $180. Even at that price, it was a bargain, given the complex layers of flavours in this 27-year-old Scotch. Consumers obviously agreed, since it is now sold out. The colour of this dram is also dark amber, darkened by having been finished in a tawny port pipe. The aroma features peat (showing that some old whisky can hold its peat flavours), port and cantelope aromas. Meanwhile, the flavour has an initial, sharp, sweet alcohol flavour, some oiliness and peat smoke. This gives way to some caramel and a little chocolate. Later, there are delicate spices and more fruits. What was great about this whisky was its distinct layers of flavours. While many flavours can blend together like a stew, these flavours remained separated and you could choose how far down into the layers you wanted to reach with each sip. Remarkable. 52.2% ABV.
BenRiach 1976 Cask 5317 - Bottled at 35 years of age and correspondingly priced at a lofty $417, this dram is dark brown in colour, evidencing its finishing in a Pedro Ximenez cask. The aroma features caramel, fruit and maple syrup. The flavour is rich with candied fruit and cinnamon while some anise flavours emerge in the finish. No peat aromas or flavours. 54.1% ABV.
BenRiach 1994 Cask 3806 - This cask was bottled exclusively for Kensington Wine Market. The last whisky, described below, is a sister cask, distilled and casked on the same day and it was very interesting to compare the two, side-by-side. Retail price of about $117. This whisky was finished in virgin American oak for four years. The aroma of this dram has a nice banana-like aroma with some creamy vanilla. In this sense, the whisky reminds me of Bananas Foster, the dessert invented and made famous by Brennan's Restaurant in Louisiana, New Orleans. The flavour is similar, though it has some additional notes of toast and peat.
BenRiach 1994 Cask 3807 - This cask was bottled exclusively for the Companions of the Quaich clubs in Calgary and Victoria. Like its sister cask described above, the retail price of this bottle is about $117 and the whisky was finished in virgin American oak for four years. The nose of this whisky is much softer and you have to reach for the aromas. There are touches of mint and of shoe polish. The flavour features a big peatiness, liquorice and lots of smoke.
(03/13)
Companions of the Quaich Founders' Dinner
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February 6, 2013 was the annual dinner honouring the founders (of which I am one) of the Calgary Chapter of the Companions of the Quaich. As usual, the dinner was held at Buchanan's Chop House and Whisky Bar a restaurant that boasts one of the best Scotch selections in the world. Trust me on that latter point. I've been to the official Guinness World Record holder for the biggest Scotch selection and they can't hold a candle to Buchanan's.
The theme for the evening was comparing official distillery bottlings with independent bottlings of whisky of roughly the same age. We did this for three distilleries, for a total of six Scotch. While we knew which distillery and the age of the whisky we were tasting, the tasting was blind in the sense that we did not know which of each pair was the official bottling and which was the independent bottling. |
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We started with two expressions of Glenfarclas. The official Glenfarclas 17 was darker, sharper and spicier than the Old Malt Cask version. To my palate, the Old Malt Cask 17-year-old Glenfarclas was more typical of the Glenfarclas style. And so, when it came time to vote, I got this one wrong and thought the Old Malt Cask was the distillery bottling.
Things did not improve for me when I voted between the two Glenrothes expressions. The distillery bottling of Glenrothes was distilled in 1972 while the independently bottled version was a Dufftown Whisky Shop bottling at 41 years old, distilled in 1970. The Dufftown Whisky Shop bottling was maltier and sweeter than the official Glenrothes 1972 and, again, to my palate, was more authentically in the Glenrothes style. I was wrong.
Finally, we sampled Diageo's 12th Release of Port Ellen and Douglas Laing's Old & Rare Port Ellen. Both expressions were distilled in 1979 and both were bottled at 32 years old. Both were obviously Port Ellen. And while the first expression was more authentically Port Ellen with an oily, peaty, peppery palate, the second was the more interesting whisky with notes of tropical fruit in addition to the Port Ellen house style. Rumors abound about the source of Diageo's casks for the 12th Release of Port Ellen and based on some of this speculation, I was able to guess correcty, identifying the less interesting version as the official Diageo bottling.
So, my final score was 1 out of 3. The one I got correct was not much more than a guess, while the two I got wrong, I had been nearly certain about. Apparenty, there is a lot more Scotch tasting in my future so I can refine my palate.
While the focus of the evening was, of course, the Scotch, no reporting of the event would be complete without acknowledging the food served by Buchanan's. Buchanan's always does a good job for our Scotch dinners, but this year's Founders' Dinner was exceptional. (02/13)
Things did not improve for me when I voted between the two Glenrothes expressions. The distillery bottling of Glenrothes was distilled in 1972 while the independently bottled version was a Dufftown Whisky Shop bottling at 41 years old, distilled in 1970. The Dufftown Whisky Shop bottling was maltier and sweeter than the official Glenrothes 1972 and, again, to my palate, was more authentically in the Glenrothes style. I was wrong.
Finally, we sampled Diageo's 12th Release of Port Ellen and Douglas Laing's Old & Rare Port Ellen. Both expressions were distilled in 1979 and both were bottled at 32 years old. Both were obviously Port Ellen. And while the first expression was more authentically Port Ellen with an oily, peaty, peppery palate, the second was the more interesting whisky with notes of tropical fruit in addition to the Port Ellen house style. Rumors abound about the source of Diageo's casks for the 12th Release of Port Ellen and based on some of this speculation, I was able to guess correcty, identifying the less interesting version as the official Diageo bottling.
So, my final score was 1 out of 3. The one I got correct was not much more than a guess, while the two I got wrong, I had been nearly certain about. Apparenty, there is a lot more Scotch tasting in my future so I can refine my palate.
While the focus of the evening was, of course, the Scotch, no reporting of the event would be complete without acknowledging the food served by Buchanan's. Buchanan's always does a good job for our Scotch dinners, but this year's Founders' Dinner was exceptional. (02/13)
The GlenDronach Distillery
Six single-cask, cask-strength expressions of GlenDronach.
GlenDronach is a Scotch distillery in the eastern Highlands northwest of Aberdeen. Officially, established in 1826, GlenDronach is known for heavily-sherried whiskies.
I recently sampled six, single-cask bottlings of GlenDronach: two from 1989 and one each from 1993, 1990, 1978 and 1971. All were matured in sherry casks, except one, which had been matured in a moscatel cask. Although the retail prices range from $143 to $905, GlenDronach represents good value. Keep in mind that these are single-cask, cask-strength expressions, ranging from 19 to 41 years old. GlenDronach is certainly more reasonably priced compared to a certain other heavily-sherried Scotch distillery!
GlenDronach is always deep amber to brown with golden highlights at its edges. They are almost always sweet with flavours of dark fruits, caramel and molasses, while different expressions will show different levels of tropical fruits, chocolate, coffee, cloves and must. My favourite of the six was the 1971, which displayed great balance of spice, fruit and sugars. Almost all expressions paired exceptionally well with ginger cookies. (01/13)
I recently sampled six, single-cask bottlings of GlenDronach: two from 1989 and one each from 1993, 1990, 1978 and 1971. All were matured in sherry casks, except one, which had been matured in a moscatel cask. Although the retail prices range from $143 to $905, GlenDronach represents good value. Keep in mind that these are single-cask, cask-strength expressions, ranging from 19 to 41 years old. GlenDronach is certainly more reasonably priced compared to a certain other heavily-sherried Scotch distillery!
GlenDronach is always deep amber to brown with golden highlights at its edges. They are almost always sweet with flavours of dark fruits, caramel and molasses, while different expressions will show different levels of tropical fruits, chocolate, coffee, cloves and must. My favourite of the six was the 1971, which displayed great balance of spice, fruit and sugars. Almost all expressions paired exceptionally well with ginger cookies. (01/13)
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