Review / Lochlea First Release

This whisky is the inaugural single malt bottling from the Lowland farm distillery of Lochlea. The Lochlea Single Malt First Release was recently launched on Burns Night (January 25). This was in homage to the famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns, who lived and worked at the Ayrshire farm where the distillery is located. Lochlea only uses barley grown on the farm for production of their single malt and distillation began in August 2018. 

Distillery Visit / Glenkinchie

Despite having been to Edinburgh for work and pleasure on numerous occasions, we had somehow never got around to visiting Glenkinchie. For much of its recent history this unassuming distillery was the closest to Scotland's capital and attracted many visitors because of the fact. Now it has increasing competition with the Holyrood distillery built right in the centre of Edinburgh and a couple more new ones out in Leith. So what have owners Diageo done? Given it a major revamp and made it even more important than ever.

Glenkinchie is now the official Lowland home of Johnnie Walker, the world's best selling Scotch whisky of which its single malt is an important component. The distillery is one of four dotted around Scotland that each play a similarly influential role within the famous blended range. The other three official regional homes of Johnnie Walker that form Diageo's Four Corners of Scotland are Caol Ila on Islay, Cardhu in Speyside and Clynelish in the Highlands. Each has been renovated to tell each distillery's individual story within the wider Johnnie Walker tale.

Review / Bladnoch Vinaya

This whisky is a new addition to the core range of single malts from the revitalised Lowland distillery of Bladnoch (pronounced blad-nock). The Bladnoch Vinaya takes its name from a Sanskrit word meaning respect and gratitude, and joins the similarly named Adela, Samsara and Talia expressions (amongst others) in the ever-expanding range. The distillery, which has seen a major recent revamp of both production equipment and fortunes, is known as 'The Queen of the Lowlands'. The Vinaya has seen whisky matured in both first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and first-fill ex-sherry casks, which have been selected and married together by Master Distiller Dr. Nick Savage.

 

Distillery visit - Inchdairnie

Inchdairnie is a new single malt distillery located in the Lowlands region of Scotland. The distillery is the brainchild of Ian Palmer, a whisky industry veteran with almost 40 years experience, who decided that he wanted to produce and launch his own high quality single malt. He founded Inchdairnie’s parent company John Fergus & Co. Ltd in 2011. Construction began in July 2104 and was completed within 18 months. Production began in December 2015.

New releases > Auchentoshan 1999 Bordeaux Wine Cask

This whisky is a new release from the renowned Lowland distillery of Auchentoshan. The 1999 Bordeaux Wine Cask is a limited edition whisky which has spent the entire 11 years of its maturation in an ex-red wine cask from the famous French wine region. This is unusual as most distilleries that have released a wine cask matured whisky to date, have so far only used that cask to ‘finish’ the whisky (eg – it spends just a short period of time in the wine cask after maturing in something else). Therefore, to get a whisky that has been 100% matured in wine is rare and the chance to try it is exciting. It has been bottled at an alcoholic strength of 58% ABV and you should find a bottle for about £50 in specialist whisky retailers.

Auchentoshan (which is pronounced ock-en-tosh-an) is the distillery that is nearest to Glasgow. It sits to the north west of the city near Clydebank and was officially founded in 1823, although records show that a distillery called Duntocher was operating on the site as early as 1800. The current annual production capacity of Auchentoshan is 1.75 million litres and it is owned by Morrison Bowmore, which is part of the larger Japanese company of Suntory who took control in 1994. Auchentoshan translates as ‘corner of the field’ from the local form of Gaelic.

Auchentoshan is unique amongst Scottish whisky distilleries as they triple distil every drop of their spirit. Elsewhere in Scotland the common practice is to distil twice, whereas triple distillation is more commonly associated with Irish whiskies. A few Scottish distilleries do occasionally distil a third time and these include Benriach and Springbank, who release it as Hazelburn. A number of theories exist as to why Auchentoshan is the only place to continually triple distil in Scotland. The most popular is that a number of the workers at the fledgling distillery in the 1820s had come over from Ireland to escape the poverty there- they bought the practice with them and it exists to this day.

Our tasting notes
The colour of the whisky is extraordinary, being dark amber with a gorgeous reddish/pink tint, which has clearly come from the red wine cask.  The aromas on the nose are strong and powerful with plenty of initial burnt sugar, caramel and warming peppery spice.  Then comes some honeycomb and a good dose of rich, red fruit (think of dark berries and blackcurrants).  With further time in the glass, and once your nostrils have got used to the high alcoholic strength, more subtle hints start to appear - cinnamon, nutmeg, orange oil, gristy cereals and damp wood shavings.  On the palate, this is intense when taken neat!  The high ABV gives a powerful kick off and your mouth quickly heats up with plenty of peppery wood spice.  This begins to subside to reveal notes of lovely, rich caramel and dark dried fruits (imagine raisins and prunes).  The spiciness is never far away with plenty of drying cinnamon and nutmeg present.  Sweeter notes of brown sugar and honey balance this a little.  Some robust cereals, obvious spiced orange and further dried fruit add to the intensity.  The finish is very long, lasting a good 6-7 minutes after you have swallowed.  It is predominantly dry with an abundance of pleasant tannin coming from the wine cask.  The caramel/slightly burnt brown sugar is also evident, as are the red and dried fruits which fade quicker than the other elements mentioned.

The high ABV strength and the intensity of the whisky when neat ask for some water to be added.  This immediately softens the peppery spice and the alcoholic burn.  It also dampens the red and dried fruits and other wood spices, but allows the sweeter caramel and honey notes to shine through.  The majority may find it more balanced this way but, as always, it is personal taste.  We found that it could take quite a lot of water (we are talking 10-12 good drops here) and still hold together very well, where other whiskies may have fallen apart.

What’s the verdict?

This is a lovely whisky that is a successful experiment by Auchentoshan. However, to make it lovely (to our taste buds anyway!) you need to persevere with it and add plenty of water. How much water you add will depend on your own taste. The high alcohol strength, plus the intense and almost exaggerated notes from the red wine cask, make this a daunting prospect, before the water softens it to allow some sumptuous aromas and flavours through. At the launch of this whisky, it was hinted at that Auchentoshan had some other such experiments up their sleeves – it will be interesting to see what they are!

New releases > Auchentoshan 1977 Sherry Cask Matured

Auchentoshan (pronounced ock-en-tosh-an) is one of the last remaining Lowland whisky distilleries and is unique as it is the only distillery in Scotland to continually practice triple distillation of their spirit. Other Scottish distilleries occasionally do this (for example, Springbank release Hazelburn which is triple distilled but they only produce it for a small part of the year). Triple distillation produces a smoother, lighter spirit that many people find easier to drink and the process is more commonly associated with Irish whiskey. In fact, only five whisky/whiskey distilleries in the world practice triple distillation as a matter of course - Auchentoshan in Scotland, Bushmills, Cooley and Midleton in Ireland and Woodford Reserve in America.

So, why are Auchentoshan the only place to consistently triple distill in Scotland? The theory is that during the Irish potato famine in the early 1800s, immigrants came over to the Glasgow area, where the distillery was founded in 1823 and is still located, to escape the poverty and brought the process with them, maybe introducing the idea to the new distillery's owners. Auchentoshan's current owners are Morrison Bowmore, a subsidiary of the Japanese company Suntory, and have carried on this tradition. The annual production capacity of Auchentoshan is 1.75 million litres and the name translates as 'corner of the field' from Gaelic. Also, the visitor centre at the distillery has been voted one of the best in Scotland and is one of the most visited, helped by its close proximity to Glasgow.

Details of the whisky
This whisky is a new limited edition of Auchentoshan which has been released, along with a 1998 Fino sherry cask bottling which we recently reviewed, to compliment to core range. This core range consists of 12, 18 and 21 year old whiskies plus the Three Wood, which has undergone maturation in three different casks (hence the name!). This 1977 whisky has been bottled at 32 years of age and at an alcoholic strength of 49% ABV. It has been matured in ex-Oloroso sherry casks and released as a very small and exclusive batch containing just 240 bottles. To aid the feeling of exclusivity, the whisky has been packaged in a suede lined box that is adorned with a brushed pewter label. It is available now from specialist whisky retailers for £370 a bottle.

Our tasting notes
The colour is a pale amber and the nose is rich, fragrant and one to spend plenty of time over. It has a wonderful intensity, with plenty of complex scents and aromas giving away its increased age. There is initial wood spice (think of cedar wood and cinnamon) that is joined by further savoury notes including old furniture, waxy furniture polish, gristy malted barley and the inside of a cigar box. The aroma of barley increases with time and some subtle, almost understated fruitiness also develops (imagine stewed pears and apples especially). The nose is much less fruity than expected from an ex-sherry cask whisky at 30+ years of age and is very promising. On the palate, it does not disappoint and feels syrupy in the mouth. The whisky is again quite woody and spicy to begin with (notes of oak, nutmeg and allspice) before revealing much more fruit notes than the nose did. This is an intense, complex combination of stewed/baked apples and pears plus dried fruits, especially raisins, sultanas and prunes. Other notes detected add to the classy feel of this whisky - some spiced orange, sweet honeycomb, coffee, dark brown sugar and milk chocolate. The finish is long with sweetness (the honeycomb and dried fruits), before becoming drier and almost bittersweet with the cereals and wood spices particularly prominent.

What's the verdict?
Wow - what a fine whisky! This Auchentoshan 1977 Sherry Cask Matured could well be an early contender for our Top 10 Whiskies of 2011, as it is of outstanding quality. Yes, it is rare and it is expensive but this whisky is a league above any other Auchentoshan's that we have tried to date, or indeed a number of other older ex-sherry matured whiskies from other distilleries. It is well crafted and more importantly, well selected - it has been released because it has been deemed ready rather than waiting for a set age, such as 30 or 35 years. The sympathetic use of the casks means that the sherry influence does not overpower the spirit, which can happen in older whiskies, but compliments it beautifully. We feel privileged to try such a rare whisky and thank DK Cheung from Auchentoshan's marketing department for allowing us to sample it.

Have just tried ... Rosebank 12 years old 'Flora & Fauna'

This is a whisky from Diageo's 'Flora & Fauna' range. Rosebank is a Lowland distillery that was closed down in 1993. The stocks are slowly running out and therefore are becoming very desirable to collectors. It is rumoured that this is one of the last batches of stock that Diageo have. This one is triple distilled, which is unusual for Scottish whisky. Triple distillation is more common in Irish whiskies and generally produces a light, fresh spirit. The nose is very promising with grassy and fruit notes, especially citrus fruit and lemon zest. It tasted good also, very soft on the palate with those notes coming through in the flavour, along with lots of caramel and vanilla. This is excellent, a very nice tasting whisky that felt creamy and smooth in my mouth. It would definately be worth investing in a bottle, as stocks are starting to dwindle and the price is increasing.

Have just tried ... Bladnoch 10 years old 'Flora & Fauna'

This Lowland distillery has only reopened a couple of years ago, having previously been owned by multi national drinks company, Diageo. the 'Flora & Fauna' range covers a number of Diageo's less well known distilleries. The colour is light and the smell or 'nose' is very good. It smells fresh and slightly grassy with an interesting touch of saltiness. When tasted, it was very refreshing on my palate. I got an instant zingy freshness that was light, malty and fruity (imagine green crisp apples). However, after time there was too much raw spirit coming through, which can happen especially with young whisky. When this happens, the alcohol flavour overtakes or overpowers the other flavours that are being experienced. I added some water to try and combat this but it became too bitter and woody for my taste. A decent, light refreshing whisky (without water).