Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 11, 2017)

Welcome to Inbox.  For those new to WFE, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Our Top 10 - Independent Bottling Companies

The world of the independent whisky bottling companies can seem confusing, especially when in your whisky journey.  However a few pieces of basic information can help - this opens up a huge new corner of the industry and offers many more products to choose from and taste. Essentially, these companies buy casks from the distilleries, or send them empty casks to be filled and stored, and then carefully choose when to bottle and release them.

Have just tried ... Edradour Caledonia 12 years old

A King's dram?
Edradour is marketed as Scotland's smallest single malt whisky distillery and produces just 90,000 litres of whisky each year. Technically, it is no longer the smallest as new distilleries, such as Kilchoman on Islay and Abhainn Dearg on the isle of Lewis, have opened and are producing less spirit per annum. Having said that, Edradour is the only one that produces a core range of bottlings to the market, so they can hang on to the tag for a while longer maybe! Edradour is located in the central Highlands, close to the town of Pitlochry, and is owned by the independent bottling company Signatory Vintage, who took control in 2002. The name of Edradour is thought to derive from the Gaelic 'Edred dobhar' meaning 'the stream of King Edred'.

Traditional methods
Edradour is housed in its original farm buildings and little has changed since it was founded in 1825. Everything at Edradour is small with all the distilling equipment (a mash tun, two washbacks and a pair of oddly shaped stills) jammed into one room. All processes use traditional methods with no automation and much of the equipment is made from wood. The pair of stills are also the smallest size permitted for commercial distilling by the Customs & Excise department. The picturesque farm buildings and the 'smallest' tag help the distillery to be one of Scotland's most visited, attracting approximately 100,000 tourists per year. The single malt core range is small and based around the 10 years old, with more limited expressions (such as this Caledonia) also available as cask strength or with experimental cask finishes.

Details of the Caledonia
This whisky was selected by the owner of Signatory Vintage (Edradour's owners) Andrew Symington and songwriter/poet Dougie MacLean. It is named after MacLean's well known song Caledonia, which he wrote in 1977. The bottling is limited and was released to commemorate Homecoming Scotland in 2009, an event that celebrated the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scottish national icon Robert Burns. It has been matured for 12 years in an ex-Oloroso sherry cask, is bottled at 46% ABV and can be found in specialist whisky retailers for around £40 a bottle.

Our tasting notes
The colour of this Caledonia is a golden caramel with a dull brown tinge. The nose is initially appealing with some pleasant sweet notes present - dried fruits (think of raisin, sultanas and candied orange peel), vanilla, caramel (although this becomes more treacle-like and a little bitter with time), toasted nuts (especially almonds) and cereal grains. However, a slightly acidic sharpness develops quickly and this catches in your nostrils to give a slight unpleasant feeling. The sharpness is hard to pinpoint what it reminded us of. On the palate, this is prickly and sharp to begin with, before an interesting combination of notes battle through. These include raisins, caramel, vanilla, butterscotch and some wood spices (think of cinnamon and nutmeg). It then dramatically turns bitter, very woody and citric with dried grass, cereal husks, dry oak and bitter orange peel appearing. Some burnt sugar comes through right at the end. The finish follows a similar pattern to the nose and palate - it starts pleasantly sweet (imagine toffee and raisins especially) before becoming very dry, spicy and tangy (the oak, wood spices and bitter orange again).

What's the verdict?
This is a strange whisky. It must be said that it starts off very pleasantly but then the bitter, drying elements appear and make it ultimately disappointing. Why? Firstly, it feels very thin on the palate for a sherry cask matured whisky, which you would expect to be more sumptuous and velvety. Secondly, the bitterness/dryness/acidity is a surprise as Oloroso is a sweet style of sherry that is high in natural sugars and you would expect a whisky matured in it to be softer, sweeter and smoother. Thirdly, it really doesn't finish well and leaves your mouth very dry, parched almost. Ultimately, these elements lead to it seeming unbalanced.

Have just tried ... Edradour 10 years old

Edradour is Scotland's smallest single malt whisky distillery and produces just 90,000 litres of whisky each year. It is located in the central Highlands, close to the town of Pitlochry, and is owned by the independent bottling company Signatory Vintage, who took control in 2002. The name of Edradour is thought to derive from the Gaelic 'Edred dobhar' meaning 'the stream of King Edred'.

Edradour is housed in its original farm buildings and little has changed since it was founded in 1825. Everything at Edradour is small with all the distilling equipment (a mash tun, two washbacks and a pair of oddly shaped stills) crammed into one room. All processes use traditional methods with no automation and much of the equipment is made from wood. The pair of stills are also the smallest size permitted for commercial distilling by the Customs & Excise department.

The picturesque farm buildings and the 'smallest' tag help the distillery to be one of Scotland's most visited, attracting approximately 100,000 tourists per year. The single malt core range is small and based around this 10 years old, with more limited expressions also available as cask strength or with experimental cask finishes. Edradour has a cult following around the world and many say that you either love it or hate it.

The colour is a dull gold and the nose is pungent, with a combination of dried fruits (think of sultanas), some sweetness (imagine slightly burnt caramel) and nuts (especially almonds). There is also a slightly odd aroma that took us ages to try and pin down - the closest we got was match heads that have just been struck. On the palate, this feels thick and oily (almost syrupy) with some interesting elements coming together. There is a sort of malty, grainy yeastiness that gives a creamy flavour and feel, with the dried fruits, nuttiness and sweetness from the nose (a bit more like honey this time) battling with a pronounced smokiness. This has a similar sulphuric quality as the match heads but is more prominent than on the nose and more reminiscent of coal burning. The finish is long with the coal smoke fading away to give dried fruits again and a touch of woody spice (think of nutmeg).

Edradour 10 years old is a very interesting whisky. It has a slightly odd mixture of characteristics that suggest maturation in both bourbon and sherry casks at some point and the feeling is that they are conflicting with each other. The result is a whisky that is unique but that doesn't seem at ease with itself or quite correctly balanced in some way. We have not previously tried anything like Edradour and its uniqueness must come from the care taken to make it and the small size of the stills and batches of whisky produced. A bottle will cost £30-35 from specialist whisky retailers or through Signatory Vintage.

Have just tried ... Imperial 1989 from Signatory Vintage

The Imperial distillery has been closed since 1998. It is located in Speyside and is currently mothballed (this term means that the distillery remains intact but is not in operation). The distillery originally opened in 1897 and has had a chequered history resulting in it being closed on four seperate occasions, totalling over 50 years of non production. Fortunately, it has been re-opened on three of these occasions by new owners and it remains to be seen if the current owners, drinks giant Pernod Ricard, will do the same. The stocks are dwindling and releases are few and far between, limited to independent bottlers. However, Imperial is held in high regard within the whisky world so I was keen to try for myself. This release from independent bottler Signatory Vintage is a 17 years old.

The colour is very pale for something of that age and the nose is promising. The aromas are complex with an initial malty barley sweetness giving way to fresh fruit (think of the smell of a shiny red apple) and something herbal (reminded me of freshly cut grass). This whisky is light and fresh on the palate with the malty sweetness mixing with a fruity element (but dried fruit this time, like sultanas and dried apple), vanilla and just a hint of spiciness (ginger, I think). The finish is medium to long and really grassy. There is also a bitter edge to it which some may find a bit harsh. However, I found it to be very refreshing. This is a subtle and delicate whisky that would be very easy drinking in hot weather or as an aperitif. It is also great value at just under £30 a bottle, especially when considering that the distillery is closed, and available at independent retailers only.

Have just tried ... Longmorn 1992 from Signatory Vintage

Longmorn is situated in Speyside and has built up a reputation of being one of Scotland's best blending whiskies by the blenders at most large companies. It is the main whisky that goes into the Chivas Regal range, which sells massive volumes around the world each year. As a result of this, distillery bottlings are few and far between (the most common being a newly released 16 years old). There are a number of releases from independent bottlers and this one is from Signatory Vintage and bottled at 15 years old. The colour is light and straw like. The nose is very pleasant with a lot of grassy, vegetal notes (it reminded me of a spring meadow full of grasses and fragrant flowers). Mixing with these is a pronounced citrus, zingy note (like lemon and lime zest), crisp fresh apples and some butterscotch, toffee and vanilla. The complexity found on the nose then translates well on to the palate, with these flavours combining to give a very pleasant, easy drinking whisky with a perfect level of sweetness. The finish is a disappointingly short and is quite crisp and dry with a hint of raw spirit coming through. That takes the edge off the pleasant sweetness that is present and slightly spoils the whisky in my opinion. Longmorn is relatively expensive to buy but this one is really good and well worth a try, being decently priced at just over £30.

Have just tried ... Bunnahabhain 1997 heavily peated cask strength from Signatory Vintage

This is a nine year old whisky from Bunnahabhain, a distillery on the island of Islay off the west coast of Scotland. They have produced a limited amount of heavily peated spirit, which is completely different to the regular distillery style. It is released by Signatory Vintage, who are one of the major independent bottling companies. This whisky is an attack on your senses from beginning to end. Some people like these peaty whiskies and others don't. The nose of this smacks you in the face. I got sweet, smoky aromas with elements of meat (probably bacon), oil, leather and earth. It was like sticking my head in to a cross between a bonfire and a barbeque. The taste was equally as powerful, however the alcohol level was very high at just under 60% ABV (most whisky over 50% is classed as cask strength). On adding water, which is a common practice with most cask strength whiskies, a sweetness came through from the sherry cask that it had been matured in. Also coming through was the salty, brine flavour that is common with regular Bunnahabhain whisky. This sounds unpleasant, but marries surprising well with the other elements to give a very good whisky. Most cask strength whiskies are expensive (generally prices start around £50) but I think this one is good value at just over £40.

Have just tried ... Mortlach 1988 cask strength from Signatory Vintage

Mortlach is a distillery that is found in the town of Dufftown in Speyside. It is owned by multi national drinks company Diageo and produces whisky that primarily goes into the Johnnie Walker blends. As a result of this, releases from the distillery under it's own name are reasonably hard to find. This particular one is from the 'cask strength' range by Signatory Vintage, who are one of the main independent bottling companies in Scotland. Independent bottlings are important in the cases of distilleries such as Mortlach, because they make whisky available to the consumer that may have been allocated elsewhere. The nose smells very promising, being light and buttery with hints of vanilla, dried fruits (raisins, orange peel and prunes) and some floral notes (heather or honeysuckle, I couldn't decide). However, on tasting this blows your mouth away. With a very high alcohol level of 59.6%, this mugs your taste buds and lips and burns them, meaning that it is hard to taste anything through the assault. I added some water to lower the alcohol level and the experience became instantly more pleasant. It becomes buttery with those dried fruits that were detected on the nose (a classic sign that it has been matured in a sherry cask), with added flavours of spices (like nutmeg and cinnamon) and caramel. The whisky feels creamy in your mouth but I found the finish was too dry for my taste. Overall, it was a good whisky but it left me a little disappointed. This is a limited bottling and retails at around £55-60.

Have just tried ... Linkwood 1990 from Signatory Vintage

Linkwood is a distillery on the outskirts of Elgin in Speyside. It is owned by multi national drinks company Diageo and has a reputation among connoisseurs for producing very good whisky and has a bit of a cult following. Most of the whisky produced at the distillery goes into blended whisky, therefore actually distillery releases are few and far between. This one is from Signatory Vintage, who are one of Scotland's largest independent bottlers, and is 17 years old. The colour was extremely light (like straw). Considering the age of the whisky I would expect it to be darker. The nose is good with hints of vanilla, coconut, green apples and peaches (unripe ones, though). On the palate, this whisky is very light and delicate. There are fresh leafy and grassy notes, with some vanilla, unripe stone fruits and toffee coming through. However, there is an oily flavour on the finish that reminded me of smelling petrol and also something else that resembled hard wood or furniture polish. This made the finish very dry but it did cleanse the palate well. This whisky was easy to drink but just not that memorable, and I am not sure that I liked that finish. I think it would be a great summer drink, a good palate cleanser after a meal or a good mixer with soda or ice. It is refreshing and if you like a good gin and tonic then you may enjoy this.