4 Whiskies bottled by Norse Cask

Glen Grant - Port Ellen - Rechlerich - Royal Lochnagar

The former danish importer of whisk(e)y and other spirits - Qualityworld, ran its own small independent bottler business, bottling around 10 casks a year. The whiskies were relatively cheap, you bought shares of 2-4 bottles approx 1½ year before the casks were bottled. QW unfortunately went bankrupt, but the reputation of their Norse Cask label lives on as a legend


Here's 4 of the bottles I haven't emptied yet and its some of their best ones:

1. Royal Lochnagar 1977 29yo 50.4%
Royal Lochnagar is a small distillery owned by Diageo. It's actually one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, with only a big handfull or so that's smaller.  It's a very handmade malt and the company use the place to teach their employees the craft of fundemental whiskymaking. It's lesser known as single malt and hard to find as independent bottling. I have to admit I am not particulary impressed with anything I tasted that was released from the distillery and I can't recall other IB's but this one makes it up for everything
The nose is excellent. Sweet fruits, apples and pears - mixed with floor varnish!. Its fullbodied and oily, a bit of roasted wood emerging as well. Think an oily armagnac with a twist of wood
Rating 88

Glen Grant - Port Ellen - Royal Lochnagar - Rechlerich 

2. Glen Grant 1965 40yo 52.5%

Glen Grant used to be part of the Chivas group but they were forced to get rid of it for monopolistic reasons. Under Campari's and Dennis Malcolm's leadership a new approach has started. Beside co-working with and selling new-make to Gordon and MacPhail again, the distillery have extended their bottling range to a "sligthly" more exciting range. I didn't particulary like the 5yo/NAS and 10yo but the recent new bottlings are very good. Look for them if you havent tried allready

A few years ago I wanted to buy my mother a birthdaypresent so I decided for this Glen Grant 1967 which is my birthyear. When Norse Cask bottled it, they excused and said, we are sorry but its from 1965 not 1967.. well sometimes I really can't get myself to complain when things turn out different than promised :-)

This Glen Grant has a fruity acidity (tart?) on the nose, and a very spicy palate - I get some very powerful mintleaves, I'm actual put back 4 weeks when I did a vertical mint leave tasting in my parents japanese garden, trying out 4 or 5 different kinds. It's a very delicious dram, with a long minty-woody-spicy finish. Very Fresh
Rating 88

3. Port Ellen 1979 28yo 53.6%
A lot of people think that Port Ellen is overrated and recent bottlings has gone overage. I am a big fan of old Islays, especially the 5 peatier ones : Caol Ila, Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Port Ellen and Lagavulin, and I have to say that I like PE as well as the others. This is a classic old Islay with a the classic citrus+peat combo I tend  to find or describe quite often. The wood embraces the peat in a perfect match making this a great mouthfull, with a long, very long fresh minty finish..I think I got the mint pinpointed from the Glen Grant
Rating 90

4. Rechlerich 1964 40yo 53.5%
Well, Glenfarclas has the weird idea that other bottlers can't use their distillery name when they bottle Glenfarclas. So when you got a speysider with an alternative name (Speyside Finest, Speyside no. 1, Ballindalloch etc. it's probably a Glenfarclas). I think Glenfarclas are straight away wrong here, they simply miss a lot of free marketing. Most of my entrances to distilleries have been through independent bottlers, who bottle lot more varied casks, than what's available from the average distillery through OB's. And end of the day I prefer their kind of products (No caramel, single casks, no chillfiltration, full strength) opposed to distilleries who tend to do the exact opposite. Enough said, it been said plenty of times by me and a 1000 other anoraks :-)
This one is a sherry monster. Its very hard to find unflawed sherry whiskies, but here's a perfect one.
Liqeurice, vanilla, dried fruits. Its a very intense and powerful dram, one of the kinds that can only be sipped drop by drop. So its not easy drinking whisky, but it is very enjoyable whisky. The finish is neverending, you probably won't find longer finishes than this. If you're crazy with sherrymatured whisky you probably regret you didnt get hold of a bottle of this. 10 minutes after the last sip a bit of smoke/tobacco appeared. Amazing
Rating 90

Glen Grant - Port Ellen - Royal Lochnagar - Rechlerich

Whisky-Emporium got the last two of these blind together with 2 others. I think he did rather well, a fine set of tasting notes, and blind guessing is harder than you think..unless someone serves a Bowmore :-)

Read about it here : http://www.whisky-emporium.com/Blogs/2010-07-July/Blog.htm

Norse Cask bottlings might still be availbale here : http://www.qualityworld.dk/ (The above is most likeable sold out)

A flight of 5 peated malts

1. Ardbeg SuperNova 2010 60.1% (L10 070)
 Anoraks can discuss peat ppm values forever, something that started around when Bruichladdich decided to got all-inn with peat in barleys and produced Octomore (80ppm) and later Octomore with even more peat. Some claims that there is a theoretical limit below these values for peat content.
 Here's a few things about ppm, peat and whisky :
ppm stands for parts per million and is measure to describe small contents of whatever... When it comes to peat its the phenol contents, as phenols gives malt whisky its peated/smoky taste.
 ppm values given are for the content in the barley. The ppm value actually diminish in distillation, so even though Ardbeg uses the most peated barley for their standard produce, the newmake of Laphroaig has a higher ppm value than the ppm value for Ardbeg new make. Phenols must be breaking down when a whisky mature, as the ppm value goes down as whisky mature in the cask as well. This is no exact science and sometimes you get old whisky that are surprisingly peaty
The ppm value for this Ardbeg supernova is given on the bottle as 100ppm, opposed to the standard 50-60ppm for Ardbeg. I am not sure how much difference this will give in the newmake, but the fact that this is younger than the Ardbeg 10 will add to the relative peat difference as will the fact that this is cask strength
Now back to the whisky : The first thing I note is that this doesnt actually seem to be that peaty. I don't get the chok-effect that Ballechin gave me (heavily peated Edradour)
This doesn't have the sweetness I got in SN2009, I find it a lot more one-dimensional (actually described as a deeper, earthier character on the bottle compared to SN2009, In which I agree)
My comments : Dry, peaty, newmake - I prefer the SN2009
Rating 85


2. Ardbeg Rollercoaster 57.3 (L9 344)
I've been a member of the Ardbeg committee since around it started (I think I got number 389). In the early days I had pleasure of acquiring almost all of their releases, but the bottlings out the last years hasn't been the same (everything was much better in the good ole' days). Legends like the 23yo-ish sherry casked Ardbegs, Kildalton, 21yo, early 70's single casks etc. are now in my collection of empty ardbeg bottles. Recent bottlings has also been a heavy lift in prices unfortunately. Guess we shoulkd't have told everybody how good Ardbeg is 10 years ago ?.
The Rollercoaster is a bottling to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the Ardbeg Committee. Its a vatting of casks distilled every year from 1997 to 2006, making this a 3yo technically. Young Islays has become a catagory of its own the last decade. It's very popular, the world is full of peatjunkies. So offcourse every distillery and every IB is having something in this catagory.
Ardbeg probably had the most, but this is more to the fact they only distilled regularely since 1997 so their main stock has been young whisky
This is one of the best young Islays I had, far better than any of the AVY, VYA, Still Young, Almost There etc., seems like they kept their best casks!
My comments : citrus, peat, complex (I need that T-shirt), the different cask vintages in here works together like a rollercoaster
Rating 85



Note : SN2010 is 80£, Rollercoaster 50£. These are high prices, a lot of people refuses to pay 50£ for a "3yo", but I think the whisky got the quality to justify this is bit. I find it lot better than the SN so in the Ardbeg catagory it's good quality for money!

3. Bruichladdich : Port Charlotte Cuairt Beatha PC6 61.6%
Finished in Madeira Casks
First impression is that this is a slight sourness, which lessens as you take the first sips. Still very detectable in the nose unfortunately. This seems quite fierce, and I do admit I often have problems with finishes. This is no exception. I don't find that the peat and the madeira works together here.
Rating 65


4. Brora - Old Malt Cask cask 2294 50% 23yo Nov. 1982
First I'd like to point out that if you look for peated in a Brora, go for something distilled in the early-mid 70's. But the lack of peat in this won't let me take it of todays vertical. This is from a sherry cask, but it isn't overpowering. But the nose and palate doesn't lie. It's woody in the good sweet way I often see, and absolute adore, in old Brora's and Clynelish', is it the mix of this and peat that make 70's Brora's outstanding ?. The nose is a delightful sweet spicy mix with a big flowery/honey touch. The palate is sweet, prickly, and sherry-woody
My comments : sweet, sherry, prickly, flowers, spicy
Rating 89



5. Glen Keith 33yo old 1971 Lorne MacKillop D&M Aficionados' Club 43%
Glen Keith is the neighbour of Strathisla in Keith, and has been silent since 1999, functioning today as filling store and technical center. This is a sample of an american bottling I got from plowed-exile Rodger Howard. 
This is surprising me with its peat!, not something you expect from a Glen Keith. I also find citrus in this one. A lot, this is probably one of the most citrus-lemon whiskies I had. Which is good, cause I like that. It reminds me Ardbegs the same age and vintage. The intensity is high so I suspect not much or no water at all has been added to reach the 43 ABV. This is pure joy to me
Rating 89


Edit summer 2011: I am pretty sure the sample bottle was contaminated as when I tasted this directly from the bottle there was no peatyness AT ALL, fact is that I tasted something else and I don't know what and I wonder if Rodger does :-)


Real Rating 82

Bourbon, Straight by Charles K. Cowdery

Book review

One day, when I was doing my daily tour of whisk(e)ywebpages, there were a guest poster on WDJK, Chuck Cowdery was explaining bourbon regulations 101

I thought it was a fine article, followed up by a string of questions which were answered !

http://www.whatdoesjohnknow.com/2010/06/11/guest-blog-chuck-cowdery-on-those-confusing-bourbon-regulations/

This made me purchase the book!. I found the book quite messy in the way the chapters were organised. I think this origins from the fact that I am (very) used to read books about scottish distilleries. Distilleries.
 That's is the keyword. When dealing with scottish malt whisky the focus is on distilleries. Here theres a lot less focus on distilleries, but more focus on people, history and brands
This book doesn't contain any photos at all. Not a lot of effort has (deliberately?) been put on appearance. This is the kind of book that has been published by a small publishing comnpany for a small cost. But what you don't get in appearance, you get in content. Chuck Cowdery knows what he writes about, and he guides you around the people, the history, the brands, the distilleries, reviews bottles and guide you about which whiskeys to taste to get around the main examples of different bourbon types (you can't say bourbon without saying ryes, something you realise after reading this book)

This is from 2004 and might allready be about to be outdated. This is for a reason I don't want to complain about..The entusiast market has caught the attention of the american whiskey markets and the variety of bottlings has grown a lot the last few years.

But you get around all the "classic" brands and a bottling like George T Stagg is in the book as the first of these were out in 2002

Verdict : Highly recommended and a must have for anyone who wants to have a book collection to go along with their whisk(e)y collection

Buy the book here : http://cowdery.home.netcom.com/bourst.html

Four Amruts

Four Amruts


Amrut is an indian distillery located in Bangalore, at 3000+ feet above sealevel. The hot temperature makes this whisky mature in it's own special fashion. Fast, different and with an angel's share that threatens to empty casks more than 6 years old!


I generally find the Amruts very full-bodied, and I always get the feeling that someone added a tiny amount of ash-dust to it, I also get a tiny hint of the smell of plasticines I used to play with as a kid. Sweet tropical fruits like pineaplles and peaches. Apart from the OB's I've tried a few Blackadder's which are also recommended!


Amrut Fusion 50%
A mix of Scottish (peated) and Indian Barley
This is the most "asian" of these Amruts, despite its scottish content. 
My comments : Tropical Fruits, Ash-dust, sweetness, woodbitterness, Ginger, slightly peated. Very complex
Rating 91


Amrut Double Barrel 46%
Amrut Double Cask. Cask filled : 27/2-2003 and 25/7-2002. Bottled 27/2-2010, cask #2874 and 2273- 46%, oldest expresion of Amrut released so far, Ex-bourbon casks
My comments : Vanilla, tropical sweet spices, slight sweet woodiness, delicious, 
Rating 86


Amrut Two Continents 46% 
Matured across two continents. I've seen photos of Arran Casks with a wee Amrut label!.
My comments : Plasticine, Sweet wood, full-bodied texture, 
Rating 82


Amrut Peated cask strength 62.8%
February 2009 bottling
The barley used for Amruts isnt on the same peat level as the southern Islay malts, more like a Bowmore with 15-20ppm. The effect of this peat is on par with the southern Islays thou. I think a reason for this is the young age of Amrut
My comments : fierce - but not as fierce as you would expect for this high ABV., peaty, sweet. The sweetness and peatyness competes!
Rating 85

My favourite Whisky sites

Fora

http://www.whiskynyt.dk/

Danish whisky forum

http://forum.irishwhiskeysociety.com/
Irish Whisky Entusiasts forum

http://blog.maltadvocate.com/
John Hansells great interactive blog

http://www.bladnoch.co.uk/

Best Distillery Site. Best Distillery Forum. Best Distillery Shop. Period

Blogs

http://recenteats.blogspot.com/

Sku's blog, now mainly about whisk(e)y - my favourite blog, often funny, and Sku knows what he talks about!

http://www.cooperedtot.com/
Josh Feldman's New York based blog about spirits from wood

http://www.scotchandicecream.com/
Tim Reads blog, actually about whiskey and what not in general, great blog

http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/
Chuck Cowdery's Bourbonblog

http://www.theperfectwhiskymatch.blogspot.ca/
Johanne and Graham McInnis' whiskyblog from Canada!

http://www.lawhiskeysociety.com/
Los Angeles Whisk(e) Society. A big database of reviews

http://scotchhobbyist.com/
Jeff's blog from Arizona

http://www.bourbonblog.com/
A very diverse about bourbon and what not :-)

http://www.ralfy.com/
Ralfy's Youtube videos about and rating whisky, allready a classic...I need a ralfy hat

http://www.guidscotchdrink.com/

A blog by Jason Johnstone-Yellin

ttp://www.edinburghwhiskyblog.com/

Chris and Lukas from Edinburgh, two young lads with a whiskyblog

http://www.whiskyfun.com/
Serge's is one of the webs most respected whiskyraters. Mainly reviews

http://www.canadianwhisky.org
Davin de Kergommeaux site about canadian whisky

http://www.whiskynotes.be/
Mainly reviews

http://www.dramming.com/
Oliver Klimeks blog, with great articles and ratings

http://www.whiskyintelligence.com/
Great newsfeed about whisky

http://www.nonjatta.blogspot.com/
THE site about Japanes Whisky.

http://whisky.foodnwine.co.il/
WhiskyIsrael : Gal Granov's Blog

http://www.jewmalt.com/
Joshua Hatton's WhiskyBlog

http://www.whisky-emporium.com/UK/index.htm
Keith's site with articles and tasting notes

http://misswhisky.com
reviews and interviews, often with focus of women in the business

http://www.whiskyimpressions.com/
Whisky Art and a blog from Kate and Mark

http://www.whisky-bros.lt
Whisky Bros - Lithuanian Whisky Blog

Other Favourite Links

http://ardbegproject.com/
Tim Puett's encyclopediac page about Ardbeg bottlings

http://www.daftmill.com/
Daftmill's webpage. Whiskychat every wednesday at 21:30 CET

http://www.whiskyauction.com/
Whisky Auction site no. 1, based in Germany

http://www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com/
Another good auction site, based in Scotland

http://www.whiskybase.com/
Whiskydatabase with user entries and reviews

Other links I also follow

http://www.whiskymag.com/forum/
Whisky Magazine Forum

http://chwisgi.com/
Database, blogs, everything whisky essentially

http://www.connosr.com/
Whiskydatabase, reviews, forum, magazine

http://www.thewhiskywire.com/
A blog by Steve Rush

http://maltfascination.com/
A blog by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

http://blog.islayinfo.com/
Info about Islay

http://thecasks.com/
A blog by Peter Lemon

http://sourmashmanifesto.com/
A blog by Jason Pyle

http://whiskybrother.com/
South African Whiskyblog

http://weekendwhiskey.blogspot.com/

http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.com/

http://www.bourbonblog.com/

http://dramwhisky.blogspot.com/
A blog by Adam Yusko

http://www.islayblog.com/
Armin Crewe's blog about islay

http://whiskyparty.net/
American Whisky Blog

http://whiskygirl.nl/
Dutch girls whiskyblog, it's a bit different than other whiskyblogs :-)


http://www.thewhiskywire.com/
Steve Rush' whiskyblog, reviews mainly

Google maps of all the whiskydistilleries in the world

I made a set of three maps on googlemaps to display all the distilleries making whisky in the whole wide world :-)

The aim is first and foremost to show the EXACT locations of distilleries, to help as travel guides and for the geography nerds out there, myself included

I do put distillieries on the map when they are in production, or if closed, bottles are still "ready available"

NEW FEATURE Scotland : Visitor centres are marked

Here are the links :

http://bit.ly/1IjYyPL    UK and Ireland  

http://bit.ly/1IjZaoE   Americas

http://bit.ly/1IjZm7n Rest of the World

Send me a mail if you spot an error or a missing distillery.


My main sources are : Malt Whisky Yearbok, Sku's recent eats, Whiskyportal, twitter and google :-)

Trivia Quizzes about Whisky

I have made a series of trivia quizzes about whisky

I am about moving the quiz to a new palce called Quibblo

I will update and edit quizzes to 2012

So far the following quizzes are available

Quiz 1: The Easy Malt Whisky Quiz
http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/hqI9wH2/Quiz-1-The-Easy-Malt-Whisky-Quiz

Quiz 2: The Malt Whisky Quiz
http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/hqJ2Z42/Quiz-2-The-Malt-Whisky-Quiz

Quiz 3: My third quiz, a little harder
http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/hqJJw68/Quiz-3-Whisky-Quiz-3

Quiz 4: The Islay Quiz
http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/hqKKl5E/Quiz-4-Islay-and-her-whisky

Quiz 5: The very long malt whisky quiz (100 questions!)
http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/hr3Wxey/Quiz-5-The-very-long-malt-whisky-quiz

Quiz 6: General Whisky Knowledge
http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/hsmSqa3/Quiz-6-General-Whisky-Trivia


Have fun

Kind regards

Steffen