Glen Garioch the Oldest Distillery in Scotland...Maybe

News today in the Herald is that they have found evidence of distilling at the "Meldrum Distillery" in 1785 which would give Glengarioch a claim as the oldest surviving distillery in Scotland.

The plot thickens!

Upper Ten Finest Blended 40%

I saw this blend reviewed on the excellent Dr Whisky blog and so when I saw a bottle I thought that I should give it a try. This is produced by a Norwegian company Arcus and seemingly sells fairly well in Norway.

Anyway enough of the rambling lets taste it.

Nose: Slightly solventy, lots of creamy notes a little bit like emulsion (if I had to choose a colour I would say magnolia!), and a hint of perfumed smoke.

Taste: Initially dry and the young grain element does come through but in a good way - not fiery at all. After this some of the phenols start to develop but is faint and not "rich distinctive" peat as is described on the label. Also some sweeter creamier butter notes.

Finish: Fairly short but then a hint of scented candles in the finish.

Comment: Overall descent enough if anything a little thin on the palate but pleasantly drinkable - a decent session whisky.

Score: 78/100

Duncan Taylor Gets Green Light for Distillery

Duncan Taylor have been given the green light to build their distillery by the planners in Huntly. It appears that there is only one hurdle left before building begins in the old creamer buildings.

http://www.thisisnorthscotland.com/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=149235&command=displayContent&sourceNode=149218&contentPK=19235668&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch

St Peter's Organic Ale 4.5%

Bought this in Adsa tonight and thought that I would give it a try. Well this "This lovely beer won the Soil Association’s top prize in 2002" well surely that should swing it for anybody! actually have tried a few things from the St Peter's brewery and thought they were pretty good so here goes.

Very much an English style ale - very easy to drink and not overly hoppy at all. Touch of citrusy notes and soft dryness in the finish. Overall not a bad beer although bizarrely for an organic beer it has a slight solventy note in the finish!

As i say note a bad beer but not one I will be rushing out to buy again - knew I should have picked up the Hobgoblin from http://www.wychwood.co.uk/ instead. Anyway as for a score i would say an average 7 /10.

More info available at http://www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk/

Chivas 1801

A bottling that came out I believe it had something to do with Chivas revolve but slightly different - the bottles were "well" different! Any way here goes!

Nose: Initial sweet vanilla grain - but in a good way! Also some dry hay notes and a little bit musty with a thick side of caramel!

Taste: Oxymoron of a dram thick and thin at the same time! Grassy but with some heavier fruity notes - touch of sherry - god forbidden - this is not a bad dram!

Comment: This is not a bad dram but it is nothing great either - and to be honest I probably wont remember it in the morning! Fun at the time but no real commitment!

Non-Chilfiltered Whisky - MJ's view

I came across this quote today by the late great Micheal Jackson and thought that I could not sum up what non-chilfiltered whisky is all about if I had a hundred years and thesaurus to come up with it.

"unchill-filtered whisky as a dram for those who like their meat on the bone and crust on their bread."

The man was a genius! Beats my its like the difference between full fat milk and semi-skimmed hands down!

Glenmorangie 18yo

Was just in a bar that claimed to have a decent whisky list - note the term claimed! So i picked a dram that I haven't had for a while, namely Glenmorangie and in this case the 18 year old. I believe this bottling is no longer available in the new wine bottle Glenmorangie range - not that I am that bothered after trying this was this. I must point out that this was tried in a hotel bar this evening that makes me want to have a rant about how shite hotel bars can be -but I will save that for another day! - so it was served in a big as tumbler so maybe I am being unfair on it. Anyway here goes!

Nose: Light soft and creamy but nothing jumping out at all. Some vanilla and a touch of bourbon biscuits.

Taste: Tastes a little bit watery, touch of typical pear drops but soft and quite a lot of vanilla.

Finish: Short - very short! Slightly musty - infact stale custard creams!

Comment: Not a huge fan of this could have been a good dram if it had some balls about it - very much a featherweight. Nothing really wrong but yet nothing really right!

Score: 76/100

Malt Maniac Awards 2007

The results of this years Malt Maniac Awards have just been announced over at http://www.whiskyfun.com/ You have to respect these awards as they are judged by real whisky drinkers from around the world - completely blind and without any hidden agendas.

Have to agree with most of there results - if the Carsebridge is anything as good as the one I reviewed in November then it is a worthy winner. http://malthead.blogspot.com/2007/11/dtc-carsebridge-1979-28yo-cask-33026.html

Also I tried the Karuizawa 'Vintage' 1981/2007 recently and it is a cracker - I have ordered a bottle and will review it when it arrives.

3rd Highland Park Ambassodors Cask Released

Gerry Tosh has picked his 3rd Ambassadors cask of Highland park following "the first two selected selling out in a matter of months". Not really difficult you would suspect considering the amount of places Maxxium sell too!

This time he has picked cask 9035 from 1974 and it has been bottled at cask strength of 44.8% ABV as a 33yo. Old Highland Park is always good and I will definitely try this if the opportunity arises. Although at £95.00 per 35cl it will probably be by the shot rather than the bottle!

http://www.highlandpark.co.uk/shop/whisky.asp