Pot Noodle and Port Ellen

Sometimes we just want to kick back forget about the world and have a simple drink. Normally I steer clear of ice! Fecking numbs the flavours – interestingly JW gold label was recently written about in a newspaper, as the best way to drink it was to stick it in the freezer over night!

Anyway as I ramble on sometimes I do like to keep things simple so tonight I filled a tumbler with ice and filled it up with a decent glug of Woodford’s reserve one of my favourite American whiskies. What a great way to unwind. What I am trying to say here is that although we can enjoy the so called finer things in life – what is there to stop us liking things that are frowned upon by the high and mighty of society.

Glenfiddich is a classic example of this, Glenfiddich is a good everyday drinking whisky and it has some bloody good example – 15yo Solera is a cracker although I wish it would be bottled at cask strength – if you can ever get to the distillery and drink it straight from the Solera vat. Anyway as this is the best selling malt whisky in the world people knock it, “oh that crap” and other lesser printable quotations – well to hell with if people like it then so what – let them drink what they want rather than be lead by what someone else’s opinions to drink a whisky that they don’t enjoy.

No disrespect to the great whisky writer such as Jackson, MacLean and Murray but just because they give something 6 million point and something else 3 points doesn’t mean you should shy away from drinking something that you like just because that’s the case. Nor does it mean that you can not appreciate quality when you see it. Just because I like Pot Noodles – particularly the Nice and Spicy ones (89 points) as opposed to the new limited edition fajita flavour (83 points) – doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate a good Port Ellen or for that point spot a bad Port Ellen – as much as this is a cult whisky there is a lot of crap Port Ellen on the go – there is however a lot more exceedingly good Port Ellen on the go though.
Reminds me of a time when I fell in love in a bar in Sweden – how often do stories start out like that I wonder. Anyway I was in a bar in Sweden drinking Port Ellen and chatting to the barmaid and she recommended a particularly Belgian beer worked particularly well with the particular Port Ellen I was drink – and low and behold it worked perfectly – and with that I asked the stunning barmaid to marry me. Ok I would have done if she hadn’t just introduced me to her boyfriend. Still wish I could remember what the beer was!

Wisers Very Old 18yo Canadian Whisky

Never really given Canadian whisky much thought - don't suppose many of us have. However I recently tries the 18yo from Wiser and was very impressed. It is an 18yo bottled at 40% ABV and I have heard that you can buy a bottle for as little as $32 Canadian - thats about £15.00 in real money! If only we could get Single Malt at that price. Anyway this was a cracking wee whisky lots of sweet vanilla notes and a huge toffee finish. I wish i could have tasted it properly to make proper notes but sometimes you would look too much like a geek to do this! All I will say is if you see this definately try it - I know I will the next time I see it.

Highland Park 1967 Half and Half Cask

An article from todays Thee Drinks Business Newsletter

"Something unique for single malt collectors: Highland Park has bottled half of a single cask from 1967, with plans to bottle the remainder at the end of the year. By early next year, therefore, a 38 and a 39 year old bottling of the same single cask will be available. In addition, this is the oldest exceptional cask ever bottled by Highland Park. Each bottling consists of just 200 bottles."

So for this I imagine they will be charging a pretty penny, if recent official bottlings are of old whisky are anything to go by. So an interesting concept bottling the same cask twice so that people have to buy both bottle to see if that extra 6 months makes any difference. Will be interesting to see how they manage to get 400 bottles from a cask, after all those years I imagine the angels would have had more than there fair share. Most other bottlings of 1966 (Older than this oldest bottling!) and 1967 from the likes of Signatory, Duncan Taylor and The Whisky Exchange yielded only around 138-227 bottles from the whole casks. Maybe they were wrapped in clingfilm!

Muckle Flugga - Shetlandish Whisky

So finally Blackwood distillers have started to produce a Shetland Whisky to go with there Shetland Vodka and there Shetland Gin!!! OK so non of it has ever seen Shetland but good to see that things are moving in the right direction! (The Gin is cracking stuff by the way - especially the 60% version)

Will be interesting to see what this whisky will be like but I suspect that it is going to be so rudicolously over priced that I will never get to taste it?

http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/pages/news%20stories/11_2006/shetland_whisky_sold,_sight_unseen.htm

I wonder if Distilling will ever happen in Shetland - they certainly have been very successful with there Gins, Vodkas and Jago Liqueur so do the really need to invest in a distillery for 10 years before they make any money - I'm not so sure but we will see - I wish them luck but I won't be holding my breath!

Bruichladdich 1966 Cask 199

Got the chance to try this the other day, and was very glad to get the chance - I think that this may be the first time I have reviewed a whisky that has been on the legendery website of Serge www.whiskyfun.com all be it he did it in April.

Any way here goes:

Bruichladdich 1966 - cask 199 - 42%

Nose: Sweet, lots of vanila with a touch of Liquorice and Lemon
Taste: Dry peat smoke, coastal with zingy cirtusy notes.
Finish: Lingering lemon coastalness - with a fresh oakiness
Comment: An old whisky with a young heart.

Score: 91/100

An absolutely top drawer whisky and ok so well out of price range per bottle I would say that it is certainly value for money if such a thing can be said for a whisky just shy of £200.00 a bottle.

For a far better review read Serge's review, http://www.whiskyfun.com/archiveapril06-2.html#180406

Queen Of Moorlands Rare Cask Springbank 1991

An Earl Grey Committee bottling from the wine shop in Leek a very limited bottling one of only 36 bottles. This was bottled in 2005 at 46% a cracking wee dram it is too.

Nose: Sweet, orangey, creamy (milk chews) and a touch coastal.
Taste: Sweet, oily very rich more orange peel and gooseberries notes and quite salty and dying.
Finish: Long touch of creamy oakiness and lingering coastalness.
Comment: As I said above this is a cracking dram.

Score: 91/100

Shame there is no more of this left am sure the Committee will pick some more cracking casks soon. www.wineandwhisky.com

Lonach Caperdonich 1968

Got a bottle of this from the whisky shop in Dufftown, have to say that I am always a huge fan of underdog whiskies such as Caperdonich, Scapa, Miltonduff, Glenallachie and the likes so I was
I couldn't resist when I saw this bottle on the shelf,

Caperdonich 37-1968 40,3% Lonach Label

Nose: Lots of fruitiness - apples and other stewed fruits.
Taste: Touch of oak, oranges and more grassy appley notes.
Finish: Light and freshing and a little oakiness.
Comment: A very refreshing whisky - very fresh with just a touch of oak showing its elderly years.
Score 90/100

Scores extra points for the fact that it was only £53.00 a bottle a bargain for a cracking whisky especially one this old. Would definately say you should try this - but I also say you should try all Caperdonichs!