Review - Hedonism Quindecimus

The multi award-winning blending company of Compass Box are kicking off their 15th anniversary celebrations with this special limited edition whisky that reinvents an old favourite. The Hedonism Quindecimus recreates the original Hedonism that was Compass Box's first whisky to market back in 2000. The Quindecimus expression blends together single grain whiskies of varying ages (said to be between 20-32 years old) from five different distilleries and has been created by Compass Box founder John Glaser. All have been matured in American oak casks.

New release - Girvan 25 years old

William Grant & Sons, the owners of the Girvan grain distillery, has announced a new range of single grain whiskies that will bear the distillery's name. The Girvan Patent Still range was launched in London back in October with a 25 years old expression - this was a 500-bottle batch that appeared as a UK exclusive in selected specialist retailers. It is the company's first ever single grain whisky release and marks the 50th anniversary of the innovative column still being installed at Girvan in 1963.

Have just tried > Greenore 8 years old

Greenore is a whiskey that is made at the Cooley distillery in County Louth, Ireland. The distillery lies roughly half way between Belfast and Dublin and is one of only three whiskey distilleries currently in operation in Ireland (Bushmills and Midleton are the others). Cooley was founded in 1987 by John Teeling and his idea was to resurrect some of Ireland's oldest whiskey recipes and traditions that had become extinct during more difficult times. He converted an old vodka distillery and Cooley has since won over 100 awards worldwide, including the title of European Distillery of the Year at the prestigious International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) awards in 2010.

At Cooley they produce whiskey using traditional recipes, each with a different mixtures of barley and other grains. Their range includes some famous Irish whiskey names such as Connemara (the only peaty Irish whiskey), Kilbeggan, Locke's, Michael Collins, Millar's and Tyrconnell. Around 95% of all the whiskey produced at Cooley is exported, with the UK, mainland Europe and South Africa being the current main markets. Greenore is unique as it is the only Irish grain whiskey that is in regularly production. Grain whiskies contain no barley but are made from a mixture of other grains instead. This Greenore 8 years old is part of Cooley's core range and has won a Gold Medal at the IWSC awards. It is bottled at 40% ABV and is available from specialist liquor retailers. A bottle should cost around the £32 mark.

Our tasting notes
The colour is a bright golden yellow and the nose is fresh, vibrant and tangy. Initially, it has plenty of cereal, honey and oaky coconut aromas and these are joined by more subtle notes with time. These notes includes some zesty lemon peel, light brown sugar, warm buttery biscuits and a hint of dried grass (think of hay). The nose is very pleasant - you could sit and sniff it forever! On the palate, this is smooth, creamy and sweet with lots of distinct cereal grains (imagine the more bitter husks especially) to begin with. Then comes a delicious mouth-coating combination of sweet vanilla, honey, almonds, warm woody spices (think of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg) and plenty of freshly grated coconut. The progression from the sweeter to the more bitter/spicy elements is sublime and very, very enjoyable. It just seems to melt in your mouth. The finish is warm and honeyed with plenty of enjoyable bitter cereal notes coming through and a good dry woody spiciness at the end. The only slight downside is that the finish is slightly short and disappears too quickly (sadly).

What's the verdict?
This is an easy one - Greenore 8 years old is delicious. And enjoyable. And rich. And very moreish. And complex. And well balanced. And offers high quality. And value for money. And is unique ... you get the idea! It is easy to see why this has won numerous awards as it offers winning combinations of aromas and flavours in abundance. If you have never sampled grain whiskey before, then you have to try this one as it is an excellent example.

New releases > Greenore 18 years old

Greenore is a whiskey that is made at the Cooley distillery in County Louth, Ireland. The distillery lies roughly half way between Belfast and Dublin and is one of only three whiskey distilleries currently in operation in Ireland (Bushmills and Midleton are the others). Cooley was founded in 1987 by John Teeling and his idea was to resurrect some of Ireland's oldest whiskey recipes and traditions that had become extinct during more difficult times. He converted an old vodka distillery and Cooley has since won over 100 awards worldwide, including the title of European Distillery of the Year at the prestigious International Wine & Spirits Competition awards in 2010.

At Cooley they produce whiskey using traditional recipes, each with a different mixtures of barley and other grains. Their range includes some famous Irish whiskey names such as Connemara (the only peaty Irish whiskey), Kilbeggan, Locke's, Michael Collins, Millar's and Tyrconnell. Around 95% of all the whiskey produced at Cooley is exported, with the UK, mainland Europe and South Africa being the current main markets.

Greenore is unique as it is the only Irish grain whiskey that is in regularly production. Grain whiskies contain no barley but are made from a mixture of other grains instead. This 18 years old is a brand new small batch bottling of just 4000 bottles and is the oldest bottling of an Irish single grain to date. It replaces the popular Greenore 15 years old which was highly awarded, including the prestigious Best Single Grain at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in both 2009 and 2010. The new 18 years old is bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill filtered (for a definition of this - click here). It will be available from mid February for approximately £65-70 a bottle.

Our tasting notes
The colour is vibrant gold and the nose is perfumed and very promising - it has aromas of distinctive and fragrant cereals, honey, vanilla, shortbread or butter biscuits (or maybe even uncooked pastry?) and some oaky coconut. In addition, there are more subtle notes of spiced orange, a whiff of burnt sugar and a hint of old polished furniture. With time, the aromas really jump out of the glass at you. On the palate, this is initially tangy and sweet with a golden syrup-like sweetness combining with some spiced orange (the combination is reminiscent of a good marmalade). Then plenty of distinct cereal grains and woody notes develop and the whiskey feels a little oily and syrupy in the mouth. Further notes of vanilla, honey, toasted almonds and warm wood spices (think of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg) add to the enjoyable flavours. The finish is warming and long. It again begins sweetly before the woodier and drier notes come through to give a pleasant bitter, almost cleansing quality. Having said that, it is more 'bittersweet' than 'sweet followed by bitter'. The refreshing nature of the finish is reminiscent of a bourbon whiskey which has been sympathetically matured.

What's the verdict?
This Greenore is very good and one of the better single grain whiskies that we have tried to date. The joy is that while it has a certain level of complexity, it never gets too involved or complicated and the aromas or flavours are therefore well defined. It offers plenty of sweetness but also interesting spiciness to compliment. If you have never tried any grain whiskies before, then this would be a great starting point - it is clearly well made and well balanced, with the increased age softening some of the sharper elements sometimes found in younger grain whiskies.

Have just tried ... North British 30 years old 'Clan Denny'

One of Scotland's largest bottlers
This whisky is released by the Glasgow based independent bottling company Douglas Laing & Co, under their Clan Denny name. This name is used for their ranges of single grain whiskies and a series of vatted malts. The origin of the Clan Denny name is a little hazy, although Douglas Laing tell the story of a Taiwanese businessman who wanted a blended whisky made by them and named after himself. His name was Dennis and he suggested 'MacDennis', which Douglas Laing persuaded him to change to 'Clan Dennis'. Over time this has been adapted to Clan Denny. Douglas Laing & Co were founded in 1948 and are one of Scotland's largest independent whisky bottlers.

Popular for blends
North British is a large distillery that produces single grain whisky, using 100% maize, for a multitude of blended whisky brands. These include heavyweights such as Johnnie Walker Black Label, Chivas Regal, The Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark and J&B Rare. No official distillery bottlings of their whisky exist and the only way to try them is through independent bottling company stock, such as this one from Douglas Laing & Co. Even then, North British whisky is extremely hard to find. This whisky was distilled in 1979 and is bottled at 30 years of age. It has been matured in a single sherry cask and is released at the natural cask strength of 54.2% ABV. A bottle should cost £80-85 from specialist whisky retailers.

Edinburgh's only distillery
The North British distillery was founded in 1885 by three independent blenders - Andrew Usher, Willy Sanderson and John Crabble - who decided to build it in order to produce a constant source of grain whisky for their own ranges of blended whiskies. It is located in Edinburgh and is the last remaining whisky distillery within the city's boundary. North British has been owned by Lothian Distillers since 1993 and is one of Scotland's largest grain whisky production facilities. The current capacity is around 60 million litres per year and the whisky is made by three column stills that are operated 24 hours a day. This design of still is sometimes called a Coffey still and is named after Irishman Aeneas Coffey, who patented its design in 1831.

Our tasting notes
The colour of this North British 30 years old is dark gold with a tint of brown. The nose is intense and packed full of cereal grains (think of a slightly bitter type of grain like rye). There is also plenty of distinct caramel and toffee, along with some dried fruits (especially raisin and orange peel) and heavy wood spices (imagine cinnamon and nutmeg). As the whisky sits in the glass for longer, the whiff of a burnt/charred aroma starts to come through - this is reminiscent of a cross between burnt sugar or treacle and sulphuric matchstick smoke. On the palate, much of the nose is replicated. The whisky is heavy and intense with a ton of cereal grain, woody oak and spice flavours present. These threaten to overpower everything else, although some sweeter elements (especially some dried fruits and zesty orange) manage to get through. The burnt/charred note again appears and increases with time to give a distinct bitter edge. This whisky seems to be much stronger in alcohol than its 54.2% ABV (and that's already strong!), and the prickly heat from the alcohol is evident. The finish begins sweetly (think of caramel), before being overtaken by bitter grains and that sulphuric charred woody note.

What's the verdict?
It is always good to try a whisky from a distillery that you have never previously tried. Grain whiskies are known to be intense with a bitter edge and this North British certainly demonstrates this, only more exaggerated due to its increased age. As a result, its intensity, grainy bitterness, spiciness and dry woody finish make it more of an acquired taste and not particularly user friendly. However, with the addition of water (and it can take a lot of water!), it becomes more accessible, sweeter and softer on the nose and palate but the grains and burnt/charred/sulphuric notes are still in the background. An interesting dram to try but you would have to be a real grain whisky fan to love this.

Distillery visit - Girvan

The Girvan distillery is one of largest facilities making whisky in Scotland, yet remains one of the country's best kept secrets. The distillery is located on the outskirts of the coastal town of Girvan, which is about an hour's drive south of Glasgow, and sits on the picturesque Ailsa Bay overlooking the isles of Arran and Ailsa Craig. The Girvan distillery is owned by William Grant & Sons, who also own the Speyside single malt distilleries of Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Kininvie. Girvan produces single grain whisky that is used as the heart of the Grant's popular range of blended whiskies and forms part of a massive 380 acre site that includes the Ailsa Bay single malt distillery, the Hendrick's gin distillery, William Grant & Sons offices, a cooperage and over 40 warehouses! Amazing statistics, so how is it that this place is so unknown among whisky drinkers?

The distillery is named after the neighbouring town of Girvan and was founded in 1963. It was the idea of Charles Grant, one of the descendants of the original William Grant, and Girvan was constructed to produce the grain whisky which forms an important part of the Grant's range of blended whiskies. The brand was growing and their older distilleries couldn't cope, so the need was there to produce significant volumes in order to meet demand. Charles' idea was to have the first spirit running from the stills on Christmas Day, in a recreation of what had happened at his fore fathers first distillery at Glenfiddich in 1886. Construction work was swift and the site was completed in just nine months. More recently, the Ailsa Bay single malt distillery was added on the site and its construction programme mirrored that of Girvan and was completed in nine months.

Our tour of the Girvan distillery was taken by Ludo Ducrocq - the global brand ambassador of the Grant's blended whisky range. Girvan is not open to the public and little general knowledge is known about it. So when Ludo invited us for a tour, we had to accept especially as we had never been to a grain distillery or a distillery with a continuous still before. It turned out that we were one of the first whisky blogs to be shown around the distillery - we thank Ludo for the opportunity and the detailed information given and for taking time out of his busy schedule to conduct our visit. This was to be a distillery visit with a difference ...

We began our tour of the facility by visiting the new Ailsa Bay distillery, which produces around six million litres of single malt whisky which is destined for use in the Grant's blends. To read our review of Ailsa Bay - click here.

Following this, we turn our attention to Girvan and the world of the grain distillery and continuous distillation. This is an alien concept to us and Girvan is unlike any other distillery that we have seen to date. We begin by standing next to the huge milling tower (this can be seen on the image at the beginning of the post - it is the tall white building standing centre right). Ludo explains that we cannot see inside as there are large amounts of grain dust and this is highly volatile and combustible. However, he does explain the milling process and this differs significantly from that of single malt production.

Grain whisky at Girvan is produced using a mix of 90% wheat and 10% malted barley. The wheat has naturally high levels of sugars and therefore does not need to go through the malting/germination process. This saves approximately one week of time and this fact, coupled with the lower initial price of wheat compared to barley, helps to keep the production costs and therefore the final costs of grain whisky down. The barley used in the process has to go through the malting process and this is used because the enzymes in the malted barley help to break down the sugars in the wheat more easily.

The wheat and malted barley are ground down separately in the mill to the require size - this is done to increase the surface area of the grains and therefore make it easier to extract the soluble sugars. The process is called wet milling, as water is added during the grinding to produce a watery paste or slurry. The wheat and barley remain separated and are treated in different ways. The barley remains as a paste and allowed to cool while the wheat is cooked - this converts more starch to sugar. This process is completed in one of the three large cooking vessels at Girvan and the milled wheat is added to preheated water and cooked under pressure for approximately one hour. Basically, Girvan has three of the biggest pressure cookers you will ever see!

Following this, the two parts are mixed in huge conversion tanks - the cooled malted barley grist is on the bottom and the warm cooked wheat is then poured over, with the temperature then increased to get the enzymes working to draw out the maximum amount of sugar from the grains. Once completed, the whole solution including all the husks and other debris are pushed through to a series of fermentation tanks, which are housed outside. Here the yeast is added and the fermentation begins, turning those soluble sugars in to alcohol. They use yeast which they cultivate themselves at Girvan. There is only one word that describes each of the fermentation tanks - MASSIVE. Each one holds liquid at different stages of the fermentation process (this gives constant fuel to the stills) and has a capacity of half a million litres. There is at least 20 such tanks and the sight and sheer scale of them is awe inspiring!

The next stop takes us to the stills. These are unlike anything we have seen and are column stills that operate continuously, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Between them they produce a staggering 75 million litres of grain whisky a year, making it one of Scotland's largest distilleries. These are again housed externally (see image, left) and tower above the rest of the complex. This type of still (also sometimes called a Coffey still) is used by all of the major drinks companies to mass produce the spirit of their choice, be it whisky, vodka, rum etc. At this point, Ludo tries to explain the process of column still continuous distillation to me and my brain starts to hurt! So here goes with the basic principals ...

Girvan has six column stills and they work in pairs - this is where the similarity to single malt copper pot still production ends. Each pair is made from stainless steel but contain copper plates at the top and these remove impurities from the spirit. Each column still performs a different function - the first (on the left of the adjoining diagram) is where the alcoholic fermented wash liquid is heated and the spirit fumes are then passed to the second still for condensing. The first still contains a series of plates containing mesh trays and these sift out the wheat and malted barley husks and dead yeast, while also making the resulting alcohol vapours work harder to get to the second condensing still. The stills are huge and tower above everything. All of the stills are operated under vacuum (Girvan is the only place in Scotland where this takes place) and this allows the spirit to be distilled at lower temperatures. This makes them more energy efficient and less messy to operate. These six stills are operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week and produce 75 million litres of spirit per year.

Girvan is one of the most energy efficient distilleries in Scotland and produces most of its own power through energy recovery. The stills are actually quite simple structures, but most of the piping that you can see in the image of the still above is for the purpose of this energy recovery. For example, the left over materials from the column still - this includes wheat husks, dead yeast particles and other debris - are collected and fed to bacteria. These bacteria then produce vast amounts of methane gas that is collected in a series of balloon-like structures. The methane gas is then burnt and this produces all of the electricity that is used on the whole distillery site. Girvan produces so much of this electricity that some is even sold to the National Grid, who supply the UK's electricity to homes and businesses.


Our tour moves to the cooperage which is adjacent to the large column stills. The cooperage is where the casks for maturation are constructed and Girvan has seven full time coopers and numerous other part time staff who carry out various associated jobs. A cooperage is a rare sight at a distillery, as most casks are constructed by external companies, so the chance to see one in action was a real treat.

We enter the workshop area and Ludo explains that the casks arrive at the cooperage, are checked and any faulty staves (the long strips of wood that make up a cask) or signs of leakage are replaced and repaired. Girvan uses casks that have been previously used in both the sherry and bourbon industries. A cask is held together by natural tension and a series of metal hoops - there is no glue, nails or sealant. The cask heads are sealed using dried, toughened thin reeds which are hammered in to the narrow space between the head and the top of the staves (see image, above). They also strip and char the insides of the casks in a kiln-like structure and this promotes interaction between the cask and the spirit which is eventually filled inside, giving the required flavours.

Finally, Ludo shows us a couple of the warehouses, where the casks and whisky spend their lives maturing. There are currently over 40 warehouses on the site, with more being built and planned, and they hold 1.3 million casks! Firstly, we go to a warehouse which is packed from floor to ceiling with marrying tuns - these are large barrels that are used to 'marry' the different whiskies together once the blending has taken place. It is an impressive sight and yet again demonstrates the vastness of the whole distillery complex.

Next, we move to another warehouse that contains endless rows of maturing whisky casks, mostly from Girvan and the other Grant's distilleries but also some from other distilleries whose whisky is used in Grant's blends. This place is like a whisky library and contains some very desirable casks, each of which will lend something to the final blend. For the final part, Ludo drives me to the back of the complex, passed a huge amount of empty casks produced by the cooperage, to show me some further warehouses. These overlook the lovely bay and are painted green in order to blend in with the surroundings. In the distance, there we new warehouses being constructed.

Wow - this is a long post! But it was so worth the visit and there was so much to write about. To get the opportunity to see the continuous column stills and the cooperage, learning about single grain distillation and the awesome scale of the whole Girvan distillery - these things, in addition to Ludo's knowledge and enthusiasm, will be the lasting memories of a great day. If you have any questions about the Girvan and Ailsa Bay distilleries or the Grant's whisky range, then contact Ludo on his Grant's Whisky Blog.

Have just tried ... North of Scotland 39 years old 'Clan Denny'

North of Scotland was a grain whisky distillery, located close to the Highland town of Alloa to the north of Edinburgh. The distillery was founded in 1958 by a man named George Christie, who later went on to found the Speyside distillery in Speyside (unsurprisingly!). Christie converted some old brewery buildings, dating back to 1786, and installed a special type of column still at the distillery called a Coffey still. This was designed to produce grain whisky, like traditional column stills, but could also produce single malt whisky. The experiment proved a costly failure and after just two years North of Scotland switched to solely producing grain whisky for a number of large blending clients. The distillery closed in 1980 and the equipment was dismantled and sold off in 1993.

The name of Clan Denny is used by Glasgow based independent bottling company Douglas Laing & Co. They use it for their ranges of single grain whiskies and a series of vatted malts. The origin of the name is a little hazy although Douglas Laing tell the story of a Taiwanese businessman who wanted a blended whisky to be made and named after himself. His name was Dennis and his suggestion was MacDennis, which Douglas Laing changed to Clan Dennis. Over time this has been adapted to Clan Denny.

The colour of this North of Scotland grain whisky is golden amber and the nose is fresh and vibrant despite the age of the whisky. It was distilled in 1966, bottled at 39 years of age in 2005 and has an alcohol strength of 44.4% ABV. There is a lovely combination of vanilla, oak, cereal grains, dried fruit (especially sultanas and candied lemon peel) and coconut. On the palate this feels creamy, smooth and mellow. The cereal grains are more prominent and give a slight bitter edge to the other sweeter elements - vanilla, honey, dried fruit (think more of candied orange peel this time, rather than the lemon of the nose). There is also a woody note that adds a spicy edge to the palate (think of a wood spice like cinnamon, some ginger and the oak from the nose). This again balances with the bitter and sweeter notes well. Upon adding a drop of water, the whisky becomes more woody and feels thinner and less pleasant. The finish is long, creamy and lingering with plenty of sweet vanilla, cereals and the woody spiciness.

This was a rare chance to try a grain whisky at such an age and was well worth it. Truly lovely and enjoyable stuff. We must thank Michael Hopert of Royal Mile Whiskies for allowing us a sample of this gorgeous grain whisky from his own personal bottle! It is hard to find, even in specialist whisky retailers, but well worth it if you do. A bottle should cost £130-140.