New Release - Old Pulteney 40 Year Old

Old Pulteney Distillery is the northernmost mainland distillery in Scotland. Located in the town of Wick, the distillery is squeezed tightly into the surrounding streets and buildings and space is at such a premium that the Wash Still has had to be designed with an unusual flat top so as to allow it to fit into the Still Room. Luckily the compromise with the still shape has not adversely affected the quality of the whisky produced and the Old Pulteney 21 Year Old was rated as the best whisky of the year in whisky writer, Jim Murray’s 2012 Whisky Bible.

New release - Glengoyne 1990 Auld Enemy

Glengoyne, 15 miles from the centre of Glasgow, is the most southerly Highland distillery in Scotland. Straddling the Highland/Lowland line that defines Highland malt distilleries from Lowland malt distilleries, it is in the unique position of having the distillery buildings located in the Highlands and the warehouses across the road located in the Lowlands. Back in the day Glengoyne was sometimes even referred to as Lowland malt but these days the distillery is very proudly a Highland whisky.

Founded in 1833, at the foot of the Blairgar burn from which it takes it water, the distillery was ideally located to serve the growing population in Glasgow. Indeed, before this time the area was known as a hotbed of illegal whisky production, with illicit distillers taking advantage of its remote and rugged terrain and the opportunities to make a quick buck in the nearby markets of the central belt.

The Auld Enemy bottling is a single cask whisky from 1990 which has been released in conjunction with the inaugural Auld Enemy dinner and auction celebrating the England/Scotland rugby rivalry over the years. All proceeds from the dinner, auction and the whisky will go towards the Help for Heroes fund and the Bill McLaren Foundation. Bottled from a sherry butt at a strength of 54.4%, there are only 300 bottles available of this whisky. It is only available direct from the distillery or from Royal Mile Whiskies for £175.

Our tasting notes
So intense and complex. Surprisingly nosable at full strength. Sweet and creamy at first, reminding me of chocolate éclairs, a bittersweet note of vanilla and burnt sugar akin to crème brulee comes next. There the French based dessert theme ends and a mulchy, forest floor aroma comes along and then the whole thing gets all fruity, reminding me of prune juice or grape juice, maybe cherry juice, possibly all three. Also Demerara rum and bananas – there’s something here that reminds me a little of El Dorado. I’m getting different things every time I take a sniff; treacle toffee, fruit cake, ginger cake, fresh mint. There’s also a little crispy duck aroma that’s making me hungry. Some bitter notes too; coffee, echinacea concentrate. With water there’s some lovely baked apple and pear aromas, it also gets pleasantly citrusy with some orange peel and there’s also some sugary elements too, reminding me of barley twists and flat coke.

Forceful on the palate, where there’s vanilla fudge at first but it gets spicier and dryer as time goes by. Sweet and spicy drying notes combine to give malt loaf, pine honey, ginger, cinnamon, fennel seeds. The finish is like liquid raisin juice. There’s a mildy pleasant drying mouthfeel throughout. With water it settles down, it’s more bitter and spicy at first with a nice oakiness alongside liquorice, fennel seeds and aniseed. It’s towards the finish where it gets sweeter with a juicy, Demerara fruitiness like fruit salad and caramel. There’s some spearmint and Juicy Fruit chewing gum on the finish that hangs around for ages.

What’s the verdict?
Well, you can certainly file this one under the “sherry monster” category but unlike some heavily sherried whiskies it’s neither too bitter and dry nor dirty and sulphuric. Even then, these sorts of whiskies are not to everyone’s tastes, some people preferring a little more balance between cask and spirit character but in my opinion when these heavily sherried whiskies are good, they can be very, very good indeed and the Auld Enemy is one of those “very good indeed” ones. Having said that, it is still a little pricy for a 21 year old but it’s an excellent, complex whisky and the money goes to a worthy cause.

Have just tried ... Tullibardine 1992 Vintage

Earlier this week, Matt wrote a guest post on the soft drinks blog Drink Station. In return, we welcome Drink Station's writer and founder Chris Maclean to Whisky For Everyone. Chris has agreed to write a post for our 'Have just tried ...' series and selected a whisky to sample and review. He chose this relatively new release from the little known Tullibardine distillery. We hope that you enjoy reading! So here goes, over to Chris' review ...

Tullibardine is a Highland Malt. The distillery is located at Blackford in Perthshire, and stands on the site of a former brewery. It was designed by the architect Delme Evans and built in 1949, so is relatively young in the context of Scottish distilling.

The distillery has a chequered past, including changes of ownership and a period between 1994 and 2003 when it was inactive (or ‘mothballed’). Since 2003 the distillery has been privately owned, and production has recommenced. The first release of this new production is scheduled for bottling in 2014, with current releases being drawn from stock inherited from the previous owners, Whyte & Mackay.

This bottling was distilled in 1992 and bottled at 46% ABV (alcohol by volume) in 2006. It has been drawn from a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, and should be priced around £30- £35 from specialist retailers.

The whisky is a pale lemon yellow colour. On the nose aromas are clean, fresh and light: Lemon citrus is followed by a sweet grassiness, milled cereal and pears. As the whisky opens up the elements become warmer and richer, with vanilla, honey, almonds and even butter coming through now.

Moving to the palate, flavours are lemony fresh, with a mouthwatering zest and good intensity. There is enough malty, honeyed sweetness to balance this, and a buttery texture to chew on. This bottling has a firm finish, drying and turning pleasantly bitter as it slowly fades.

In conclusion, with such clean, zesty flavours this would make an excellent aperitif whisky. It is light but shows excellent intensity and length on the finish, no doubt aided by the 46% ABV bottling strength.

Have just tried ... Oak Cross from Compass Box

A whisky innovator
Compass Box is a boutique independent whisky producer that was founded in 2000 by John Glaser. The company has offices in west London and Edinburgh. Their ethos is to buy whisky from a small number of distilleries and then craft them into their own unique whiskies. The range includes single grain whiskies, vatted malts, blended whiskies and occasional other releases, such as the recently re-released Orangerie, a whisky infused with orange zest. All are produced and released in small batches, often using only two single malts to create a unique product with a catchy name. By doing their own blending and vatting, Compass Box have less restrictions than other traditional independent bottlers and as a result, is a former winner of the prestigious Whisky Magazine's Innovator of the Year.

Three malts, two casks, one whisky
This Oak Cross forms part of Compass Box's core range and is produced in small batches. Three single malts are included in the whisky - Teaninich from the town of Alness, Clynelish from Brora (both towns are on the north eastern coast of the Highlands to the north of Inverness) and a mystery Speysider (the only thing they reveal is that it is from the village of Carron, so get your detective hats on...). These whiskies are all aged between 10 and 12 years and they have been matured in a combination of American oak and French oak casks. Oak Cross is bottled at 43% ABV and should cost around £30 from specialist whisky and spirit retailers or Compass Box's own website. We thank Chris Maybin from Compass Box for supplying us with this sample.

Our tasting notes
The colour of Oak Cross is golden yellow and the nose is fresh and vibrant. There is plenty going on and the balance makes the nose very tempting. First comes obvious vanilla, honey, cereal grains and oak (think of fresh sawdust) and these notes are joined by more subtle ones - dried fruits (think of sultanas and apricots), some zingy citrus (imagine lemon zest) and woody spices (especially cinnamon). On the palate, this is sweet and creamy, with lots happening again. There is a lovely and balanced combination of flavour elements present - vanilla, coconut, honey, nuts (think of almonds), some dried grass, cereal grains, zesty lemon, rich spices (imagine a mix of ginger, nutmeg and cloves) and some dried fruits in the background (those sultanas and apricots again). The finish begins sweetly with plenty of vanilla and cereals, before turning drier, woodier and spicier (that oaky sawdust and nutmeg are particularly prominent).

What's the verdict?
Compass Box has come up trumps with Oak Cross - it is a wonderful and lovely whisky. It is soft and smooth on the palate, very easy drinking and well balanced, yet is remarkably complex and remains fresh and vibrant. There have clearly been some excellent casks used for the maturation of each of the whiskies included in Oak Cross and the result is this award winning whisky. It also offers an excellent quality to price ratio. Oak Cross is the sort of whisky that you could give to a beginner or something who thinks that they don't like whisky and they will thank you for doing it and for introducing them to the good stuff!

New releases ... Tomatin Glenkeir Treasures

Tomatin is a distillery located between Inverness and Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands. It is a large distillery that produces five million litres of whisky per year, but despite this remains one of Scotland's lesser known distilleries. This is due to the fact that around 80% of the whisky produced at Tomatin is used in a variety of blended whiskies including the Antiquary and Talisman ranges. The single malt range has been increased by the current owners, the Japanese owned Murubeni Group, and currently includes 12, 18, 25, 30 and 40 years old whiskies. Tomatin was the first Scottish whisky distillery to be owned by a Japanese company, when the Takara Shuzo Corporation saved it from liquidation in the mid 1980s.

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 14 stores located in England and Scotland and this range is available in each shop or from the website www.whiskyshop.com. The whiskies have been specially selected and purchased, then temporarily stored in wooden casks in each store and filled by the staff instore into 50cl, 20cl and 10cl bottles, as shown in the image above. The whiskies are selected from a variety of distilleries and cover a spectrum of different flavours. This expression of Tomatin has recently joined the range and is bottled at 40% ABV.

The colour of this Tomatin is golden yellow and the nose is vibrant and fresh. There is lots of vanilla, caramel and fresh crisp green fruit present (think of pears and apples), as well as a hint of dried fruit (imagine sultanas especially) and some nuts (think of almonds). On the palate, this whisky is feels light and fresh with an initial sugary note that is reminiscent of caramel or burnt sugar. This is followed up a pleasant, crisp maltiness (think of barley grains), vanilla (this seems more exaggerated than on the nose and reminded us of vanilla essence or custard, rather than natural vanilla), nuts and the interesting combination of dried and crisp green fruit that was present on the nose. The sultana note is particularly pronounced. There is maybe just the tiniest hint of some peaty smoke also. The finish is short and sweet with the crisp maltiness, vanilla and dried fruit being the main features.

This Tomatin is quite basic in its structure but is a very pleasant and easy drinking dram that is refreshing and would be good for a whisky beginner. It offers great value, giving you the opportunity to try a whisky from a lesser known distillery at an affordable price, while being of good quality. It is sold in three sizes - 10cl, 20cl and 50cl - and these are priced at £8, £13 and £26 respectively, exclusively from The Whisky Shop chain of stores or www.whiskyshop.com.