Bellwether Cask Strength Whisky Review!

Bellwether? Yes, Bellwether! A small Australian single malt produced by a very small Australian distillery that has actually been around for nearly 10 years. And it's a good 'un!

Bellwether Australian single malt is produced by Geographe Distillery, which is part of the Old Coast Rd. Brewery located in the tiny rural town of Myalup in Western Australia, around 1.5 hours drive south of Perth. The distillery first opened in 2008 and their first release was bottled in late 2015, but you'll be hard-pressed to find any Bellwether whiskies on the shelves, even in Western Australia. Most releases sell out very quickly from the distillery's own website, despite the fact that the distillery is basically unknown outside of the more serious Australian whisky enthusiasts and local supporters. They're only released sporadically (when they're ready) and in tiny quantities, with the largest batch so far (Release 4) consisting of 300 x 350ml bottles. And that was a much bigger release than the previous three regular-strength releases, which totalled 520 half-sized bottles combined, so we're talking about a very tiny output here. The distillery currently produces around 100 litres of new make spirit per fortnight (one double-distillation run), with proprietor & distiller Steve Ryan doing the vast majority of the work himself.

Bellwether malts are generally made from imported Scottish barley, from Bairds maltings in Inverness, which is generally medium peated, to around 15-20 ppm, although there have been heavily peated releases. Since there's also a brewery on-site, the distillery obviously does its own mashing, brewing and fermenting, which is not always the case with small Australian distilleries, many simply source their wash "pre-made" from local breweries, albeit to their own specifications. The distillery is equipped with a single column still, but all whisky (they also make gin and limoncello) is double-distilled without the plates installed in the neck of said still, making it function like a pot still would. So far all Bellwether releases have been matured in French oak ex-port casks that were re-coopered in South Australia to a smaller size, typically 50-100 litres. There are currently over 40 different casks maturing on-site, including red & white wine, bourbon and fortified wine casks, with ex-cognac casks on the way, ranging from 50-litre re-coopered casks through to full size 228-litre hogsheads. Bellwether has so far released relatively young whiskies, often bottled at 3-5 years of age, but because of the smaller casks, and no doubt the roller-coaster Australian climate, they're quite mature for their age. All releases are non-chill filtered and naturally coloured, and have been bottled at anywhere from 40.8%-46%, with two tiny releases at cask strength getting up to 70% ABV.

I'm lucky enough to have a sample of the first Bellwether cask strength release, and there have only been around 85 x 350ml bottles of cask strength Bellwether released to date, so it's a pretty rare thing! This particular release consisted of just 45 x 350ml bottles taken from French Oak ex-Tawny (Australian Port) casks at approximately 5 years of age, and bottled at a cask strength of 61.3%. It was distilled from medium-heavy peated (30-50 ppm) Scottish barley from Bairds maltings in Inverness, and as mentioned above is non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. I'm sure the 350ml bottles may raise a few eyebrows, but I can completely understand why the decision was made, and frankly I think it's a great idea. Since they're such small releases if they were full-sized bottles they'd be near impossible to get a hold of, and the half-sized bottle also helps keep the prices down to a very reasonable $80-ish for the non-cask strength releases, and around $100 for the cask strength bottlings. That may sound expensive for the sized to those reading from Europe or the U.S., but even at double the price (so equivalent to a full-sized bottle) that's very reasonable for a very scarce Australian single malt. Releases from many other Australian distilleries often command far higher prices, even with much larger outputs and much larger releases. So this is a great approach!

Bellwether Single Malt Cask Strength 1st Release, NAS, 61.3%. Myalup, Western Australia. 
Produced at Geographe Distillery. Medium-heavily peated to 30-50 ppm from Bairds maltings Inverness, matured in 50-litre first-fill French oak ex-Tawny port casks, approximately 5 years of age. Bottled 9/2016, 45 bottles. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Rust red.

Nose: Sweet, spicy and juicy port. Dark, sweet caramelised stone fruit, cough syrup, sweet grassy malt behind. Some powdered aniseed, slightly smoky toffee and white pepper. Juicy toasted oak and a little citrus.

Texture: Medium-heavy weight, juicy and spicy. A little heat, but not what you'd expect for 5 years and 61% ABV! Small cask ageing at work here.

Taste: Soft entry, then more cough syrup, warm toasted spices, a big pinch of white pepper. A little ashy peat in the background, like cigarette ash, more smoky toffee, a little menthol and citrus behind.

Finish: Long, warming and spicy. More dark caramelised stone fruit, cough syrup again, and white pepper. Hints of bitter coffee grounds and more citrus, and more smoky & thick dark toffee. Grassy malt again towards the end.

Score: 3.5 out of 5.

Notes: Very impressive indeed. For such a young whisky at such a high strength it's surprisingly drinkable and disarming. I've certainly had much older malts and similar strengths that were far less approachable. The cask influence is certainly the dominant factor here, and it's hiding the peat quite well, so they must have been very fresh casks when you consider how relatively young this malt is. But then they're also smaller casks, which has obviously made a big difference. That's not a bad thing of course, just a different angle. It's quite a unique whisky actually, I wouldn't say it's close to any other Australian whiskies that I've tried. I'd say that's down to the Scottish peated malt and those fresh port casks, which makes for a unique combination, and it works. Keeping the pricing at a reasonable level certainly helps too, even considering the half-sized bottles, which means that this can be a whisky for drinking and enjoying, not squirrelling away or coveting.

For those reading from overseas this may not be the easiest malt to find, in fact it's probably impossible, but I suggest keeping an eye out for it if you venture down under any time soon. When you consider the size of this distillery and the number of whiskies it's released, and the very reasonable pricing, this really is a great product. I also remember tasting another cask strength release that was bottled at 70%, and I recall it being even more "easy drinking" than this one, so I'm sure we'll be seeing more of Bellwether and Geographe in the future! In fact the distillery's tenth anniversary is approaching this year, and the word on the grapevine is that there's something special in the works to mark the occasion. I look forward to that!

Cheers!

Octomore 7.2 Whisky Review!

A travel exclusive Octomore which like all of them, and unlike plenty of other travel exclusive whiskies, is absolutely delicious, and is well worth making the extra effort to obtain!

There have been a few travel (duty free) exclusive Octomores now, all with the _.2 suffix, dubbed the "Cask Evolution" releases by Bruichladdich. The first was the 5-year old 167 ppm Cognac cask matured 6.2 that was initially released way back in late 2013, and the second that we're looking at today: a 5-year old 208 ppm release that is a marriage of first-fill ex-bourbon casks and first-fill Syrah French red wine casks. The third travel exclusive release, 8.2, doesn't seem to have hit the shelves of many of the world's duty free stores just yet, but it promises to be very interesting. It will also be quite different to the usual Octomore MO, being significantly older than most at 8 years of age, and resulting from quite a complicated cask recipe: second-fill French Mourvedre red wine, second-fill French Sauternes dessert wine, and second-fill Austrian sweet wine casks, all matured for six years before coming together for 2 years of further maturation in first-fill Italian Amarone dry red wine casks. That's quite a mouth-full! I was lucky enough to try a small pour of the 8.2 at the distillery during my visit in 2017, but it was immediately following both a fantastic warehouse tasting and a few different drams in the shop, including this fantastic 7.2 that I'm reviewing here, so I'll reserve judgement on the new addition until I've had a chance to give it my full attention!

As frustrating and restricting as the whole "travel exclusive" thing can be for those of us who don't travel internationally on a regular basis, at least it tends to mean that stock of those releases last quite a bit longer than the other limited editions. At least it certainly does in Australia, and the distillery shop also had quite a few bottles of the 7.2 release still on the shelves during my visit. I do notice though that unlike its predecessor 7.2 doesn't declare what the size of the release was (6.2 and 8.2 were both 18,000 bottles), so perhaps it was also a larger release this time? Regardless, it was because of that little fact that I was able to pick up a second bottle of this excellent whisky through a travelling family member, and it was promptly cracked open a couple of days later! If memory serves me correctly Octomore 7.2 was actually the last Octomore release to be bottled under the reign of Bruichladdich's legendary former master distiller Jim McEwan, since both 7.3 and 7.4 were released under Adam Hannett's leadership following Jim's retirement.

So as I mentioned, this bottling is a marriage of 5-year old ex-bourbon casks and 5-year old French Syrah red wine casks, both first-fill. It was distilled from Scottish barley peated to 208 ppm, and was bottled at 58.5%. Being a Bruichladdich whisky it's also free from added colouring and chill filtration. Syrah wine is known as Shiraz in Australia, and is a dark savoury red wine that tends to be quite heavy, although apparently most European Syrah tends to be lighter and less tannic than the Shiraz we're used to in Australia. Which suits me just fine! In the case of this Octomore the casks were sourced from the Rhone Valley region of France, one of the most prolific Syrah producing regions in the world. Pricing has hovered around the $250 AUD mark in Australian duty free stores, which puts it roughly in the middle between the 'standard' 7.1 and the 7.3 Islay barley. But that's enough talk, it's time to take a closer look!

Octomore 7.2 (Bruichladdich), 5-year old, 58.5%. Islay, Scotland.
208 ppm. Marriage of first-fill ex-bourbon and French Syrah red wine casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Deep gold.

Nose: Soft and refined for a young Octomore, but there's plenty going on. Fresh, herbal and meaty with hints of Bruichladdich's trademark sweet & sour lactic notes. Wood smoked pork with lots of sea salt, licorice, dried herbs (sage?), golden barley, dried red berries, and a few blueberries. Sweet buttery pastry, creamy vanilla and salty smoked bacon with time.

Texture: Absolutely beautiful. Medium weight, silky and voluptuous. No heat either, despite being just 5 years old. The magic of Octomore!

Taste: Soft, fruity and sweet entry, then building spicy & ashy smoke, more hints of 'laddie lactic notes, like a sweet & sour berry yoghurt. Wood spices, licorice and a little burning herbs. Chewy dark milky toffees, more red berries and vanilla, and hints of iodine.

Finish: Long length. This is where the peat shows itself in full - big earthy, spicy peat with lots of spicy smoke vying for attention. More sweet dried berries and creamy vanilla, slight wine tannins. Then more salty smoked meat, more burning herbs and lightly smoky golden malted barley hang around for quite some time

Score: 4 out of 5. But it's very close to a 4.5.

Notes: Absolutely delicious dram. To be honest I struggled with the scoring on this one for quite some time, in fact I had to have a second glass to help decide, but in the end the slightly restrained nose sealed the deal. Although I'm nitpicking really. Overall 7.2 is quite softly spoken for a 5-year old Octomore, it's certainly more approachable and perhaps also more complex than most. It's very, very easy to drink actually, which is remarkable for such a young whisky at high strength. Should we be thanking those Syrah casks for that? Or is it just the usual Bruichladdich distillery magic? I'm thinking it's probably a combination of both.

I really like the berry & vanilla notes in here, plus that lovely Bruichladdich lactic milky note, all combined with the peat and smoke which take a while to show their hands, but when they do you'll know about it. Also, the fact that the malted barley itself can still be detected in a 208 ppm peated Octomore is pretty amazing when you think about it. It's a little unfortunate that the "travel exclusive" thing means that even some hardcore Octomore fans may not get the chance to taste this expression, but I imagine that stocks would not have lasted this long if it were otherwise. Another great whisky from a truly great distillery with a great team.

Speaking of which, I was saddened to hear of the recent passing of Carl Reavey, Bruichladdich's head of communications. Carl was responsible for the distillery's web content and was behind the vast majority of official social media posts and PR and blog activity, and had been involved in a number of other successful projects during his 20+ years on Islay. While I never met Carl personally, I was a regular reader and admirer of his informative and passionate writing on the (excellent) Bruichladdich website, and I'm sure the distillery, the island and the industry will be feeling this loss for quite some time. Here's to you Carl!

Cheers!

Springbank 12 Cask Strength Whisky Review!

It felt like it took years for the re-packaged Springbanks to turn up in Australia, and for that matter we still haven't seen any sign of the newer bathes of the 10-year old. And as it happens, since the batch of 12-year old Cask Strength that I'm reviewing here finally arrived down under late last year, the superseding batch has now been out & about in Europe for almost six months, with another due shortly. We don't keep up with the rest of the developed world in many ways, and it's a little sad sometimes...

I had the pleasure of tasting both Batch 15 of the 12-year old and the newer batch of the 10-year old during my pilgrimage to Scotland in September 2017, and they were both excellent. In fact I'd probably rate them quite similarly based on that first impression, despite the older dram being over 10% higher in strength. But we're a little slow in this part of the world, so we'll just have to make do with Batch 14 of the 12-year old for this review. Not really the end of the world of course! As good as all of Springbank's whiskies generally are, the 12-year old Cask Strength has long been my pick of the bunch. It consistently offers excellent value for money, and while there is some batch variation, both in quality, strength and cask types, all that I've tasted to date have made for very enjoyable drinking. By the way you won't find any batch numbers on the bottles or packaging, so the best reference is the ABV, which being unadulterated cask strength has - so far - been unique to each batch. There are generally two batches released each year, and most don't last very long.

Batch 14 that we're looking at today is a mix of 30% ex-bourbon and 70% ex-sherry casks which was released in January 2017, and was the first to sport the distillery's new updated packaging. Some older batches were all-sherry casks, but Batch 9 seems to have been the last of those. I've reviewed an even older release back in 2015, which was Batch 5, here in case you'd like a comparison with that one. I don't know this for a fact, but I'd have to assume that the introduction of ex-bourbon casks into the mix was mostly due to the increasing cost and scarcity of sherry casks in the whisky industry.

This release was bottled at a cask strength of 54.2%, and being a Springbank single malt of course it's non-chill filtered and naturally coloured, and is lightly peated and 2.5-times distilled. Springbank's Hazelburn brand is un-peated and triple distilled, and the Longrow brand is heavily peated and double distilled. It's worth a quick reminder too that Springbank Distillery floor-malt all of their barley in-house, they still use a direct-fired wash still, and they mature and bottle all of their whisky on-site in Campbeltown. The distillery suffered through a little negative feedback on their new label designs and the new outer boxes, but I don't mind them at all, I just wish they would have finally covered up that gaping bloody whole in the outer boxes!

Unfortunately I missed out on Campbeltown during my pilgrimage to Scotland in 2017, since despite my love of the region's malts I just couldn't spare the extra time. But I'm going to make up for that in late 2018 with a tour at both Springbank and Glengyle (Kilkerran) distilleries, and hopefully a quick visit to Glen Scotia, all of which I'm very much looking forward to. Let's see if this dram will be enough to keep me going a little longer...

Springbank 12-year old Cask Strength, 54.2%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Batch 14, bottled January 2017. Lightly peated, 2.5 times distilled, 70% ex-sherry casks, 30% ex-bourbon casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 

Colour: Amber. 

Nose: Malty, fruity & quite fresh, but still has the Springbank musty-ness to it. Spearmint, sweet vanilla, golden syrup, stewed stone fruit, red apples. Damp earth and nutty wood spices, some musty old wood (pine?), light farmyard notes but they're subtle. 

Texture: Medium weight, malty, musty & syrupy. No heat. 

Taste: More farmyard-y up-front, with damp hay, light earthy peat, musty old barns / sheds and a little brine. Vanilla butter icing, damp barley and a little clean machine oil. Cinnamon sugar and white pepper. 

Finish: Short-medium length. More brine and light earthy peat again, creamy sweet vanilla icing and more damp old wood, and a little leather. More of the stewed stone fruit and musty malt to finish up. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: A delicious dram of course, it's not the best batch I've tasted, and certainly not as good as the Batch 15 that I tried in Scotland, but it's still a tasty cask strength Springbank, so it could be much worse! The finish in particular is where this one seems to fall a little short, it just doesn't quite have the staying power and volume of flavour that others did. The addition of those ex-bourbon casks is quite evident too, that's not a negative really, just a point of difference. That creamy vanilla does add sweetness and the whisky seems a little more malty overall, so perhaps this is a more approachable take on Springbank 12 that might suit the Campbeltown-novice a little better?

That said, I still love that oily, musty character in these Springbanks. I don't find it in Hazelburns or Longrows either, at least not to the same extent, which is why Springbanks are my pick of the three, although it's a little less up-front in this particular bottling but it's still there! It's what I assume to be a very "old school" malt, and I can't wait to see where it comes from!

Cheers!

Deanston 12 Year Old Whisky Review!

My first Deanston, and another distillery ticked off the list! This brand hasn't been particularly high on my list of priorities in the past, and we're about to find out if that was a mistake...

Deanston is a relatively young distillery, but the site dates back to the late 1700s when it was a cotton mill. Which is why the buildings look very much like the factory that they once were. It was converted to a distillery in 1965, with malt whisky production began in earnest in 1969. After a couple of changes of ownership the distillery was closed down in 1982, and was then rescued in 1990 by Burn Stewart, who also own Tobermory and Bunnahabhain distilleries, and Burn Stewart is now owned by South African drinks company Distell. The distillery is located in the Scottish Highlands, around an hour's drive north-west of Edinburgh on the banks of the River Teith, next to Deanston village which was originally founded by the mill owners as accommodation for their workers. Interestingly the distillery has its own hydro-electric turbine power generators that were installed in the mid-20th century, which means Deanston distillery produces its own electricity! Those turbines actually produce much more power than the distillery needs, and the excess is sold back to the Scottish national electricity grid, which is a nice little side-venture for a business to have!

Deanston had a few minutes in the spotlight in the 2012 movie "The Angel's Share" when the main characters toured the distillery, although the distillery's visitor's centre didn't actually open until the month after the film premiered. The vast majority of Deanston's 3,000,000 litre annual production capacity goes into blends, and only around 15% of the distillery's output is bottled as single malt. Those single malt whiskies are naturally presented without chill filtration or added colouring, are bottled at 46.3% and above, are traditionally made without any computer assistance or automation, and all are made from Scottish-grown barley (albeit sourced from commercial maltings). Deanston were also among the first of the Scottish distilleries to produce a certified organic whisky, along with Benromach, which is a very complicated and painful process.

The Deanston expression we're looking at today is their entry level 12-year old bottling, which is matured in ex-bourbon casks, and bottled at 46.3% without chill filtration or added colouring - like the label says, "as it should be". There's not a lot of other useful information on the packaging, and I don't really like the little marketing tidbit that they've added to the front label: "nothing added but hard work and determination". Maybe I'm nit-picking here, but if that were true it'd be bottled at cask strength, wouldn't it? Still, kudos must be given for the 46.3% bottling strength and lack of chill filtration or added colouring, that's a great starting point for an entry level expression. Time for a dram...

Deanston 12-year old, 46.3%. Doune (lower Highlands), Scotland. 

Matured in ex-bourbon casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Gold.

Nose: Nice, but a little run-of-the-mill. A lot of honey and red apples, some acidic white wine-like sour tropical fruit, a little creamy vanilla and dusty / gristy malted barley.

Texture: Medium weight, almost medium-heavy. Really quite nice actually. Rich, soft & creamy.

Taste: More honey and creamy vanilla, a little nutty toasted oak, more red apples, a slight hint of spice, and a little grain-like raw alcohol nip.

Finish: Short. More vanilla & red apples, a little cocoa powder, a little less sweet here overall. That raw alcoholic nip returns here too, but only briefly. Honeyed dusty malt and some powdery apples finish things up.

Score: 3 out of 5.

Notes: It's certainly a pleasant drop, but it doesn't really offer anything that your average Speyside dram can't. Actually scratch that, the mouth feel / texture here is pretty remarkable for such a gentle style of malt, which was definitely the highlight of the Deanston 12 show for me personally. But aside from that, there's not a lot to write home about, it's just a nice crowd-pleasing whisky with enough character to get it over the line. And I'm sure the higher bottling strength and lack of chill filtration can take a bow for that. It does drop off in the finish though, and becomes a little raw in fact, which is a shame.

Regardless it's an impressive entry-level expression, and I'll be keen to try some of Deanston's other bottlings now. I can see this 12-year old going down very well with a Speyside drinker that is looking for a little more flavour and a little more character, without going too far out of field. If that sounds like you, this is definitely a dram that's worth giving a go.

Cheers!

Heartwood Beagle 5 Whisky Review!

Australia Day has just passed, so it seems like a good time for an Australian whisky review! It's another beast from my favourite Australian producer, Heartwood, with a bonus comparison at the end. Why not!

Tasmanian independent bottler Heartwood's Beagle series are vatted / blended malt whiskies, which are a blend of different single malts from different Tasmanian (in this case) distilleries. There have been five Beagle releases so far, and I've had the privilege of tasting the third, fourth and now fifth release, which was bottled in 2017. These bottlings do vary more than you might expect with a series of blended whiskies, since Tim Duckett, the mad alchemist behind Heartwood pictured above, actually destroys the recipe for each release after it's been bottled. So they're all one-off bottlings, and they're all entirely unique. The Beagle name refers to the HMS Beagle that carried naturalist Charles Darwin on his exploratory voyage in the early 19th century, in this case referring to the evolution of whisky!

My journey with the Beagle series started at the same time as my journey with Heartwood as a whole, which was on a cold Tuesday morning in Heartwood's office in Hobart. Of the 5 magnificent drams that were tasted that morning (write-up here), Beagle 3 was my equal favourite. And it was a fascinating concept, a vatted malt from the only Tasmanian independent bottler, where the recipe is purposely destroyed after bottling to ensure that each & every release is unique. I eventually got my hands on a couple of bottles of that fantastic whisky, and still have a little left, so when I was lucky enough to be given a sample of the fifth release, Beagle 5, during a recent dramming session with a fellow whisky geek, it presented an opportunity: compare them! But since I've already reviewed Beagle 3 in depth (here), and since they're very different whiskies, this won't be a head-to-head review, it'll be a full in-depth review of Beagle 5 followed by a brief comparison to Beagle 3. In one very cool little tidbit, the evolution of man pictured on the Beagle labels have also evolved, like the whiskies have: Beagle 3 featured man evolving into a still, Beagle 4 swapped the starting ape for a canine beagle, and Beagle 5 now has an extra step: man evolves into a still, then lies down under the outlet of said still. Mr. Heartwood puts a lot of time & effort into his labels, and although it's a little difficult to see in the below image, little details like these are just brilliant!

On to the nitty-gritty. Beagle 5 is a vatting of seven different casks from two Tasmanian single malt distilleries, Lark Distillery and Tasmania Distillery (the producers of Sullivan's Cove). This release consisted of 175 bottles, bottled in June 2017, at a cask strength of 62.5% ABV, and like all Heartwood whiskies it was not subjected to any chill filtration or added colouring. The casks in this fifth Beagle release included ex-bourbon, ex-port, ex-sherry and ex-muscat casks. Muscat is a sweet fortified wine which is produced from late harvest muscat grapes, with the closest European equivalent being Moscatel, ala Caol Ila Distiller's Edition. I was lucky enough to taste a young Heartwood that was matured in a muscat cask during this incredible visit to the holy grail of Australian bond stores. It was only 3 years old at the time, and it was phenomenal, so this'll be very interesting! Some of the contents of Beagle 5 were peated, but that means peated to Lark Distillery standards which is very light, to the tune of around 8 ppm. And that's also using peat from the Tasmanian highlands, which is far lighter in character than anything you'd experience in a peated Scotch whisky. As you can see from the label below, the % of peated whisky involved is "still too hard to calculate". Love it!

Heartwood Beagle 5, NAS, 62.5%. Blended / Vatted malt. Tasmania, Australia.

Blended from 7 different casks, spirit from Lark Distillery and Tasmania Distillery. Cask types include ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, ex-port and ex-muscat, and some peated spirit. Non-chill filtered, naturally coloured, 175 bottles. 

Colour: Dark bronze.

Nose: Dense & syrupy. Thick stone fruit jam, juicy sweet raisins and a couple of raspberries. Eucalyptus cough drops, burnt toffee, a little salt, and freshly polished oak. 

Texture: Heavy weight, dense & meaty. A little heat, but not much for the strength.

Taste: More thick, dense stone fruit jam, burnt plum jam here. Quite medicinal too, but not in an Islay way, more cough mixture, eucalyptus and aniseed. A little rubber, in a good way, creamy vanilla and some charred oak in the background.

Finish: Starts heavy but lightens up in true Heartwood fashion. More strong cough mixture, some lightly bitter coffee grounds, burnt toffee, more vanilla and a little earthy note. Becomes creamy for a minute before heading back to that medicinal cough mixture note, which is now berry-flavoured. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: Another delicious flavour-packed beast from Heartwood! Quite sweet and medicinal too, more so than I've found in other Heartwood releases, but it works very well here. I'd assume the muscat cask (or casks) are responsible for that extra sweetness, and I'm liking it! That strong cough mixture note is very interesting as well, but not in an unpleasant way. I can't say I've found that before, but it's very enjoyable here. We'd usually associate medicinal flavours with more heavily-peated whiskies, but that's not the case here, there's no burning hospital / iodine notes to be found, just that strong cough mixture and eucalyptus. Keeps things engaging, challenging and very interesting, which is what Mr. Heartwood always likes to do! 

And now for the comparison!

Heartwood Beagle 3 is quite different to the fifth release, as expected for the aforementioned reasons, although the spirit was sourced from the same two distilleries. The third release, bottled in 2015, consisted of whisky taken from nine different casks including ex-bourbon, port, sherry, and pinot noir wine casks, and 18% of the mix was peated spirit (Lark Distillery origin). It was a larger release too at 220 bottles (thanks to those two extra casks getting the nod), and came together at a higher strength of 68.4%. Unfortunately this little taste comparison marks the end of my bottle of Beagle 3, so I hope you appreciate the sacrifice I'm making here! From memory this bottle has been open for around a year (with the use of argon preserver), but Heartwood bottlings love a bit of oxidisation and I haven't noticed any marked difference in quality or depth of flavour since the bottle was first opened. 

On the nose the third release is considerably lighter-flavoured and less sweet, perhaps easier to navigate, and there's more citrus with the delicious orange oil note that I've always loved in this whisky. There's more spices here as well, but not a big difference in detectable alcohol on the nose despite the near 6% difference in strength. But that could be down to how long this bottle has been open. It's definitely more punchy on the palate though, which would be that almost-6% higher strength showing itself. There's more of that old-school Heartwood hot Australian bushland character, plus a load of yummy chocolate and orange. I do find the finish to be a little shorter and a little hotter, but again that could be down to oxidisation.

Overall notes: I definitely prefer the palate on this Beagle 3 to the newer release, but the nose and finish on the Beagle 5 just beat the older version. They're both excellent whiskies of course, which we can and do expect from Mr. Duckett. In fact I suspect that these Beagle blended malts allow him to work his magic a little more than the single cask single malts do, since there are more ingredients to play with and there are basically no restrictions, it's all down to Tim's mastery of the alchemy that is whisky making. 

If you're yet to try a Heartwood bottling, particularly if you're in Australia, you need to get yourself to a good whisky bar and hunt down a bottle. The sheer volume of flavour and texture in these beauties is well worth the hunt, just be warned that you may end up trying to find as many bottlings as you can, which is not a cheap or easy pursuit. But what a journey it'll be...

Cheers!

Glen Scotia 15 Year Old Whisky Review!

My first official bottling of Glen Scotia! I've heard mixed things about their earlier official releases, but they seem to have undergone a bit of a re-brand recently, and this one is good!

Glen Scotia is not a particularly well-known distillery, possibly because of the deservedly massive popularity of another independently owned distillery on the other side of town: Springbank! For quite a long time there were only these two distilleries in the Campbeltown region, which was once home to almost thirty in the late 19th- and early 20th centuries. But things are looking up this century with the re-opening of Glengyle distillery (producing Kilkerran whisky) in 2004, the first new distillery to open in Campbeltown in almost 70 years, and now with Glen Scotia undergoing major renovations and re-branding. Well technically Glengyle Distillery was re-opened, since it last closed in 1925! Despite being a bit of an ugly duckling, Glen Scotia is actually only a few years younger than Springbank, after originally opening in 1832, and has actually spent less time closed or mothballed in those nearly-190 years than its far more famous neighbour has! They're also similarly sized in terms of production, with annual capacities of around 750,000 litres, although neither actually produces that much, and a much higher portion of Glen Scotia's whisky production goes to blenders.

Glen Scotia mostly produces a lightly-peated spirit peated to around 15 ppm on the malt, although they do produce a heavily peated spirit for 6 weeks of the year, and it's all double distilled in the single pair of squat, bulbous copper pot stills. While they're sourcing their barley from external commercial maltings companies, it's all Scottish barley, and all of their whiskies are bottled at 46% and above, and are non-chill filtered. Unfortunately they seem to use artificial colouring in most of their expressions, which is a shame, but never mind. Many of the distillery buildings are still the originals that date back to the 1830s, and the whole site has recently been renovated and tidied up after the distillery was purchased by the Loch Lomond Group in 2014, which included the expansion of their dunnage warehouse to allow for more on-site maturation, and a refurbishment and expansion of the visitor's centre. 

The branding and whiskies have also had a bit of a refresh, with more refined and understated packaging and a new range of bottlings, three of which are available in Australia: the non-age statement PX sherry-finished "Double Cask" at 46% ABV, the non-age statement charred virgin oak-finished "Victoriana" at 51.5%, and the 46% ABV American oak (so presumably ex-bourbon casks) matured 15-year old that we're looking at today. All three of these bottlings seem quite reasonably priced in Australia, and I paid a very good $99 AUD for this particular bottle on special from a certain large chain liquor retailer who I'm guessing to now be the main Australian importer for both Glen Scotia & Loch Lomond. That may seem expensive to overseas readers, but for a teenaged single malt in Australia, bottled at 46% and non-chill filtered, even the $125 AUD regular price that most retailers have it listed at is really quite reasonable. For a frame of reference, the entry level 10 year old Springbank retails for $100-120 AUD down here.

I must admit that after it caught my eye in some advertising from said retailer I did a little research, and what sold me on this whisky was the legend that is Ralfy Mitchell ( ralfystuff ). He absolutely loved this whisky and gave it 92 points, a very high score for him, which convinced me to take the plunge. And I'm glad I did!

Glen Scotia 15-year old, 46%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Lightly peated, matured in American oak (presumably ex-bourbon) casks. Non-chill filtered, artificially coloured. 

Colour: Orange-y amber. Definitely some e150a interference.

Nose: Quite subtle and a little muted initially, it opens up with time but is still quite a gentle dram on the nose. Lots of sweet vanilla icing, spiced stewed fruit: red apples and stone fruit with a few berries chucked in for good measure. Some salty brine and musty old oak, and crumbly caramel fudge. 

Texture: Medium-heavy weight, plenty of flavour, and no heat. 

Taste: More sweet vanilla, but creamy now. A little buttery salted caramel fudge, gentle spices, and a lovely Campbeltown farmyard musty-ness. The fruit is more dried now, and it's mainly the stone fruit that shows.

Finish: Medium length. A big wave of salty sea air and a pinch of peppercorns, more musty & dank farmyard notes. Old warehouses, damp earth, a little dirty oil, and dusty old oak. Lovely. The sweet vanilla and that crumbly caramel fudge return at the end. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Almost scored a 4 out of 5, but it's a little muted on the nose and doesn't pack the same level of flavour that it does on the palate. That's still a good score though, especially if you factor in the asking price! Not quite 92 points in my book but still a lovely easy-drinking dram. I'd have to put this Glen Scotia above most of the Springbank 10 bottlings that I've tried, and I'd also put it on par with the best that I've tasted, the first release with the solid orange packaging (which I tasted in Scotland - it still hasn't made it to Australia!). In fact I'd also put the Glen Scotia 15 ahead of Springbank 15, and it's significantly cheaper than that cousin from the other side of town. Quite the performance from the underdog! 

For the money, this one is a real winner. I wish they'd skipped the added colouring of course, but there aren't many single malts around at this age, particularly that are bottled at 46% without chill filtration, for a similar price. And this would certainly be one of the best. I highly recommend that you give this one a go. I'll admit that I had mixed feelings or even felt a little wary when looking at Glen Scotia in the past, but this 15 year old has certainly changed my mind. I think we can expect big things from this re-launched distillery in the future!

Cheers!

Laphroaig Brodir Whisky Review!

So you've never heard of this Laphroaig? Well you can be forgiven, because it's not one that is often spotted in the wild in the southern hemisphere. There are actually three different versions of this whisky: Batch 1, which launched in 2012 and was released as an exclusive bottling for a Scandinavian ferry line (aptly named "The Viking Line"), Batch 2, which launched in 2014 and was 'travel exclusive' and was only sold in Europe but managed to show up in a few land-locked specialist stores, and the latest bottling which does not carry a batch number, and is also travel exclusive but has managed to show up in a few land-locked stores. The latter version is the easiest to find since it's available in most duty free stores in seemingly massive numbers, and Batch 1 is all but impossible to source outside of online whisky auctions. But Batch 2 in the middle can still be found at a few specialist stores that have imported a few bottles themselves, and it's a very enjoyable drop, although we obviously pay a premium for the experience compared to those who have easier access to it. Being travel exclusive means that it competes with the brilliant value-for-money Laphroaig PX (old review here), and the very good virgin oak-finished An Cuan Mor. Brodir is actually priced considerably higher than both of those great expressions, so it's already fighting an uphill battle on that front.

What's a "Brodir" then? Well the word is the ancient Norse translation for the word "brother", which is a nod to the ancient connections between Islay and Norway - mostly by way of the Vikings. The whisky itself is a non-age statement bottling that has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in ex-ruby port fortified wine casks, before being bottled at 48% ABV. All three are ostensibly exactly the same in that regard, but there are reports of differing levels of port influence between the different batches. There's no mention of colouring or chill filtration on the packaging, but since the 48% ABV Laphroaigs are generally non-chill filtered let's go with that. Port casks are not a common thing for the Islay distilleries, in fact to my knowledge only Laphroaig and Kilchoman have dabbled in that arena in recent years, although I'm sure Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain also have the odd port cask lying around. Laphroaig first entered the fray in 2013 with that year's Cairdeas release also being finished in port casks, and bottled at 51.3%. That one was very popular, but unfortunately like many of the Cairdeas bottlings it never made it to Australia, at least officially.

What can we expect from a port cask-finished Laphroaig? Generally a port finish will give red fruit and spice notes, and in this case I imagine it will also have toned down Laphroaig's trademark medicinal peaty punch, and vice-versa. We don't know how long this whisky spent in those port casks, or if they were first-fill or refill casks, but we do know that they held ruby port, which is named after its colour, and means the port was young, typically being aged for 3 years or less. Interestingly though ruby port is most commonly aged in stainless steel vats rather than oak casks, so I'm guessing that those casks were 'seasoned' with ruby port specifically for Laphroaig, rather than being used by the vineyard in their normal operations and then sold on to a distillery. Which is the common practice in the whisky industry these days anyway, and in some cases the distillery is involved in every step of the process, selecting their casks and having them shipped to their vineyard of choice, and dictating the type of wine and the length of maturation. The fortified wine is then dumped out of the casks before they're shipped back to the distillery to start the new chapter in their lives. But I'm digressing here, so let's get back to the whisky!

Laphroaig Brodir Batch 002, NAS, 48%. Islay, Scotland.

Finished in ex-ruby port fortified wine casks. Batch 002 bottled in 2014, travel exclusive. Assumed non-chill filtered, unknown colouring but likely natural.

Colour: Copper with pink tinges. 

Nose: Quite fresh, with soft ashy, powdery peat, some wood embers, and sweet berry jam. Strawberry & blackberry jam, slightly creamy, with some glace cherries for good measure. Christmas-y wood spices too, nutmeg and cinnamon. A little gristy malt and salt as well. 

Texture: Light-medium weight, fresh, smoky and spicy. No heat at all. 

Taste: There's much more peat here, but it dissipates quite quickly. Less sweet than the nose suggested, and significantly more spicy. A whack of hot wood ashes, more wood spices and a little aniseed. Some warm oak as well. 

Finish: Short-medium length. Lots of aniseed now, more warm oak, and the sweet berries return but in the form of a weak-ish cordial now. The ashy peat is still there, but it's behind the spices now. Especially that aniseed. 

Score: 3 out of 5. 

Notes: Almost a 3.5 score, but something didn't quite gel with me in this one. It's not your typical Laphroaig, it's quite refined and almost elegant in fact, I don't think it would take added water too well. But it's very enjoyable in it's own right. The extra sweetness on the nose and the spices on the palate are added dimensions, and as predicted they do weaken the typical peat, smoke and citrus fruit found in most Laphroaigs. The nose is lovely with that berry sweetness alongside the soft peat and spice, and then it's much more spicy and considerably drier on the palate, before becoming quite light on the finish. Once that aniseed note drops off, that is. The port finish hasn't overwhelmed anything though and it's only overtly noticeable on the nose, which is not what I expected. Now I really want to try the 2013 Cairdeas, just to see how they compare!

As for how Brodir fares compared to the other 48% ABV travel exclusive Laphroaigs, I don't think it quite gets there. It doesn't have the amazing bang-for-buck and power of the PX, or the complexity of the An Cuan Mor, but it does offer a lighter, sweeter take that some might gravitate towards, even at the higher price point. Almost a summer's day Laphroaig, perhaps?

Cheers!