Non Progressive Hebridean Distillers!

Bruichladdich Not For Girls Either!

Had to laugh when I read this on google alerts today - when commenting on the success of their new Gin Mark Rainer attributed their success to the fact that the distinctive spirit - infused with 31 flavourings - is being snapped up by women "used to their husbands going on about whisky"

Ok it may have been taken out of context but don't men like gin? And is Bruichladdich not appreciated by women? The scary thing about this post is that i am half way down a bottle of Darcy's view at the minute so therefore I probably thought it was funnier than it actually is!

I just find this a very backward way of thinking for a "progressive Hebridean distillery" that said can't wait to try their Gin!

Must post some Gin reviews soon!

Connemara Turf Mor 58.2%

I have long been a fan of Irish whiskey (Green Spot, Redbreast and to be honest Paddy being particular favourites), and I must say I have liked what has been coming out of Cooley over the years so I was delighted to recieve this sample from Cooley. I tried this quickly one Saturday morning on a particularly heavy day of whisky sampling and it stood up well so I thought it was about time that I tried it properly. This is the Peatiest expression of Cooley so far at over 50ppm and is limited to under 20,000 bottles. So lets give it a try.

Nose: Fresh, peaches, touch medicinal, corned beef (in a good way) lemons and olive oil. White chocolate, oatcakes and distant smoke. A touch of pancetta comes through.

Taste: Big - but smooth at the same time! This is is the smokiness builds up but is not over powering. some autumn leaves comes through, cigar smoke and then a light grassy note emerges. Lime zest, some shortbread notes and again that olive oil note comes through.

Finish: Initially the finish is not as long as you may expect but then it builds mainly at the front of the mouth. Quite ashy in the finish but again not over powering. There is lots of grassy Herby notes emerging also and then becoming quite oily.

Comment: This is really good, I like it a lot. What I would say is that for a delicate base whisky it stands up well to the obvious peat assault. At 58.2% the alcohol doesnt over power either and the addition of water only softens things slightly. Personally I like it straight. Anyway at 20,000 bottles it may not be a hugely rare bottle but I will be searching this one out.

Score: 88/100

Bowmore 15yo Darkest 43%

Distillery bottlings of younger Bowmore and to be honest younger Bowmore in general have been given a hard time from "people" in the so called know! French Whoores Perfume FWP and all that. And I have to admit at times I have fallen into this trap myself on a few occassions and have probably stayed clear of distillery bottlings for too long. Bar the old stuff which is incredibly good! That said some of the IB bottlings from the early 90's onwards have also been stunning.

Anyway I was given the Bowmore 15yo Darkest blind and I thought it was bloody good. That said it was at the end of a boozy meal so I thought I would try it again in a more controlled environment. Here goes!

Nose: Sweet, smoked Bavarian cheese, brown sugar and syrup. touch of smoked eel! Dry hay and crab meat.

Taste: Soft oranges, soft peat. Very sweet. marmalade, butterscotch angel delight.

Finish: Lightly smoke and a little dry granite. A little bit chewy and touch of grapefruits.

Score: 86/100

Comment: A decent enough dram perhaps not as good as I remembered it. I will quite happily drink this - probably quite a lot of it - but if this had been at 46% or at cask strength this could have been a belter!

Glenfiddich Snow Pheonix

Glenfiddich are showing that there is not a trick to be missed when it comes to creating a new bottling. There new Snow Pheonix is only available to members of the Glenfiddich explores club and as there was only 1000 bottles available then it is likely to sell out very quickly. I had actually joked with people that there will be an official bottling to commemorate the big sna' of 2009 but I never thought that it would be Glenfiddich. I suppose fair play to them and they are donating money to the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue team so it has to be a good thing!

One thing I will say it is much more limited than the Don Ramsey bottling they did a few years ago which was limited to something crazy like 274 casks!

Benriach to buy Black Bottle - well I could be wrong!

Meant to post this the other day when I saw this article in the Scotsman stating that Benriach are looking to buy a global blended whisky to help them move forward. Just putting 2 and 2 together and probably getting 74 but wouldn't black bottle be a good fit for them?

Black Bottle I think is currently owned by CL Brands who are in real trouble - word has it that Bunnahabhain is in real need of investment but little money is available for standard up keep of the distillery. With Billy Walker's Burns Stewart background and therefore understandable knowledge of the Black Bottle brand could this be a possible fit?

As I say it may be pie in the sky but if I am right you heard it here first. I imagine something will be announced that they have bought shortly as I doubt it is coincidence that Benriach say they want a blend without having an iron in the fire somewhere.

Ardbeg Double Barrel - Back with a bang

Well I have not been on here for a long long time so thought I would come back with a bang! Oh so many puns. Anyway I got the chance to the Ardbeg Double Barrel 1974. I was quite excited but I think I may have been put off a bit by the price. I have a small sample of each of them left so will try them again and see if I change my opinion. So here goes

Ardbeg 1974 Cask 3528 44.3%

Nose: initially very fruity, before the smoke grabs you. But then it disappears and becomes softer, smoked cheese maybe? Very soft tropical fruits.



Taste: Big wet ash hits you, some soft lime notes and a salty creaminess.


Finish: Lots of smoked cheese, a whiff of oil and pancetta

Comment a bloody good dram although a little one dimensional, I feel a little let down buy this due to the cost.

Score 88/100




Ardbeg 1974 Cask 3160 49%

Nose: Softer on the nose than the other cask. A creamy white chocolate note, gooseberries, and soft dull peat smoke.

Taste: Bigger on the taste, much more smokey and drier and with a hint of green chillies mixed with lime. Also soft custard creams.

Finish: long – bloody long, very industrial harbour and very dry. Also a faint hint of oranges.

Comment: Again a bloody good dram with a bit more to it than cask 3160

Score 89/100

Too Long

Once again I have neglected this site! I will try and get some new posts up and running again soon. So watch this space. It is my intention to get back on top of whisky again and start tasting more often - well to take notes whilst tasting again!