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| Stewart Buchanan |
Welcome to Inbox - our weekly round up of whisky news and PR type material that has recently found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we will write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information if you want to. Here we go with this week's whisky news ...
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| Going for gold |
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| Black is back |
This Sunday is Father's Day in the UK and whisky is traditionally a popular choice as a gift. For many it may be the only time in the year that they purchase a bottle of whisky and it can be a daunting experience with the ultimate question being - which one of the vast array of bottles on the shelves is the right one to go for? Here is our quick guide and a few suggestions at different price points to help you purchase the correct present for your dad.
This is a classic single malt and the whisky that got me interested in whisky. It may be widely available but this doesn’t detract from its quality. The nose is full of rich, sweet fruits (peaches, raisins, sultanas) combined with vanilla, coconut, caramel and honey. The palate, this is so soft, mellow and creamy that your taste buds go into ecstasy. There is a glorious dried fruity sweetness (raisins, sultanas), distinct malty cereals, nuts (almonds), orange zest and a hint of woody spiciness (nutmeg, cinnamon). The finish is long, rich and deliciously sweet. An excellent whisky offering a gorgeous and complex drinking experience.
Fancy something non-Scottish? How about this single malt whisky from the only Welsh distillery? The nose is light and vibrant with vanilla, honey, fresh green fruits (apple, pear), cereals and dried fruits (sultanas). The palate feels creamy and velvety with initial oaky woodiness (cinnamon, nutmeg) quickly fading to caramel, malted barley, vanilla, green fruit and almond notes. The dried grassy note also appears later. The balance is lovely and the finish is long and refreshing, with the enjoyable sugary sweetness giving way to a nutty, slightly spicy and woody bitterness. Delicious, fresh and very more-ish.
This whisky is a single malt from the famous whisky island of Islay. Produced in the island’s famous smoky, peaty style, this whisky is a worldwide favourite. The nose offers a sumptuous, complex mix of sweet peat smoke (dried earth, moss), oak, leather, vanilla and dried fruit (sultanas, candied peel). There are also aromas of lapsang souchong tea and cloves. The palate is creamy, full bodied and slightly oily with a blast of smokiness (think bonfire), some damp moss, sweet vanilla plus hints of saltiness and menthol. The finish is long and dry with plenty of powerful peaty smokiness. A truly fantastic example of a smoky Islay whisky.
This whisky is a recreation of one from Shackleton’s ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic in 1907/08. The originals were found under the ice after 100 years. The nose is clean, attractive and elegant with subtle aromas - vanilla, butterscotch, green pear, apple, walnuts, baked oat biscuits, wood spice, burnt sugar and a whiff of dry peat smoke. The palate has tangy sweetness (orange zest, honey), followed by creamy richness (butterscotch, toffee) and finishes with peat smoke and warming wood spice (cinnamon, nutmeg). The smokiness carries in to a long, lingering and pleasant finish. Absolutely delicious.
If you fancy getting the cheque book out and spending about £300, then this old whisky is a stunning choice. The nose is intense with sweet notes (vanilla, toffee, brown sugar, dried fruits - raisins, dates and prunes) mixing with darker ones (treacle and dark chocolate). The palate is surprisingly vibrant for a whisky of this age. Wood spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg) are followed by sweetness (raisins, prunes, candied orange peel), butterscotch and brown sugar. This whisky is rich, intense and full bodied. The finish is long and lingering with plenty of dried fruits, wood spices and tannins. The combination is superb.Family owned
Glenfarclas is a distillery located in the Speyside region, close to the small town of Ballindalloch. It is owned by J&G Grant and is the second oldest family owned distillery in Scotland - the Grant’s have owned it since 1865. Only the Springbank distillery in Campbeltown has been owned by the same family line (the Mitchell family) for longer. Glenfarclas translates as ‘the valley of green grass’ from Gaelic. The distillery has an annual production capacity of three million litres and boasts the largest stills in Speyside. They are reknowned for their use of quality European sherry oak casks for maturation and release a comprehensive core range of single malt whisky. Glenfarclas was voted ‘Distillery of the Year’ in 2006.
Glenfarclas is one of Scotland's last single malt whisky distilleries that remains under the ownership of the family of the original founder. Meaning 'valley of the green grass' in Gaelic it was established in 1836, close to the town of Ballindalloch in the heart of the Speyside region. It is owned by J&G Grant and the current company directors are George and John Grant - the great grandson and great great grandson respectively of the founder John S. Grant.
Glenfarclas translates as the 'valley of the green grass' in Gaelic and is one of Scotland's last remaining single malt distilleries that remains under the ownership of the family of the original founder. It was established in 1836, close to the town of Ballindalloch in the heart of the Speyside region. It is owned by J&G Grant and the current company directors are George and John Grant - the great grandson and great great grandson respectively of the founder John S. Grant, whose name also appears on all their labels. Glenfarclas has the largest stills of any distillery in Speyside and produces three million litres of whisky per year. The majority of this is released as single malt and although it is popular in the UK, its main markets are in southern Europe, America and the Far East.
The Glenkeir Treasures are a range of whiskies that are exclusive to and independently bottled by The Whisky Shop, the UK's biggest whisky retail chain. The Whisky Shop has 13 stores located in England and Scotland and this new range is available in each shop or from the website http://www.whiskyshop.com/. The whiskies have been specially selected and purchased as single casks from a variety of distilleries and cover a spectrum of different flavours. Each whisky is bottled at cask strength, which combined with the low number of bottles available from the single cask, make them limited and very desirable.
Glenfarclas is one of a few distilleries in Scotland that is owned by the family of the original founder, John S. Grant. The current company directors, George and John Grant, are Grant's great grandson and great great grandson respectively. It was established in 1836, close to the town of Ballindalloch in the heart of the Speyside region. Their core range is extensive and was joined in 2007 by the release of the 'Family Cask' series. With this, Glenfarclas have taken just one cask from 43 consecutive years (1952-1994) and bottled the contents at the cask strength. The result is a collection of rare whiskies with some of the older casks from the 1950s producing very few bottles (the lowest is 110 bottles only). The prices reflect this with a 1952 bottle costing around £1250 and the entire set costing in the region of £15,000. It is very rare to get the chance to taste any of them (without buying one!), so when the opportunity came along it had to be taken!Family Cask 1979 - The 1979 bottling is one of only three in the entire series that is not matured in a sherry cask (the 1952 and 1984 being the others). This is unusual for Glenfarclas as they are famous for their sherry cask matured whisky. This was matured in a bourbon cask and the colour is golden. The nose is lovely and delicate with toffee and vanilla prominent, with a fruity element coming through (think of oranges). On the palate, the whisky is surprisingly light with some gorgeous vanilla, something nutty (imagine coconuts), a hint of a warm spice (think of ginger and nutmeg) and that citrus fruit (reminding me of orange peel or marmalade). Even more vanilla came with a drop of water. The finish is long and creamy with the toffee in particular coming through. A very good and balanced whisky that offers a chance to try a lighter, bourbon matured Glenfarclas. This will cost approx. £200 for one of the 225 bottles.
Family Cask 1959 - One of the oldest bottlings in the collection, this will cost you around £650 for one of the 194 bottles. This has the more traditional Glenfarclas sherry cask maturation and after almost 50 years in the cask the colour is a very dark brown. On the nose, this blows you away with its richness. There is lots of the dried fruits (imagine raisins and cranberries) that you associate with sherry cask maturation, but there is also something spicy (a bit like cloves, I think). The overall feeling is that of an intense, rich Christmas cake! The palate is even richer with all of the elements from the nose being joined by something darker and slightly bitter (think of an espresso coffee and dark chocolate), some creamy vanilla and burnt sugar. This is very complex and feels thick in your mouth. With water, it demonstrates the creaminess more and takes the edge off the bitter qualities. The finish goes on for ever as everything combines for one last hit. An exceptional (but pricy!) dram that is not for the faint hearted or those who don't like too much sherry cask influence.
Glenfarclas is one of the last distilleries in Scotland to still be owned by the family of the original founder. It was established in 1836, close to the town of Ballindalloch in the heart of the Speyside region. The current company directors are George and John Grant, who are the great grandson and great great grandson respectively of the founder John S. Grant (whose name also appears on all the labels). Glenfarclas translates as 'valley of the green grass' in Gaelic and produces three million litres of whisky per year. The majority of this is released as single malt and although it is popular in the UK, its main markets are in southern Europe, America and the Far East. The core range consists of a 10, 15, 21, 25 and 30 years old plus this 105, which is released at cask strength (60% ABV). Independent bottlings are available but cannot carry the Glenfarclas name by law, as J & G Grants do not allow it. They will be found named as 'Speyside's Finest', 'Secret Stills - Speyside' or something similar.
Whilst tasting the 105 above, I was offered the chance to try the newly released Glenfarclas 105 40 years old. This is again bottled at 60% ABV but has been in a sherry cask for 40 years and costs considerably more at over £500 a bottle! I was not going to turn it down! This is dark brown, almost black with a tinge of maroon. The nose is full of dried fruit (raisins and candied peel) but there is a rich dark chocolate character that is the difference with the regular 105. This gives a warming and slightly burnt quality to the nose, that was reminiscent of a mix of dark bitter chocolate and a strong espresso coffee. In your mouth this is rich, creamy and full bodied with the fruitiness taking a back seat to the chocolate and coffee notes. There is just a hint of woody bitterness, but certainly not as much as I was expecting considering how long it has been in the cask. The finish just went on and on and the addition of water brought even more complexity through (especially some dried berries like cranberry or currants). A truly gorgeous whisky.
