Archives Caol Ila 30yo

The last few weeks I have been travelling the southern parts of the USA and had the pleasure of meeting josh of joshziewhisky.blogspot.com.

We did a joint review of one of the recent Archives bottlings, a 30yo Caol Ila. You can read about it here

http://joshziewhisky.blogspot.com/2013/01/cross-continental-whisky-blogger-meetup.html

on top of this I had the pleasure of tasting a range of HIS whiskies :-)

As written, I was very positively surprised by the 1997 Bowmore.. Seems like Bowmore are back on the track of the great whisky they produced in the sixties. Adding to this is similar quality of a couple of 1996 and 1997 Bowmores I had the pleasure of tasting this weekend

Del Maguey

I also had the pleasure of finally tasting Del Maguey, I am sure that even if you hate tequila/mezcal (I do) this will change your mind, at least for this particular produce. A must for any whiskyfan

Whiskybase part III of III

1. Clynelish 1997 Archives 53.9%
Bottled 2011, 14yo, bourbon hogshead
Whiskybase link : http://whiskybase.com/whiskies.php?merkid=59&whiskyid=25066

Nose : Fruity, some apples on the lemony side

Palate : Waxy, Spicy, more wax. Oil infused whisky

Bitter : Medium and tad bitter

Rating 84

2. Caol Ila 2000 Archives 59.1%

Bottled 08/2011, 10yo, bourbon barrel

Whiskybase link : http://whiskybase.com/whiskies.php?merkid=2&whiskyid=25067

Nose : peaty, as expected! The nose is simple with a hint of citrus

Palate : The simplicity of the nose is followed by a surprisingly delicious palate for a younger Caol Ila. It's not a smack in your face peat, it's a sweet, but dominant peat with a quite a lot of citrus. It's rough but the ABV is high

Finish : medium-long and the peat is still layered with sweet lemon fruits

Rating 86

A simple young Islay that can easily match anything else on the market

4 blinds for California

Recently I went on a holiday in south-western USA, mainly California, Utah and Las Vegas.

Apart from visiting family and friends of my parents, some fantastic National Parks in Utah (recommended), I also managed to get some time with whisky friends. I have always liked to serve blind samples to people. At this trip I had made 4 samples. Only hint was that they were from different distilleries, and all had peat and was from sherry casks. One wasn't from sherry casks thou, but it taste like that. More about that later

The crash-test-dummies were fellow PLOWED members and a couple of their friends.

Blind tasters were Mikey, Ganga, FX, Xray, Marty, Hyperfuji, Andy, Tim (Ardbegproject) and Jake  

One of the nights, while the others were going through the 4 blinds, FX poured me a blind. I really liked it. Unadultered sherry, extremely peated and with some age. I guessed it to be Laphroaig 20+yo, but it showed out to be the legendary Brorageddon, one of the earliest PLOWED bottlings. Nice treat. I knew I had this before, but couldn't recall it tasting like this. But then again, I probably wasn't in an analytical corner the first time around. Which I actually seldom is. Most of the time (95% or so) I drink whisky just to enjoy it without being overly analytical, rating it seriously or writing feeble tasting notes.

Now to the four secret drams. They were served in table discussion fashion, and I tried to note as many things down as possible. A total of three sessions in various locations in California.

First one up was Amrut 100, 57.1%. 

Peated Amrut, 100 british proof, 100cl, 100 bottles. Gives the name. Matured in ex-bourbon then transfered into 100liters virgin oak barrels. Thanks to Ashok and MACY for the sample, it has now travelled the world :-). This is the one whisky that has not been on a sherry cask, but could they tell ?

Comments : 

Very Peaty, Fruity, Sherried. High ABV (Mikey)

Peated Speyside, Refill Sherry, Irish ?, Peaches, Burnt Peat, Pinenotes, Stonefruits (Ganga)

Jura Prophecy, Japanese, Old Jura, Chocolate, Peat, but not heavy, Chocolate (Marty)

Sulphur, Iodine, Bitter Red Apple Peels, Sticky finish, not a lot of sherry (Hyperfuji)

Golden Delicious Apple, Chili Pepper, Lemon (Andy)

Oranges, Peppermint, Amrut? (Tim)

Anis, Toffee (Jake)

Whisky no. 2 was Caol Ila 1996 Gordon and macphail Cask Strength, 59.0%, cask 16070-16072, bottled 2007

Comments:

Butterscotch, vanilla, young cask strength, Bowmore (Mikey)

Syrup, Candycorn (Jake)

Butterscotch, Bitter Licorise (Ganga)

Coconut (Marty)

Butterscotch, Saw dust, citrus, fino sherry (Hyperfuji)

Nutmeg, Iodine, Charred Wood (Andy)

29.83 Kissing a Balrog's Bum(Laphroaig) 20yo 52.3% bottled by SMWS, Refill Butt

Before I purchased this was reported to me as being terrible sulphured. Personally I can't find any, and I am very sensitive to sulphur, well, I look at it as an off-note. Maybe more when it express itselfs as rotten eggs sulphur, opposed to rubber-latex on a mild level. I was looking forward to see to what extent the others would pick up sulphur here. The name gives a hint, but these guys didn't know the name

Black Tea, Nice, Sweet, Cherried (Hyperfuji)

Rubber Cement, Bitter Greens (Andy)

Impressed, Slight rubbery the way I like it (Marty)

Saltwater, Cocoa powder (Jake)

Raisins (Tim)

Soapiness, Hot, Young (Xray)

Apple, Sweet peat, Laphroaig like, freshly cut grass, medicinal peaty (Mikey)

The 4. whisky was PE1 by TWE, 58.7%

Kind of perfumy, 80's Bowmore (Mikey)

Grains Hay, Red Licorise (Tim)

Sulfur (Jake)

Creamy, Caramelly (Xray)

I really like this, Sweet, candied, cherry, graphite (Hyperfuji)

http://www.lawhiskeysociety.com/whiskey-profile/1635/Port-Ellen-Pe1-Elements-of-Islay (Andy)

I recommend LA whisky society http://www.lawhiskeysociety.com a great source of whisky reviews from a group of whisky entusiast that I regard high

So what were the favourites ?

Mikey and Xray : Amrut 100

Hyperfuji, Andy and Tim : Pe1

Jake, FX and Marty : Kissing a Balrog's Bum

Ganga : Caol Ila 1996

Next Blogpost : I will take on Amrut 100 and Pe1

Thanks to everybody to be being willing to participate and going public. I know of whisky "experts" who never would do things like this :-)

Cleaning out my samples - part 3 of 5

1. Hart Brothers 17yo Talisker 46%

Distilled 1993

Nose: sherry, slight wellington rubber, that actually smells good :-)

Palate: Sweet, peppery, peaty and prickly in a very nice combination. This will be exactly what a sherry fan picking up a Talisker would expect. This is really sweet! But the way the peat and the pepper emerges behinds the sweetness is absolutely delicious

Finish : medium

Comment: If you buy a sherried Talisker this is exactly what you hope for! More sweet than you'd expect thou. But if you can take the sweetness this will delight you!!

Rating 87

2. Caol Ila 15yo Bladnoch Forum 58.8%

This is one of the early Bladnoch Forum bottlings. Thank you Jesper for the sample.

Nose: 

Palate: very creamy and a big body. Vanilla, butterscotch and peat. Very peaty actually. 

Finish : long, with a wood-spicy touch that prickles your palate for a long time

Comment : I really like this whisky. Big and Bold is not usually the words associated to a whisky from an ex-bourbon cask this age!!

Rating 90

A couple of bottlings from Falster

Two months ago, when I did a wee Bunnahabhain vertical I was very delighted with the Falster Bunnahabhain

I actual have a couple of other Falster bottlings, no need not to have a little sip of those as well

Both are bottled via DMWA and Creative as well

These whiskies are bottled at the annual Wild Whisky Weekend which is hosted at Hotel Falster. Falster is a southern danish island, which has the southernmost point of Denmark. Hotel Falster is also partly owned by the famous danish whisky entusiast Hans-Henrik Hansen.

1. Glenlivet 33yo Falster 2010 51.2%
Bottled by Creative (David Stirk)
Distilled 1976

Metal label

This malt appears as quite woody, so I added a wee bit of water which made wonders. I don't normally add water to my whiskies, but if I feel the whisky is somewhat restrained or onesided (as this one were), I do

Now I suddenly have a whisky where there's something to write about!

Nose : Fruit, Vanilla, Wood
Palate : Spicy, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, wood and brandy
Finish : Powerful and medium length

This is a fine whisky, but it doesn't live up to the magnificient Bunnahabhain. I always had trouble with older Glenlivet's which somehow dissapointed me. Nothing wrong with them, but when you get into the $$$$$ whiskies you start to expect something- Gimme a Nadurra please :-)

Rating 83

2. Caol Ila Falster 2007 52.7%
Bottled by Creative (David Stirk)
Distilled 1984

Caol Ila

Nose : Some slight milk acidity which reminds me of younger islays. then the typical of old Caol Ila robust sweetness-spicyness appears, peat of-course, but I am getting immune to that :-)

Palate : Typical Caol Ila. Round, sweet, full bodied, heavy, spicy, citrus and vanilla

Finish : Medium strength but long

Rating 84

This is another good Caol Ila. Caol Ila is almost always a sure hit, and this is no exception. As Mark Watt says "I never had a bad Caol Ila", and I do agree on that statement.

Peat and Sherry

Two very traditional ways of "flavouring" whisky is to use peated malt or to use a cask which prior content will affect the current

A lot of wellknown brands, like Highland Park, Ardbeg Uigeadail are of this type and BenRiach has been bottling quite a few old expressions of peated malt that received a finish (see : http://danishwhiskyblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/port-askaig-at-cockney-pub-arhus-and.html for a review of a 1984 BenRiach finished in a Pedro Ximenez Cask)

In this blog I'll be tasting a couple of Islays, one Caol Ila and one Laphroiag. These days a lot of distilleries have side productions of peated whisky, but only very few distilleries have the production of very peated whisky as their main expression. They are Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Kilchoman and Bowmore on Islay and Talisker on Skye. Port Ellen on Islay, which closed in 1983 would belong on this list as well. Caol Ila and Laphroaig uses mainly ex-bourbon casks for maturing their whisky, so getting your hand of a bottle of whisky matured on a sherry cask from these distilleries isn't very common.

Laphroaig 2001

The main "problem" with peat and sherry is balance. You want to be able to taste both. You don't really want one of the flavours to dominate the other too much. Maturing has its affect here. The peatyness of a whisky will decrease as the whisky matures, and the influence from the cask will increase. As the sherry influence comes from the cask, this will increase as time go by. Cask influence is not an exact science so some casks will hold their peat flavour better than others. The sherry influence is also dependant on if the cask used is a 1st fill, 2nd fill or so on, and also to what kind of sherry was used in the original cask!

Laphroaig 2001

1. 29.83 Kissing a Balrog's Bum (Laphroiag) 20yo 52.3% bottled by SMWS Refill Butt


This whisky somehow seems a bit closed and don't really want to to come out and say hello and release its flavours. It takes some time


Nose : ashes, fruity - some dried sweet fruits but "normal" fruityness as well, peaty

Palate : Nice peat, and the ashiness is still there, the sweet sherry hits you first but then the peat comes creeping in, some woodiness. The sweetness is there but the ash gives you a dry impression. Vanilla and then liquorice which dominates the finish


Overall a very nice dry mix of sherry, ash and peat.


Quite a few finds sulphur in this, but I don't!. I got the thought that what I pick up as ash (dust!) others get as sulphur, but who knows ?
Rating 85

2. Caol Ila 1996 Gordon and Macphail Cask Strength, 59.0%, cask 16070-16072. Dist. 29/10/1996 bottled 05/04/2007


Nose : Fudge and vanilla, benhind the peat and sherry


Palate : The first thing that hits you is a sherry whisky but the finish is a very powerful peated Islay. Liquorice


The finish on this Caol Ila is amazing long mix of liquorice and peat, ending up with a hint of smoked bacon/meat after several minutes
Rating 85

Caol Ila 2001

Port Askaig at the Cockney Pub, Århus and a Superb BenRiach

Cockney Pub is an english/scottish pub in Århus with a good selection of bottled beers, beers on tap and malt whisky. There's a good turnaround, so theres always something new to try out. And it's the only place in Århus serving real ale. On the shelves this week were the three Port Askaigs bottled by Speciality Drinks, which is a bottling company within the The Whisky Exchange, one of the worlds leading whiskyshops

1. Port Askaig Cask Strength 57.1%

2. Port Askaig 17yo 45.8%

3. Port Askaig 25yo 45.8%

It was a hot day, and the bar was hot so the malts was served at a relatively high temperature. There's been some short discussions which distillery these are from, and the fact that Caol Ila is located just next to Port Askaig adding that Caol Ila is the biggest distillery on Islay and the distillery that most frequent feeds independent bottlers with peated malts made it an obvious guess. The bartender at the Cockney pub said the salesman from which he bought the whiskies from, had told him that these were from different distilleries. Labels like this might also change distillery from batch to batch, but as far as I know there's been just one batch so far of Port Askaigs. 

From tasting these I can't tell which distillery is the origin, but it tasted like they were from the same distillery as they had a lot in common. Actually they reminded me most of Ardbeg 10, but not really of any other Ardbeg bottlings. I do believe in Caol Ila for the above reasons, and also the fact that if anyone had casks of 25yo Ardbeg it would be worth a lot of £££ to sell it with Ardbeg name on the bottle.
Here's a bit on the whiskies :

The 25yo was delicious lightbodied, apple and pears, with a tobacco smokyness and slightly floral

The 17yo was meaty and more fullbodied but much of the same with the apples and pears being more subtle. This will definetely suit peat fanatics more than the 25yo will

The NAS cask strength version, was a lot more powerful but wellrounded whisky with clear relations to the older bottlings. 

Its a set of good simple classic Islay malts which I'd probably rate around 85, with no particlar favourite, theres a different one for whatever mood you're in

Here's the whiskybar of Cockney

Well I thought I could manage one more dram before heading home so I picked up a

4. Benriach 1984 24yo 49.2% Pedro Ximenez sherry finish

(Bottom shelf, bottle no 5 from the left on the photo above)

When Benriach was bought by the new owners they discovered a range of peated casks in the warehouses, and they have bottled quite a lot of it over the last few years. This includes a few port and sherry finishes, the 1986 Plowed Benriach is also a Pedro Ximenez finish)

This is a magnificient dram. Often the heavy wine finishes can disguise the peat but here the peat and the dark sherry works together very well with neither overpowering the other. It's a sweet mellow kind of peat, the dark sherry is classic dried fruits with underlying vanilla. There's actually a span of peat giving this a playful complexity. I also thought I picked up a tiny bit of wet rubber..latex  (sulphur?) in it, not really unpleasant, I didnt find that when I had the same malt the week before! 

Rating 94

Well, pubs forces me to enjoy myself and be social opposed to be too analytic, but I tried to concentrate a bit on these. When I was about to go home and relax, an old friend from out of town "unfortunately" walked in, which cost me a few extra and not planned hours in the pub and quite a bit of hangovers the next day! 

EDIT summer 2011. After retasting this at home, this is one of my all time favourites!