Category: Scotch
Master of Malt North British 20-Year
The opportunity to taste a straight, grain scotch whisky – with no malt whisky included – is very rare. You almost never see such a whisky bottled on its own, and if you do it’s going to be an unusual, and limited, bottling from an independent bottler. Since I joined the Society several years ago, I’ve seen a couple of bottlings come and go. But outside of that, during the number of years that I’ve had an avid interest in scotch, I’ve run across only a very small handful.
The reality is that, of the many millions of gallons of scotch grain whisky that are produced each year, nearly all of them go into blended whiskies. And so, in the end, while grain whisky is drunk in phenomenal proportions by whisky drinkers every year, most of us know next-to-nothing about the grain whisky distilleries themselves. While malt whisky distilleries each have their own unique brands and stories, grain whisky distilleries quietly and anonymously (to most whisky drinkers) do what they do best, producing oceans of relatively neutral grain whisky to fill the needs of whisky blenders.
But, in reality, many of these grain whisky distilleries have interesting and compelling histories of their own. And, as it turns out, their whisky can be pretty interesting in its own right.
North British Distillery is a good example. It was founded in 1885 by Andrew Usher who had begun experimenting with the blending of whisky in the 1840′s, and in the 1850′s had released arguably the first blended whisky, Usher’s Old Vatted Glenlivet. By the 1880′s, Andrew Usher & Co. were competing with the Distiller’s Company, and so in order to secure a consistent supply of their own grain whisky, North British Distillery was founded in Edinburg. After two years of construction and outfitting with the latest equipment, the distillery began operations in 1887, and quickly ramped up production, distilling 3.6 million gallons of whisky a year beginning in 1888.
Prohibition hit the distillery hard, with production falling to as little as 1.2 million gallons in 1932, and it wasn’t until 1955 that production reached the 1914 level of 2.5 million gallons. Since then, the distillery has been stable and production has steadily increased to the stunning figure of 16 million gallons per year today. And with the closing of Caledonia Distillery in 1988, North British remains the only grain whisky distillery still operating in Scotland’s capital city today.
Today, North British is one of just 7 operating grain whisky distilleries:
- Cameronbridge
- Girvan
- Invergordon
- Loch Lomond
- Port Dundas
- Strathclyde
Its grain whisky features prominently in several brands, including the Famous Grouse, Johnnie Walker, J&B, and Cutty Sark. And, as with this one, the occasional bottling of straight North British whisky from an independent bottler. In this case, the bottler is Master of Malt, a retailer and independent bottler located in the UK.
Tasting Notes
This is a single-cask, cask-strength whisky that was distilled on January 22nd, 1991 and aged in a first-fill bourbon cask until being bottled on the 14th of October, 2011. It was bottled at 54.1%.
The whisky’s color is a pale, green-tinted gold. The nose has notes of coconut, lemon, and vanilla. Adding some water brings out notes of mint and lime. The palate has an oily, cocoa butter texture, with rich flavors of coconut custard, creme brûlée, and white chocolate, underscored by a slight, citrus astringency. Alongside those flavors, the overwhelming impression is of a very smooth and gently powerful whisky. The relatively long finish brings the same spectrum of soft, sweet flavors.
All in all, the flavors are very reminiscent of bourbon and American oak, especially with those vanilla, coconut, and cocoa butter elements.
I’ve never had a straight grain whisky before, and certainly never a single cask, cask strength one. But I have to say, this is pretty interesting, and pretty good. Very dessert-like; creme brûlée with a dollop of coconut whipped cream on top. Enjoyable, with all that sweetness minus the cloyingness that a bourbon can have. I would be very happy to have a bottle of this in my whisky cabinet.
Note: This sample was graciously supplied to me by Drinks By The Dram.
Kilchoman Summer 2010 3-Year
In the small (yet growing) group of small Scottish distilleries, Kilchoman is perhaps the tiniest. But what else would you expect from a distillery that is only 6 years old, is located on the small island of Islay off Scotland’s southwest coast, and was built on a farm (Rockside Farm)?
I still remember learning about Kilchoman back in 2004, before the distillery had even begun to produce its own whisky. Kilchoman, founded in 2001 by Anthony Wills, was the first new distillery on Islay in 124 years, and they didn’t begin distilling until 2005, after several years of acquiring and installing equipment and hiring staff.
At the time, I was heavily into Islay whiskies, the smokier the better, and so after having fully explored all 7 of them at the time (Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Laphroaig, Caol Ila, and Lagavulin), the thought of one more Islay distillery was really exciting. Unfortunately, their whisky was many, many years away, and so was really nothing more than a figment of our (and Anthony Wills’) imaginations.
In 2006, I did end up getting my hands on some of Kilchoman’s whisky, after they’d released a small batch of 50ml bottles of their new make spirit. What surprised me most was how smooth and very drinkable it was, while still being satisfyingly smoky.
Fast forward to 2009, and Kilchoman released their first Scotch whisky (as the younger whisky couldn’t properly be called Scotch because it was too young – whisky must be aged at least 3 years in oak barrels to be called Scotch), a 3-year old finished in Oloroso sherry butts. They followed this up with another 3-year old, released in (and accordingly named) Summer 2010. Their most recent release was the “100% Islay”, a whisky distilled from barley grown on Islay and malted at the distillery itself.
This last whisky is indicative of the unique path that Kilchoman is taking. They are not only small, they embrace being small. They strive to take advantage of some of the unusual opportunities available to them on account of their size, such as malting some of their own barley, and to capture Wills’ vision of “a small farm distillery that used only local ingredients, malted its own barley, and would benefit from the iconic Islay pedigree.”
Today, Kilchoman produces 100,000 liters a year, up from 40,000 in 2006. They produce a smoky whisky, with the malt measuring 20-25ppm phenols, accomplished by virtue of 12 hours of exposure to peat smoke before the malt is finished drying via indirect oil fire. The young whiskies are quite drinkable, which may have something to do with the shape of their stills. According to stillman Tony Rozga, “[the stills] are a great shape with lots of space to help the vapours calm down before they hit the condenser.”
What with all the good reviews that I’d read, and this being my first chance to taste aged Kilchoman whisky, I was pretty excited to try this dram.
Tasting Notes
This was a small sample graciously supplied to me by Drinks By The Dram*. It was bottled at 46%.
In the glass, the whisky is a pale, shimmery, white gold. The nose is beautifully smoky with lots of charred wood and smoke accompanied by notes of burnt sugar, peppermint, and white chocolate. The palate is rich and warm, earthy and very smoky, with sweet vanilla and brioche. On the finish, the bite of young whisky rears its head, but doesn’t overshadow the cloud of smoke that slowly gives way to a subdued sweetness.
On the whole, this is pretty smooth for such a young whisky, with flavors that are unabashedly smoky, and balanced by a nice combination of mint and chocolate. It very much makes me look forward to an older version of Kilchoman, and I wouldn’t argue against some of that Oloroso finishing they used for earlier releases.
*Drinks By The Dram is actually a pretty neat online whisky shop. I’d seen their site a year or so back and was impressed that they were offering single drams of whisky (e.g. 3cl bottles) for sale, in many cases whiskies that were rather rare. At the time, their selection was good, but today it’s pretty downright impressive. Lots of hard to find bottlings and lots only released in the UK are available by the single dram, which is especially beneficial for those of us here in the US. For a modest cost, we can sample whiskies otherwise unavailable to us. For instance, this and this. Exceptional whiskies both, extremely rare, and bottles prohibitively expensive. But a single dram’s worth is a great opportunity for a whisky lover. They’re definitely worth checking out.
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Aberlour A’bunadh Batch #32
Aberlour A’bunadh is simply a remarkable whisky, on multiple accounts. On the one hand, it is lip-smackingly good, and is unequivocally one of the finest scotch whiskies available (from any distillery or independent bottler). On the other, not only is it so stunningly good, but it is also a regular bottling from Aberlour, and is very reasonably priced. Taken as a whole, these elements all add up to this being a remarkable, standout whisky.
Aberlour is a Speyside distillery, located – unsurprisingly – in the town of Aberlour. The town, sometimes referred to as “Charlestown of Aberlour” (after its founder, Charles Grant), is also the home of Walker’s Shortbread, a Scottish export likely as famous a Scottish as the product of any distillery. Robin Laing considers this area the “true heart of Speyside whisky country”, as it’s also home to Macallan, Craigellachie, Benrinnes, Glenallachie, and the Speyside Cooperage.
The distillery was originally established in 1826, before being relocated and rebuilt on a nearby site in 1879. The new buildings were designed by the famous (in Scotch whisky circles) architect Charles Chree Doig, and feature the pagoda on the roof of the maltings that he is renowned for. Aberlour has undergone two expansions since then, in 1898 (after a fire) and 1973, and today produces a very healthy 3.5 million liters per year.
A few elements of their production process stand out, including:
- They only use Scottish barley, sourcing it from 3 different locations
- The malt is lightly peated, at only 2ppm
- The ABV of the spirit when it goes into casks is 69.1% (as opposed to the more common 63.5%)
- They use a high percentage of sherry casks, anywhere from 25-50%, with the remaining being bourbon casks
- They use cork bungs for their casks, as opposed to wood, which apparently requires special permission to be granted by Customs & Excise
Their use of sherry casks plays a particularly prominent role in the making of A’bunadh. “A’bunadh” means “the origin” in Gaelic, and the whisky is a tribute to James Fleming, who had rebuilt the distillery in 1879. It’s intended to represent the type of whisky that Fleming would have been familiar with back then. As such, it is a vatted bottling whose average age is relatively young (ranging from 8-15 years old). It is bottled at cask strength, is not chill-filtered, and only contains whisky from Oloroso sherry casks.
Any one of those taken independently would make for a potentially good whisky, but put them together and the end result is nothing short of wonderful. A’bunadh is, in my estimation, easily the best single-malt scotch produced as a year-round bottling in any distillery’s portfolio. What’s more, the batches are remarkably consistent, and consistently wonderful.
Tasting Notes
This is a bottle from batch #32 of Aberlour A’bunadh. It was bottled in 2010 at 60.4%.
In the glass, this whisky is a deep, rich, golden amber with long legs. The nose is wonderful, rich and room filling with notes of polish, beeswax, pears, melons, golden raisins, shortbread, and brown sugar. The palate has a soft mouthfeel, with richly sweet and buttery flavors. The spectrum is similar to the nose, with amplified intensity and power. Flavors of marzipan and oranges are thrown into the mix, as the palate bristles and hums with layers of flavor. The finish is very rich, and very long…
I don’t think there’s much more to say about this whisky. There’s a very reasonable argument to be made that it should have a permanent place on your whisky shelf. Just sayin’.
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Glen Scotia 17-Year SMWS Cask 93.37
At one point in time, Campbeltown was a hive of distilleries and whisky, with over 30 distilleries dotting its small landscape. Move forward just less than a century, and no area of Scotland has been hit as hard by the loss of distilleries, to the point that author Brian Townsend refers to it as the “Detroit of Scotch whisky” in Scotch Missed. Today, only 2 remain in Campbeltown, the well-known and highly-regarded Springbank, and the much lesser-known, and harder to find Glen Scotia. Whereas Springbank has expanded in recent years, upping their production and reviving long-lost brands Longrow and Hazelburn, Glen Scotia has struggled to stay alive. This distillery that once produced over 386,000 liters per year when Alfred Barnard visited in 1885 distills less than a third of that amount today.
Glen Scotia was established in 1833, and experienced a steady first century of operations before being mothballed from 1927-1935, then again from 1984-1989 and 1994-2000. It’s been distilling consistently for the last decade, although at a significantly lower output than previously. The distillery today has a production staff of just three that manages to output approximately 100,000 liters a year.
Given its output, it’s no surprise that Glen Scotia is a pretty small distillery. They source all of their malt from Greencore Maltings in southwest Scotland. The malt is lightly peated, producing a smokiness in the whisky akin to that of their Campbeltown neighbor Springbank. The distillery has 1 mash tun, 6 washbacks, and just 1 wash still and 1 spirit still. The whisky is aged in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, in the onsite warehouse that holds 7500 casks.
While Glen Scotia has typically been rare as a single malt, it has shown up during the last couple of years as a 12-year old in new packaging. So presumably the current owners are trying to raise the profile of this whisky. Sadly, it’s priced rather steeply, at ~$70 the last time that I saw it. Considering the range of other whiskies available in the 10-12 year ages that run considerably less, I can’t help but think that’s asking too much. Too bad, because I’d love to try the official distillery bottling.
Yet you absolutely can’t go wrong sampling Glen Scotia in the form of a Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling. This particular bottling, number 93.37, was named “Paris to Dakar rally dram” by the Society’s tasting panel. It’s from a refill bourbon barrel, and is one of only 183 bottles filled at 64.3%. As usual, the tasting panel’s notes are wonderfully evocative: “the palate takes your breath away – over-heated car engines balanced by candy sweetness. Even with water, it suggests chillies fried on an exhaust manifold.” For more on this whisky’s namesake, the classic Dakar Rally, you can read here.
Tasting Notes
As I mentioned above, this is a 17-year old whisky, aged in a refill bourbon cask and bottled at 64.3%.
The whisky is the color of light gold with subtle amber hues. The nose truly has whiffs of diesel, mint, burnt sugar, salt water, and grassiness. The palate is a blend of smoke, seaweed, salted caramel, and rich butter cookies, all composed against the backdrop of an oily, mouth-coating texture. The finish is all exhaust fumes, melted butter, and muscovado sugar.
The power of suggestion? Or the flavors I truly tasted in this whisky? Perhaps a bit of both. No doubt, this whisky does speak of exhaust and sweetness in the same breath, and it has a wonderful texture. I’d always wanted to taste Glen Scotia whisky, and this was a great introduction I’m sure. I’m also fairly convinced that the whisky carried such a combination of exhaust and sweetness by virtue of the high proof it was bottled at (64.3%, meaning that it gained 1.8% from the 62.5% that the distillery fills their casks to). My fear with the distillery bottling is that after dilution, the whisky would lose the brawny, supercharged character that it has here.
Of course, I suppose there’s only one way to find out!
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Glen Elgin 10-Year SMWS Cask 85.20
Scotch whisky never ceases to amaze, intrigue, and excite me. Over the past few months, life (i.e., our move to Portland Oregon) has intervened in a pretty significant way, and as a result my writing has diminished notably. One of those cases of my brain only being able to generate so much energy, and something having to be put aside. In this case it was writing that fell by the wayside. That’s not to say that I haven’t been lucky enough to taste some amazing beverages, and I have been taking notes and preparing to do some writing. So I still hope to revisit some of the more notable items that have crossed my lips of late.
But I digress, I was talking about scotch. During our recent trip home to see friends and family during the holidays, I had the good fortune to sample a handful of whiskies, and was struck (yet again) by the incredible diversity that scotch can embody. From a smoky, pungent whisky, to a sweet, decadent spirit, and everything in between. It’s simply remarkable stuff, and when you taste a great whisky it can really open up your eyes, relax your neurons, and elicit a very satisfied, happy “aaahhh…” from you.
Such was the case this evening. A long day at work, a long run after work, and my brain and body were feeling pretty worn out. Inspiration led me to pour a dram of this whisky from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, and all it took to send my thoughts into reveries was raising the glass to my nose and inhaling its aroma. This is a fine, fine whisky.
Glen Elgin is a somewhat less-well-known distillery, which is somewhat surprising considering that they are owned by Diageo and are part of the Classic Malts Series (although it only became part of the series recently, when it replaced Cragganmore as the Speyside representative). Established in 1898, and built between 1898-1900 at the cost of 13000 pounds, the distillery began operations on May 1st 1900. The timing was incredibly awful though, as the famous Pattison Crash occurred right at this time, and only a year later the distillery was sold for a mere 4000 pounds. The distillery was sold again in 1907, before eventually landing in the portfolio of the Distillers’ Company Limited in 1930, after which its history has seen nothing but smooth sailing.
In 1964, the distillery was expanded from 2 to 6 stills (although one source that I’ve seen indicates that there are 7 stills – 4 wash and 3 spirit – although I’ve not seen this anywhere else as of yet), and today this configuration is used to produce a significant 1.8 million liters of whisky annually. Much of this goes into the White Horse blend, with a small amount being bottled as single malt by its owners.
Two interesting notes about the distillery:
1. It was designed by the famous architect Charles Chree Doig, who designed 56 distilleries during his career. He was the inventor of the Doig Ventilator, the iconic pagoda that adorns each of his distilleries, and which improved the malting process by drawing off the peat smoke used while drying the malt.
2. Not only did the original owners have bad timing, their planning didn’t amount to much either. The original site of the distillery was chosen for its water source and close proximity to the railway line. Unfortunately the water source proved unreliable and permission for a railway siding was ultimately refused.
Tasting Notes
This is bottling number 85.20 from the SMWS, nicknamed “Woweee!”. It’s a 10-year old whisky, aged in a refill sherry butt. 650 bottles in total were produced, with each being bottled at 60.2%.
The whisky is gold with amber highlights. The nose is bursting with notes of candied orange peels, almonds, lemon balm, milk chocolate, marzipan cream, and toasty oatmeal. The palate is rich, velvety, and unctuous, with flavors of candied red fruits, sweet citrus, and hints of smoke. The sherry aging is prominent in the mesmerizing combination of melting, fruity sweetness accompanied by chewy, savory undertones. The lingering finish is reminiscent of the nose and palates, with chocolate and fruit leaving a lasting impression.
What. A. Whisky. I simply adore the whiskies from the Society. To a T, each is so individual, unique, and brings such a presence and personality to the glass. This whisky is no exception. Wonderful stuff, a bottle I will continue to revisit even (or especially?) during the most exhausting and busy of times!
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