Review | Glenallachie 15 years old

The 15 years old forms part of the compact core single malt range from the Speyside distillery of Glenallachie. It sits alongside expressions released at 12- and 18-years of age, plus the 10 years old Cask Strength. The Glenallachie 15 years old sees initial maturation in ex-bourbon, before a lengthy finishing period in ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry puncheons and butts. The core range has been created by Billy Walker - the co-owner and Master Blender of Glenallachie. The Glenallachie 15 years old is bottled at 46% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. It is available from specialist retailers worldwide. A bottle should cost around £65.

Review | A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas Whisky (2023 Edition)

Each November, the renowned spirits retailer The Whisky Exchange releases a special single malt for the forthcoming festive period - A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas Whisky. The annual release tends to lean towards rich, bold ex-sherry cask characteristics and the 2023 Edition is no different. The whisky is a 15 years old single malt from an unnamed Speyside distillery and has been entirely matured in ex-sherry casks sourced from Spain. These are both first-fill and re-fill, which were then married together.

Review / Laphroaig 10 years old Sherry Oak Finish

The Sherry Oak Finish is a recent addition to the core range of the famous Islay single malt of Laphroaig. It was introduced in mid-2021. The whisky follows the same maturation path as the classic Laphroaig 10 years old, the best seller within the range, for most of its life. This takes place in American oak ex-bourbon casks. For the final 12 to 18 months the whisky is transferred to ex-Oloroso sherry barrels. The Laphroaig 10 years old Sherry Oak Finish is bottled at a higher strength of 48% ABV than the classic 10 years old. It is also a higher price (you should expect to pay around £60 for a bottle) and can be found through specialist retailers worldwide.

Review / Kilchoman PX Sherry Cask Matured

This whisky is the latest limited edition from the family-owned Islay distillery of Kilchoman. The Kilchoman PX Sherry Cask Matured is constructed from 33 casks in total - nine full maturation ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks and 24 that were finished in ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks for between 12 and 18 months. Pedro Ximenez is a sweet style of dessert sherry made from grapes that remain on the vine longer than usual. The whisky has been produced using malted barley with a high peating level of 50ppm, which is a higher level than in regular Kilchoman releases. There are just 12,000 bottles.

Review / Tamnavulin Sherry Cask Edition

 

This whisky formed part of a relaunch for the then little-known Speyside distillery of Tamnavulin in 2016. Prior to that very little from the distillery was available outside of the independent bottling scene. The Sherry Cask Edition sits in the core range of single malts alongside the Double Cask, a travel retail exclusive Tempranillo Finish, a series of limited edition vintages dating back to 1970 and three wine cask finished whiskies featuring ex-Cabernet Sauvignon, ex-Grenache and ex-Pinot Noir barrels. This Sherry Cask Edition has been matured in American white oak ex-bourbon casks before a finishing period in three different types of ex-sherry cask. It is released with no age statement.

Review - The Wine Society Reserve Cask Selection 1989 Vintage

This whisky is the first release by The Wine Society in their new Reserve Cask Selection of single malts. It has been created from just nine casks (7x hogshead and 2x butt), all of which had previously held sherry for The Wine Society in the 1980s. Once emptied these were sent to Scotland to be filled with single malt at an un-named Highland distillery in 1989. They have been maturing every since until bottling earlier this year at 30 years of age. The casks had previously held Amontillado and Palo Cortado sherries prior to the whisky. The whisky is bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill-filtered and of natural colour. The exact number of bottles was not revealed in the press release but each one cost £95. All bottles have now sold out.

Review - Dalmore Sherry Cask Select 12 years old

 

This single malt is the latest addition to the Principal Collection from the north Highland distillery of Dalmore. The Dalmore Sherry Cask Select is described as 'an elegant evolution of the distillery's legendary house style' and features casks seasoned with a bespoke sherry blend created especially for Dalmore in Jerez, Spain. This includes both Oloroso (three different types actually) and Pedro Ximenez sherries. The Sherry Cask Select began its maturation in American white oak ex-bourbon casks before a three year finishing period in these special ex-sherry casks. It is bottled at 12 years of age and 43% ABV.

Review - Gelston's 12 years old Finished In Sherry Casks

Gelston's is a triple distilled Irish single malt brand and this 12 years old has been finished in ex-sherry casks. It is one of three whiskeys in the core range at the same age, with each having been finished in a different type of cask (the other two are ex-Port and ex-rum). Other whiskeys in the Gelston's core range include the Irish Single Malt, the 5 years old and the 26 years old Very Rare Reserve. This version of the 12 years old has been matured in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels for 12 years and then finished in ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The Gelston's 12 years old Finished In Sherry Casks is bottled at 43% ABV and is available in selected markets globally. A bottle should cost around the £68 mark.

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.

New release - An Cnoc Peter Arkle 1st Edition

Highland distillery An Cnoc have recently added a new limited expression to their range with the release of the Peter Arkle 1st Edition. The distillery, based near Huntly on the border of the Speyside region, has collaborated with artist and illustrator Peter Arkle, and this bottling represents the first of a range of Peter Arkle bottlings; each one packaged using the illustrator’s unique and distinctive designs.

Peter Arkle is a Scotsman who lives and works in New York city. On one visit home, he took a trip up to the highlands where he came across Knockdhu distillery (the name of the distillery that produces An Cnoc single malt). During his tour of the distillery, he fell in love with the place and also the whisky and as a consequence offered to work with the An Cnoc brand. On seeing Peter Arkle’s work and his list of clients (Apple, The Big Issue, Converse, Microsoft, and Scouting Magazine, amongst other equally prestigious organisations), Inverhouse, An Cnoc’s owners, agreed. Check out Peter Arkle’s website if you fancy seeing some of his work. I think it’s pretty cool myself http://www.peterarkle.com/.

The inspiration for each of Peter Arkle’s designs comes from the distillery itself and the processes that go into making single malt whisky. This 1st Edition highlights the different ingredients and forces that go into producing An Cnoc. Each symbol on the bottle represents a different element, namely – barley, water, yeast, heat, time and of course er.. magic! This is all explained in moving pictures by the man himself here if you’re bored of reading stuff.

The 1st Edition is the first An Cnoc released that consists of whisky wholly matured in ex Spanish oak sherry casks and so represents quite a departure from the usual An Cnoc style. Most An Cnoc whiskies are either wholly matured in Bourbon casks or have had only a small proportion of their constituent whisky coming from ex sherry casks. It bares no age statement but it consists of whiskies around 10 years old. It is limited to 6000 bottles in only a handful of territories and is exclusive to Royal Mile Whiskies in the UK, costing £47.50.

Our tasting notes
The nose starts off with aromas of raisins, sultanas and figs which are quickly followed by bittersweet hints of caramel, burnt sugar, burnt toast, malt loaf, stewed apples and ginger. Some lovely nutty aromas present themselves as well, such as brazil nuts and pecans. After a while it becomes a tad more like your typical An Cnoc style with fresh and candied notes of lemon sherbet and white chocolate. With water the sherry aromas take more of a back seat. There are burnt toffee and caramel notes and a tiny sulphur note in the background with floral and herbaceous notes such as lemon verbena, parsley, water cress and mint up front. After a while the nose progressively gets sweeter with aromas of sherbet, fudge and milk-bottle sweets.

Up front, on the palate there’s chocolate and toffee but this soon gives way to some dryer, spicier, bitter flavours such as ginger, burnt sugar and oak. The initial hit of the bitter tannins soon die down and add a nice firm bitterness towards and throughout the lovely long nutty finish, reminiscent of brazils, hazelnuts and pecans. With water the palate is still initially on the sweet side, again with chocolate and toffee but soon becomes very sherry like with flavours of raisins, nuts and flor mould. The spicy tannins are much more restrained, gently coasting across the palate throughout.

What’s the verdict?
It’s great to try something different from the usual An Cnoc range and it’s really interesting to see how the spirit has interacted with the Spanish oak sherry casks to produce a classy, restrained, sherried malt. Although sherry monsters can be popular, the people at Inverhouse should be applauded for releasing a whisky that hasn’t been totally consumed by the sherry cask and still had some balance between oak and spirit; just a different sort of balance than what we’re used to from An Cnoc.

New Releases – Kilchoman Machir Bay and Sherry Cask

Islay’s newest and smallest distillery has been very busy in recent weeks with two new releases hitting the shops in quick succession. After various “seasonal” limited releases since 2009 and last year's 100% Islay and 2006 releases these two whiskies break further ground for Kilchoman.

The Machir Bay retails for around £40 and is to be the distilleries first continuous release, released in yearly batches with the vattings for each year gradually using more and more older whisky year by year. This is a great idea which I don’t think anyone has done before and it’ll allow the most nerdy of us to compare the different years against each other. The first 2012 release is made up of 60% 3 year old whisky, 35% 4 year old and 5% 5 year old. All matured in first fill bourbon barrels, vatted together and then finished in an oloroso sherry butt for 8 weeks.

The Sherry Cask release is a limited edition and is the first wholly sherry cask matured whisky to be on general release (I think they might have released some single sherry casks exclusive to certain retailers and festivals in the past). It’s one of Kilchoman’s oldest releases to date, consisting of 5 year old whisky matured in oloroso sherry butts. It retails for around £50.

The first new distillery to be built on Islay for 124 years, independently owned Kilchoman filled their first cask on the 14th December 2005. The distillery is adjoined to a small farm in the north of Islay just south of the beautiful sands of Machir Bay. Its one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, distilling 100,000 litres a year (just under what Caol Ila distils in a week!).

Our Tasting Notes – Machir Bay
On the nose there’s some lovely smoked meat aromas like smoked ham and smoky bacon wheat crunchies. Really really coastal, salty sea air on the beach, rock pools, sea weed, oysters and iodine. There’s a nice tangy fruitiness there as well, like stewed apples and grapefruits.

Flavour wise this one is quite austere with some bitter oakiness, pepper and some heat. Nice hint of chocolatey sweetness and some salted liquorice. Not massively peaty given the age but it’s certainly there in the background giving more depth and complexity. The finish is very very long with more of that salted liquorice.

Our Tasting Notes – Sherry Cask
 Sweet, smokey and coastal on first nosing. Vanilla fudge, malt loaf, raisins, a slight bitter marmite note, the smoke is a little meaty like bacon and also mingles well with a lovely maritime note reminding me of kippers or Arbroath smokies. There’s a little fermenting fruit note too akin to proper rustic farmhouse cider.

The palate is sweet at first like pine honey on slightly burnt toast. Then, gets progressively dryer. There’s a healthy dose of peat throughout with a nice drying grassiness as well. The finish is very long again with flavours of salted toffee and ginger.

What’s the verdict?
I have to say I’m a bit of a fan of Kilchoman and these two new releases don’t disappoint. Neither are as good as last years 2006 5 Year old edition (my favourite so far) but they’re both very good drams that offer something a little different from the norm. The Machir Bay, fittingly, has a lovely coastal profile and the Sherry cask is a worthy addition to the small selection of sherried Islays out there. Although they’re both on the young side, like most of Kilchomans releases so far, they have succeeded in showing that young whiskies can be just as good and complex as older whiskies.