Caol Ila 12yo 43%

I have always been a huge fan of Caol Ila - if I am honest it is probably my favourite Islay malt - although I can see in a few years time Kilchoman may be pushing it close as they have had some brilliant releases so far.

The 12yo distillery bottling has been on the go now for a number of years now since the legendary 15yo flora and fauna bottling was taken off the market. I was actually supposed to be on Islay at Caol Ila for the launch of the new Caol Ila bottlings but unfortunately my sister went and got married and I had to miss it (Not unfortunate that my sister got married - she is still happily married!).

Anyway the 12yo distillery bottling was not my favourite when it first came out and generally speaking I have always preferred independent bottlings of Caol Ila to the distillery bottling. That said I tried this again at Hogmany and was very impressed with it - in fairness it was at 5am on the 1st of January so not the best time to do tasting notes! So lets give it a try again:

Nose: Sweet, creamy, dry ash, lemon, olive oil, wet grass, white chocolate. With time becomes like rain on cement on a hot day (god when did I start writing such rubbish!)

Taste: Reasonable initial hit of peat, black pepper, lime, more olive oil and a touch chalky. Tastes a little bit like paracetamols! Some creaminess does emerge and then there is the (for me) typical lawnmower flavour of Caol Ila. More ashiness also develops.

Finish: A little clingy, quite chewy and oily but a slight sour note is a little unpleasant. More ash and also a touch of salt.

Comment: A decent dram from a very consistently good distillery - this whisky is good although not as good as I remembered it being on the 1st of January. If it wasn't for the slight chalkiness and the sour note this would be a cracker. Maybe if it was at 46% and not chillfiltered true Caol Ila would be allowed to shine through. Not bad but not a cracker.

Score: 83/100

On a side note - I actually got this bottle from my neighbour who had actually asked me to try the whisky as he thought it was off! He couldnt belive when I told him it was actually supposed to taste like that! He is very much a Speyside man! Was all good for me as I scored a bottle of whisky - well what was left at the end of the night!

Drunk as a couple of Monkeys!

Well we are in to 2011 and hopefully I will manage more than the 7 posts I managed in the whole of 2010! Must try harder. Anyway I was reading Bad Whisky by Edward Burns - a cracking book about the adulteration of whisky (and many other things) in Glasgow at the end of the 19th century and I came across a fact that I had never seen before. (I now see it was posted on Malt Maniacs in 2006 so I am a little behind the times).

Anyway the jist of the story is that two Monkeys helped to bring in the immature spirits - it was thought that the fusel oil in new make spirit was bad for the health and that by maturing whisky in wood it reduced the fusel oil in the spirit making it safer to drink.

To prove this theory two Monkeys were made drunk. The first got drunk on new make spirit and "was seen to become quarrelsome" which they put down to the Fusel oil which at the time was "well known for making men fighting drunk".

The second Monkey got drunk on aged whisky and it became "markedly hilarious". In the true spirit of science though when the monkeys sobered up they swich the drink that they had - the monkey that had been angry seemed to "cheer up" and the happy one to become "aggressive".

It is not recorded though how the could tell that the monkeys were sober or how long they left them before switching the drinks. It all makes sense really if you were drinking new make spirit all day and you could see your mate drinking matured whisky you would get a bit pissed off - but you would certainly cheer up seeing the smug grin later being taken off his face as they take away his old whisky and replace it with new make!

Any on the back of this Greenlees brothers released a whisky called The Monkey Special - sheer brilliance. If anyone sees a bottle I would definitely be interested in it! However a word of warning - it is amazing how many pictures come up in google when you search for pictures of drunk monkeys!

Does make you think though! Those guys that are always angling for a fight on a Saturday night maybe it is not their fault - its not that they have drunk to much alcohol they have just been drinking too much Fusel Oil!

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!

Glenglassaugh 21yo 46%

Was delighted to see Glenglassaugh reopening in November last year have had some really cracking whiskies from their in the past - a particular favourite was the 1973Family Silver bottling that came out a good few years ago. Anyway I know I am way behind the times in trying this but got the chnace to try the 21yo so here goes.

Nose: sweet, lemony, a little bit dry. Limeade, grape skins, peaches, green apples and faint raw mince!

Taste: quite drying, wet pencil shavings, a touch sour, more green notes coming through. Almost seems a little spirity but not - hints of stainless steel.

Finish: a touch of crayons (waxy) quite sour and again more metalic notes.

Comment: nice nose taste let's it down though. May need to retry a fresh sample some day but at this price unlikely to run out and buy a bottle.

Score: 80 / 100

For alternative reviews try, Whiskyfun or Whisky Pages

Price Checker

The Whisky Exchange - £135.00

Royal Mile Whiskies - £150.00

Loch Fyne Whiskies £144.00

Single Malts Direct - £145.00

Talisker 10yo RNLI Gift Pack

Ever feel guilty about buying yourself a bottle of whisky now you have the perfect excuse! Diageo have teamed up with the RNLI and are offering a limited gift pack in aid of the RNLI - a truely worthy cause. The proceeds from the sales of these bottles will go to help fund the RNLI which is purely charity based. It cost £378,000 a day to run the RNLI so what better excuse to buy a bottle. And what better excuse for me to taste one of my favourite drams - Talisker 10yo! Tasting notes will follow shortly.

Talisker, Arran, Highland Park, Scapa, Tobermory, Jura all Homeless

Having been reviewing the new SWA rules for Scotch Whisky - yes I know I need to get out more - I see that they have only protected 5 regions. Speyside, Highlands, Islay, Lowlands and Campeltown. So no mention of Islands which most people class as the sixth region so where does that leave these Islanders!

I know that the SWA (please note that there website is http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/ and not http://www.swa.org/ as I wrongly put in my address bar and ended up at the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach! ) reinstated Campbeltown as a region as it has 3 distilleries there now - does that mean that if a new distillery was put on Orkney that they would be an official region. Using that Arguement should, Rothes and Dufftown not be designated regions - what about making Longmorn, Miltonduff and Benriach into a region!

Just a thought!

Whisky For Everyone

Just came across this new blog - Whisky For Everyone - definately worth a look and much more active than I am!

Make sure you give them a look.

Octomore 140 parts per million!

I know this is a pointless post as most places have probably already sold out of this second batch of Octomore. They say it is peated to 140 ppm this really must be rocket fuel! At what stage does the peating level become so much that it akes no difference but it just over powers everything!

What my real concern is that can a 5 year old whisky really justify a £80.00 price tag. Obviously as places like royal mile whiskies have already sold out then surely it can. But say a Bunna 5yo came out or a Benromach or any other distillery for that fact bar maybe Ardbeg everybody would be up in arms about the price.

Anyway rant over.

Speyburn 10yo 40%

Two posts in a day! I must lie down!!! Speyburn is a stunning distillery nestled in the valley just out side the not so pretty combination plant in the village of Rothes, so how does the whisky stand up!

Nose: Hard boiled sweets - old fashioned ones! Green apples. Touches of lemon and flour?

Taste: Fairly thin, dried apricots and a little hot.

Finish: A touch of spice, not really much else.

Comment: Sorry but pretty average. I have tried some older Speyburns that I like but nothing about this really appeals to me!

Score: 75/100

Balblair 1997 43%

Not been on here for a while so thought that I should get the finger out and add some new notes - so here goes!

Nose: Sweet, lots of vanilla, creme brulee and hard toffee. Brown sugar and a touch of icing sugar. Some lime and Kiwis coming through and hints of shortbread - (Deans Shortbread)

Taste: A little fresh wood, vanilla warm toffos. Becomes more grassy with water.

Finish: A little bit drying, then a bit of that citrusy kiwi notes coming through.

Comment: A decent summer dram, I actually quite like this. Decent drinking whisky.

Score 87/100

Compass Box Hedonism 43%

It was announced today that Compass Box Hedonism had won best grain whisky in the world for the second year running at the world whisky awards - hosted by whisky magazine. So congratulations to them, however always being one to point out trivial points - should they have really won it? I am lead to believe that the WWA is only open to official bottlers so as an type of (and a very good one at that) independent bottler are they really eligible! Who cares! Their whisky is always good!

Nose: Very sweet, bags of vanilla. Sweet wood, pencil shavings and a hint of honey!

Taste: Again very sweet, lots of oak influence but very balanced. very creamy! A little bit of hay and cheap yellow vanilla ice cream! A hint of white chocolate.

Finish: A fairly short finish but very very soft. A hint of peach yoghurt and soft vanilla.

Comment: I find this whisky to be dangerously drinkable! On a warm summers evening this would be perfect outdoor sipping whisky. Perhaps a little one dimensional but then that is me being over picky! Great whisky.

Score: 89/100

Darlings Hits Drinkers Again - Duty on Whisky up 2%

I have not got the official figures from Mr Darling yet as to what the new duty rate will be but it says in several sources that it is to rise by 2%. Yet again hitting the whisky drinker in the pocket! All in all though most of this is psychologically damaging than actually financial for serious whisky consumers.

At present duty on spirits is £22.20 per litre of alcohol. 2% on this would increase the duty to £22.64 per litre of pure alcohol. So for a standard bottle of whisky 70cl x 40% Abv the duty will rise from £6.22 to £6.34 per bottle an increase of £0.12 per bottle. By the time you add VAT and say a retailers mark up this will equate to say £0.21.

So even if you were buy 1 bottle of whisky a week this will only see you out of pocket by £10.92!

So yes the budget is a pain in the arse and will cost us money but it is not as bad as people think. Many people think the price of the whole bottle will go up by 2% and that is where budget increases can be dangerous!

Laphroaig 15 No More

Just saw on Scotchwhisky.net that Laphroaig 15 year is no more and is going to be replaced by an 18 year old. I hope that this is at a resonable price some of the recent special releases from Laphroaig have been just too high for my price bracket.

On the other hand if you see some of the 15 year old grab it while you can - only 65 bottles left according to their press release!

Black Bull 30 Year Old Blended Whisky 50%

Those good people at Duncan Taylor sent me a wee sample of there new bottling so I thought that I best try it. Hint hint to anyone else that would like to send me stuff please email me at petelamb1970@aol.co.uk Well you got to try!

Any the Black Bull is 50% ABV and is a mixture of 50% malt whisky and 50% grain whisky. The whisky was married together shortly after distillation and then married together for 30 years in sherry butts. I am not sure how well Red Bull will take to them promoting a brand called Black Bull though!

Anyway lets try it and see what I think:

Nose: Warming, sherry, orange, hint of treacle toffee, stewed fruits and bizarely corned beef. Also flat warm cherry coke.

Taste: Big sherry, touch of oak some aniseed and cinammon. Becomes creamier with time. Doesn't taste 50% ABV. Definate chocolate notes (maybe cause I am just getting over easter eggs!).

Finish: A real mixture, slighty drying almost salty, becoming more creamy and a little bit spicy.

Comment: I like this a lot! The grain just adds a cracking creaminess that tames the the sherry. An ever changing dram one to take your time over.

Score: 92/100