New releases > Old Pulteney WK209 'Good Hope'

The Old Pulteney distillery is the most northerly mainland distillery in Scotland. Located near to the Highland fishing town of Wick, it lies around 15 mile south of John O'Groats. Old Pulteney is currently owned by Inver House Distillers and has a production capacity of three million litres a year. The distillery was founded in 1826 by James Henderson and Wick was the the main European hub for herring fishing industry at that time. The distillery was named after Sir William Johnstone Pulteney, the herring industry's leading light of the day and this makes it one of the few distilleries to be named after a person. To read further information about the distillery and our visit there - click here.

Old Pulteney's core range consists of a 12, 17, 21 and 30 years old. The brand has grown massively in the last three years and this has seen Old Pulteney climb into the top 20 for world sales of single malts. Worldwide sales grew by 16% alone in 2008. This exclusive addition to the range is only available in the travel retail/Duty Free sector and is limited to 9,600 bottles. Each one litre bottle will retail at around the £35 mark and it has just been released.

Old Pulteney's new whisky is named after the trawler Good Hope (pictured, left), whose home port was Wick and carried the registration number WK209. It was built in 1948 and was the first trawler from Wick to use echo location technology to find schools of fish. The whisky has been bottled at an alcoholic strength of 46% ABV and has been entirely matured in European oak ex-sherry casks. The age is not stated, but is rumoured to be a mix of 8-12 year old whiskies, and WK209 follows on from the previous exclusive WK499 release, named after another trawler (the Isabella Fortuna). To read our review of WK499, click here.

Our tasting notes
The colour of WK209 is a vibrant golden yellow and the nose is fresh and promising. There is an immediate aroma of juicy sultanas, followed by some candied citrus peel (especially lemon, with a hint of orange) and crumbly brown sugar. With time aromas of stewed pear and apple appear, which are reminiscent of a fruit compote - this is further confirmed with a whiff of cinnamon and nutmeg spice. The increasingly complexity of the nose also includes aromas of rich butter and salty brine. On the palate, this feels clean, fresh and tangy with a very pleasant initial mix of the salty and sultana notes from the nose. Further dried fruits appear (think of raisin and a hint of candied orange peel), along with the crumbly brown sugar and stewed fruit compote characteristics. The initial sweetness of the palate is helped by a note of honey, before some drier elements turn it in a slightly different direction and add balance and depth. These include notes of toasted almond, wood spice (especially cinnamon) and further salty brine, which seems to increase with time and helps the whisky retain its freshness. The finish is slightly short but pleasant, with the same movement from the sweeter notes to the drier, spicier, saltier ones.

What's the verdict?
This whisky is lovely and offers something different from Old Pulteney. Most of their whiskies are matured in ex-bourbon casks or in a mix of ex-bourbon and sherry casks, so it is interesting to try one from purely ex-sherry casks. It has a pleasant and surprising freshness for a pure sherry cask matured whisky and the combination between the bracing signature saltiness of Old Pulteney and the dried fruity quality from the ex-sherry casks is excellent. WK209 also seems a cracking bargain for the price.

News > Penderyn launch Welsh Whisky Wednesdays

We are delighted to announce that Penderyn, the only Welsh single malt whisky, are today launching a new initiative - Welsh Whisky Wednesday. The aim of this new initiative is to raise awareness of Penderyn whisky and get more people to sample it, especially those who may not previously tried it or considered trying it. Each wednesday the Welsh distillery will be placing sampling bottles of Penderyn behind some of London's best bars and these venues will change each week. The venues will be announced each wednesday morning and the first two venues are the iconic whisky bar Albannach on Trafalgar Square and the Mint Leaf Lounge in The City.

So, how does it work? Firstly, you have to be over 18 years of age but otherwise it sounds easy! The sample of Penderyn is free to every consumer who comes to one of the venues between 5-7pm and mentions 'Welsh Whisky Wednesday' to the bar staff. They will then give you a complimentary dram of Aur Cymru ('Welsh Gold' in English) Penderyn whisky. This is limited to one dram per person. You don't need to book ahead, pay or buy anything else, join or sign up for a club - just turn up and ask for your free Penderyn dram!

As mentioned, Penderyn will be announcing the new promotional venues for Welsh Whisky Wednesday each wednesday morning. You can find these out via Penderyn's Facebook page or @PenderynWhisky on Twitter. For further information on the Penderyn distillery, go to their website www.welsh-whisky.co.uk or check out our distillery visit review and notes. Enjoy!

Have just tried > Laphroaig Triple Wood

Laphroaig (pronounced la-froyg) is one of the most famous whisky distilleries and names in the world. The name seems strange and is notoriously one of the hardest to pronounce correctly - it is derived from the Gaelic for 'beautiful hollow by the broad bay'. The distillery is located on the island of Islay, which lies off the western coast of Scotland. Laphroaig and Islay are both renowned for producing very smoky, peaty flavoured whisky. The distillery was founded in 1810 by two brothers, Alexander and Donald Johnson, and is currently owned by drinks corporation Beam Global. It has an annual production capacity of 2.9 million litres and they produce some of the peatiest, smokiest whiskies in the world. The Laphroaig 10 years old is also the best selling smoky whisky in the world.

This Triple Wood is a limited edition whisky which is exclusive to the Duty Free/Travel Retail sector. As a result, it is only available in one litre bottles and should cost approximately £55 (although we got it for the bargain '20% off price' of £44 at Aberdeen airport recently - not sure when that deal runs out ...). The Triple Wood name is derived from the fact that the whisky has been matured in three different types of cask - one standard ex-bourbon cask, one quarter cask (as the name suggests, these are a quarter the size of a regular bourbon cask and hold about 50 litres only) and then ex-Oloroso sherry casks. Essentially, it is similar to the Laphroaig Quarter Cask but finished in a sherry cask. The whisky is bottled at an alcoholic strength of 48% ABV and is only produced in small batches.

Our tasting notes
The colour of this Triple Wood is a rich golden amber and the nose is immediately expressive. There is intense earthy peat (think of damp moss) and a bitter hint of medicinal iodine, before these mellow to allow other notes through to create an intense combination - caramel, dark dried fruits (imagine raisins and prunes), honey, vanilla, oatcake biscuits and something herbal (think of dried grass and fresh bergamot leaves). On the palate, this softer than expected and feels creamy and rich, almost buttery. The rich peat smoke comes first again and is reminiscent of burning straw, damp moss and ashy embers. Then other elements appear and give great balance to the smoke - burnt sugary caramel, toasted almonds, honey, dried fruit, a hint of salty brine and a drop of bitter iodine. The finish is long, with the peat smoke burning away for ages like embers in a bonfire. Distinct iodine adds pleasant bitterness, as does a tang of salt, and these are tempered by some lovely sweet, fruity caramel.

What's the verdict?
Laphroaig Triple Wood is a lovely dram and a very good example of a peaty, smoky whisky. We love the Quarter Cask to which it is closely related and that is one of our favourite whiskies in the smoky style - this is different with the addition of the sherry cask maturation adding obvious sweetness, while softening the normally intense Laphroaig peat smoke. It takes away some of the robustness that some people struggle with. The high ABV level then counteracts this by intensifying some of the other non-peaty characteristics. Triple Wood is a wonderfully crafted, expressive and complex whisky.

New releases ... Balvenie 14 years old 'Golden Cask'

A Speyside classic
The Balvenie distillery is located in the famous whisky town of Dufftown in the heart of the Speyside region of Scotland. It is one of the largest and most famous scotch whisky distilleries in Scotland with an annual production level of 5.5 million litres. Balvenie is still owned by the original founders, the innovative William Grant & Sons, and it was built in 1892 to help their other overworked distillery at Glenfiddich. Balvenie is actually next door to Glenfiddich and is a unique distillery. They have their own floor maltings (a room used for the germination of the barley), a cooperage where they construct casks and they even grow some of the barley used in the distillery grounds. Most of these processes are carried out by external companies in the modern whisky industry.

A new exclusive whisky
Each year over 1.5 million bottles of Balvenie are sold across the world, putting it well inside the top 10 for total sales. All aspects of the Balvenie brand - its popularity and core range - continues to grow. The core range currently includes two 12 year olds (one called Doublewood and the other called Signature), a 15 years old from a single barrel, a 21 years old which has been part matured in a Port wine cask and a 30 years old. Other limited editions appear regularly and they also have some whiskies bottled exclusively for the duty free travel market, such as this Golden Cask. The Golden Cask is bottled at 14 years of age and has been part matured in Caribbean rum casks. It was released in February this years, has an alcohol strength of 47.5% ABV and is available in travel retail only. A bottle will cost £40-45, depending on where you find it.

Our tasting notes
The colour of this Golden Cask is a honey gold and the nose is fresh, perfumed and vibrant with plenty of captivating aromas - cereal grains, obvious vanilla, dried fruits (think of pear and something tropical, like mango), honey, coconut and a citrus-like edge (imagine orange zest or orange oil). The combination of aromas is excellent and tempting, making you want to just sit and sniff the whisky for ever. On the palate, this is fresh, juicy, sweet and intense. There is again obvious vanilla, oak, cereal grains and sweet honey. These are backed up by some more subtle elements such as orange zest, sandalwood and crumbly brown sugar, with some increasingly potent wood spices coming through towards the end (imagine nutmeg and cinnamon). The finish is again intense and begins sweetly (especially the vanilla and honey) before becoming much drier and spicier with lots of those wood spices and oak coming through.

What's the verdict?
Simple - this Golden Cask is a delicious whisky. It has a lovely balance throughout, especially when you consider the higher strength. The whisky mixes vibrant, fresh, sweet elements with more subtle, understated and spicy notes. This excellent balance means that it doesn't feel like it needs any addition of water - we tried it with water and it becomes a little sweeter, creamier and less spicy. Golden Cask is one of the best new whiskies of the year that we have tried to date and offers great value for money, which makes it a no-brainer next time you go through an airport.

Have just tried ... Old Pulteney 'Isabella Fortuna' WK499

The Old Pulteney distillery is the most northerly mainland distillery in Scotland. Located near to the Highland fishing town of Wick, it lies around 15 mile south of John O'Groats. Old Pulteney is currently owned by Inver House and has a production capacity of three million litres a year. It is also one of the most environmentally friendly distilleries with the excess thermal energy produced there being used to heat over 1000 local homes! The distillery was founded in 1826 and was named after Sir William Johnstone Pulteney, who was the biggest name in herring fishing at the time. This makes it one of the few distilleries to be named after a person.

Old Pulteney's core range consists of a 12, 17, 21 and 30 years old. The brand has grown massively in the last three years and this has seen Old Pulteney climb into the top 20 for world sales of single malts. Worldwide sales grew by 16% alone in 2008. This expression of Old Pulteney was first released last year and is exclusive to the travel retail/Duty Free sector. It is rumoured to include Old Pulteney whiskies of differing ages (between 8 and 12 years) and is bottled at 52% ABV. A one litre bottle should cost around £35.

The name Isabella Fortuna WK499 is taken from a herring trawler that served the port of Wick for over 80 years. The Isabella Fortuna was one of the longest serving boats ever - it was built in 1890 and fished for herring in the North Sea until being retired in 1976. She was registered to the port of Wick, , hence the code WK and 499 was her registration number. An etching of the boat appears on the bottle of this Old Pulteney.

The colour is light golden and the nose feels crisp, fragrant and very promising. There is an immediate hit of vanilla, fresh coconut and green fruit (imagine pears and apples) before a distinct maltiness (think of cereal grains) and a hint of saltiness (imagine salty sea air or brine) comes through. On the palate, the vanilla, coconut and green fruit are evident and it feels slightly heavier than the nose suggested. There is a creamy butter-like quality in the mouth and it is sweeter with a fudge/toffee note particularly prominent. The saltiness is also stronger and very brine-like and is joined by some tangy citrus (think of lemon zest). The combination of all these elements gives a slightly odd zingy, fizzy feeling that is reminiscent of sherbet or bicarbonate of soda and is, frankly, not very pleasant. This is disappointing, as the nose was very promising. However, the finish is more disappointing as it is bitter and dry, with woody and malty (think of the cereal husks especially) notes dominating. Adding water brought out more of the bitter, salty notes and while it softened that 'fizzy' feeling, it flattened out the enjoyable fresh, clean elements of the nose and early palate.

This Isabella Fortuna WK499 is definitely not one for the masses. If you like your whiskies crisp, salty, intense and tangy then it is one you should try, especially for the very decent price. If not, then you may find this hard going. The nose is lovely, the palate starts well but the dram gets progressively less enjoyable from there, which was disappointing given the early promise.

New releases ... Glenmorangie Sonnalta

Glenmorangie is a distillery located in the northern Highlands, close to the town of Tain on the Dornoch Firth estuary. The distillery and its brand name are world famous and they produce some of the globe's biggest selling whiskies there. The distillery was opened in 1843 and is now owned by multi national drinks giant, Moet Hennessy. Glenmorangie is one of Scotland's largest whisky distilleries, producing 4 million litres per year, and has the tallest set of stills in Scotland with each one standing over 5 metres (16.5 feet) tall. This height also means that only the purest and lightest spirit reaches the condenser and get collected for maturation.

Glenmorangie has a large core range of whisky. The Sonnalta (which means 'generous' or 'liberal' in Gaelic) is the first in a series of special releases that will be exclusively sold in the Duty Free/travel retail sector. The series is named 'Private Expressions' and this whisky has been matured in bourbon casks for 10 years and then transferred to Pedro Ximinez sherry casks for a further year. Pedro Ximinez is a very sweet grape variety that originated on the Canary Islands and was bought over to Jerez on the mainland of Spain by a man called Pedro Ximinez in the 16th century. He went on to produce a very sweet, dark and sticky style of sherry that is still made today. Sonnalta was released approximately two months ago, initially in South East Asia (which is where we picked up our bottle), and is now available in Duty Free stores around the world. A bottle should cost around £70 for a litre, dependant on the local exchange rate.

The colour is a lovely rich golden brown and the nose is fantastic. It is delicate with a combination of caramel-like sweetness, dried fruits (think of raisins and candied orange peel) and something dark (imagine high cocoa chocolate and espresso coffee). Vanilla is there also, as is some sweet malted barley. On the palate this explodes on your tongue and is full bodied, viscous and creamy. An intense pleasant sugary burst hits the front of your tongue and dies slowly to reveal the elements from the nose. It has a great mixture of vanilla, caramel (think of dark brown sugar), dried fruits (some apricot this time as well), a distinct nuttiness (imagine coconut), slightly bitter dark chocolate and coffee and, strange as it may sound, a tropical fruit element (something like mango or papaya). This tropical note carries on in the lengthy finish, which is just as intensely sweet, complex and fruity as the nose and palate. Some cinnamon spice comes through towards the end.

Sonnalta is a top quality whisky. There is so much going on and fighting for your attention on the nose, palate and finish yet it remains balanced. It has the feeling of a good dessert wine and would be great to have as an after dinner drink and sit with it long into the night. The initial sugary sweetness may not be to everyone's taste but a drop of water opens Sonnalta up well, taking it to an even higher level in my opinion. This is a real 'try before you die' whisky. Fantastic stuff.