Ardnahoe Inaugural Release Whisky Review!

Finally getting around to trying the first release from Islay's newest distillery! Not such an easy task in Australia, since there's no official importer or distributor down here, and it's been over six months since the inaugural single malt was released "globally"...

Islay's newest distillery debuted in April 2024 with 70,000 bottles of 5-year old whisky released at an ABV of 50% ABV. Pricing wasn't amazing at £70 in the UK, which would probably equate to something like $175 in Australia with our ridiculous taxes. Not great, not terrible. But it seems we're finally getting over those hype-heavy days of every new whisky distillery trying to shift 1,000 bottles of a 3-year old first release at $300 a bottle, at least in terms of Scotch whisky. Relatively new distilleries like Isle of Harris (Hearach whisky), Strathearn, and Lochlea, all followed in the reasonably-priced footsteps set by Ardnamurchan back in 2020 with their first single malt release. Despite being the first new Islay distillery since Kilchoman in 2005, Ardnahoe have taken the same approach here in 2024, and it's great to see - any local distribution issues aside. One key difference with Ardnahoe's inaugural release is the age statement, which at 5-years old would've been considered very unusual in the recent past. Not the age itself, mind you, but the actual age statement. These days many Scotch whisky distilleries aren't afraid to release a young whisky with a single digit age statement, it's still quite a rarity. 

While Ardnahoe was the ninth Islay distillery to open, there's since been a tenth - although billed as a reopening, it's really an entirely new distillery with an old name; Port Ellen. The only original buildings remaining were the two warehouses and the old kiln, while everything else is brand-new, albeit designed to closely replicate the original. So there are now ten malt whisky distilleries operating on Islay, with an eleventh in the early stages of construction (Portintruan), and more in the planning stages. That'll make anyone who has visited Islay a little nervous, because this relatively small and quiet island doesn't have the infrastructure to support much of an increase in visitors, let alone residents and freight. There's been a major housing shortage on Islay for years now, there are still multiple single track roads that are in rough condition, and there are only two ferries and a small regional airport to provide transport between Islay and the mainland. The ferries are the most immediate problem, since even if both are operating normally, the entire island relies on them for heavy freight. 10-12 working malt whisky distilleries need a lot of deliveries, with malted barley, casks, and other incidentals being shipped across from the mainland, and bottles, casks, and/or tankers going back in the other direction. Only three of the current distilleries malt any of their own barley, only two distilleries source any of their grain from Islay, and Port Ellen Maltings is now focussed on owner Diageo's three Islay distilleries before they even consider supplying external customers, so the vast majority of the island's malted barley has to come from the mainland. At the other end of production there are only two bottling plants on Islay, found at Bruichladdich and Kilchoman, and both are small, while warehousing space is also relatively limited. Most of the spirit and/or whisky made on Islay is shipped to the mainland - using those two ferries - for maturation and/or bottling. Then you have to consider groceries, building supplies, residents, tourists, and everything else required for human life on a remote and relatively small island. Let's hope that Islay doesn't become a victim of it's own success!

Ardnahoe - Gaelic for "height of the hollow" - is owned by Hunter Laing, the Glasgow-based independent bottler behind smaller brands like Old Malt Cask and Scarabus. The distillery broke ground in late 2016 on the north-east coast of Islay between Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain, taking advantage of the same incredible views across the Sound of Islay to the "Paps" of Jura. The photo above was taken in late-2018 on my most recent visit, before the distillery had actually opened to visitors. It was still largely a construction site at the time, but production had started a few months earlier and I was able to take a quick look around, even lucky enough to taste some of their wash. The first cask was filled with spirit only a few weeks later, in early November 2018. Excitement levels around this distillery were high for three main reasons. Firstly, it was a new distillery on Islay, the first in 13-14 years. Secondly, legendary Islay distiller Jim McEwan was involved in setting up production. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly for us whisky geeks, they were using a more traditional piece of production equipment that had not been seen on Islay for a very long time. Worm tub condensers! The two relatively large copper pot stills at Ardnahoe have very long lyne arms running through the back wall of the still house to two wooden vats sitting out in the fresh air, containing coiled copper pipes submerged in cold water, which see the spirit vapours condensed back in to a liquid. Worm tubs give less copper contact than a more modern shell & tube condenser, meaning the resulting spirit is heavier and potentially more sulphurous. Worm tub condensers have not been used on Islay for a very long time, to the point where most of us will have never tasted an Islay whisky that was made in this way. Since this is a peated whisky it's unlikely the worm tubs will have as profound an effect on the whisky as they do with the likes of Mortlach or Craigellachie in Speyside, and the very long lyne arms at Ardnahoe - the longest in Scotland in fact - will partially counteract the worm tubs by adding more copper contact, but it'll still be very interesting to watch how this potentially heavier Islay whisky evolves over time. This could also be a factor in why they chose to wait until the spirit was 5-years old rather than the minimum age of 3-years before they released an official bottling, since heavier spirits will generally take longer to mature than their lighter counterparts. 

Aside from those worm tubs, this whisky is largely your typical peated Islay malt. The malted barley is sourced from the mainland and is mostly heavily-peated to around 40 ppm, although there are plans for both lower & higher peating levels in future. There's no official word on where the peat and/or malted barley was sourced from, but since Jim McEwan was involved I'd assume it was Bairds Maltings in Inverness, which means peat from the mainland. Fermentation takes place in wooden washbacks, and runs for 65-70 hours. Distillation is slow but relatively standard aside from the lyne arms and condensers, with most spirit filled into either first-fill bourbon or first-fill Oloroso sherry casks. Only a small portion of those casks stay on Islay though, with the majority of spirit sent to the mainland for maturation and bottling. All Ardnahoe single malt produced is non-chill filtered and natural colour. 

This inaugural release 5-year old was peated to 40 ppm and has been matured in both ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, prior to bottling at 50% ABV. The distillery has recently announced a second release, a core range bottling named "Infinite Loch", which on paper seems very similar to the first release that we're looking at here, but without the age statement and with a slightly lighter colour. That could mean younger liquid or more ex-bourbon casks were used in comparison to this inaugural bottling, or it could mean nothing. I have to admit that the packaging & labelling on this inaugural release are quite attractive, although details are a little scarce. The sample for this review came from a generous whisky friend. Let's see how it goes!

Ardnahoe Inaugural Release, 5-years old, 50% ABV. Islay, Scotland.

Peated to 40 ppm, matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 70,000 bottles. 

Colour: Amber. 

Nose: Definitely Islay. Cold fatty smoked bacon, sweetened lemon & lime juices, smoked oily fish. Tar & ashy peat smoke. Quite heavy peatiness in fact, very Laphroaig or Ardbeg in style with the sweetness to match some of their contemporary bottlings. And despite being the same age, we're miles above Wee Beastie here! Black pepper, slightly herbal, fresh green olives in oil. With more time candied lemon & orange peels, and sweet malted barley. 

Texture: Medium weight. Peaty, coastal, smoky, still oily but a bit less-so than the nose suggested. Very slight heat but great maturity for the age. 

Taste: Thick, chewy, powerful peatiness, a chunky, dry & vegetal peat. Ashy smoke underneath, with a bit of dying beachside bonfire for good measure. Spicy & fruity green chillies, candied lemon & orange peels, and a bit of that oily green olive. A bit "simpler" on the palate than on the nose perhaps, but this is a 5-year old first release!

Finish: Short-medium length. Still quite oily & peaty, but that fades a little with sweet orchard fruits & malted barley with more lemon peels coming through. An icing sugar sweetness, and a bit of vanilla custard underneath. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Very much southern Islay style, despite the assumed use of mainland peat. There's something very Ardbeg to Ardnahoe's first release, but we're adding a dash of a sweeter Laphroaig and a dash of Port Charlotte from the early days - as in the dirtier, heavier style of Port Charlotte that doesn't show up much anymore. This is a sweet, peaty & oily Islay whisky, which is great, but I can't say that it sits head & shoulders above any of those produced on the island. Or even that it stands out from any of them, despite being a new Islay distillery with some unique features on paper. But for a young 5-year old malt and for a first release, that's nothing to complain about. I'm sure we'll see Ardnahoe further differentiating itself from its neighbours in future, hopefully with a more spirit-driven style so we can more clearly see what those worm tubs are bringing to the table. Or maybe, like some other (less peaty) worm tub employers, that will be more clearly evident when there are some sherry casks involved. Time will tell!

Since writing this review it's been announced that an Australian subscription service is getting the entire first allocation of Ardnahoe's Inaugural Release, imported directly from Scotland, and there's no further word on a local importer or distributor. Which is a shame, because as mentioned above the distillery's second official release has already been announced in the UK & Europe. As usual, all we can do down here is hurry up & wait! 

Cheers!

Old Master Spirits 1945 Cognac Review!

1945! Roughly 79 years ago. World War II had recently ended, atomic bombs had been used for the first time, my father was turning one, and in one corner of the Cognac region in south-western France, a field of Ugni Blanc grapes was being harvested and fermented in order to be distilled in to cognac. And now, 79-years later, we're about to taste the result! 

While I've been lucky enough to try a couple of very old whiskies, I can count the 50+ year old examples on one hand - using four fingers, to be exact. This cognac sets a new record for the oldest spirit that I've ever tasted, beating the previous titleholder by three years, and it's also the earliest-distilled spirit that I've ever tasted, beating the previous titleholder by one year. I've never tried a brandy of this sort of age, with the previous winner being the 63-year old from the same independent bottler as this V45 bottling; Melbourne's Old Master Spirits. As far as I can tell this is also the oldest single cask spirit ever bottled exclusively for Australia, which is one hell of an achievement for a pair of whisky & spirits geeks behind a brand that has only existed for four years. But they've done it, and it's being released to celebrate their fourth birthday! This 1945 vintage cognac comes from Cognac Tiffon, a family-owned cognac house that was founded in 1875. Tiffon is located on the banks of the Charente river in the town of Jarnac, around 15km east of the town of Cognac in south-western France. This cognac house currently has vineyards in both the Grand Champagne and Fins Bois appellations of the Cognac region, the six growth areas that are known as crus, but this 1945 vintage cognac originated in the Petite Champagne cru, which covers roughly twice the geographic area of its more prestigious neighbour the Grande Champagne cru. One quick technical note here, the vintage in this case is more like a wine vintage, referring to the year that the grapes were harvested, rather than a whisky vintage which typically refers to the year of distillation. 

As per the legal requirements for cognac production, this brandy was double-distilled in copper pot stills, and was matured in refill French oak for over 60-years until being transferred to glass demijohns in the mid-2000s. It stayed in these inert glass vessels until bottling in late 2023, with an absolutely tiny yield of just 24 x 500ml bottles at a cask strength of 45.2% ABV. Given that there's only such a tiny amount of this precious liquid, those 24 bottles are being sold by ballot (enter here), to be drawn on October 31st, 2024. If we were talking about whisky that period in glass wouldn't be considered part of the maturation, but we're talking about cognac here. Many older cognacs and brandies are transferred into glass to stop them taking on further wood influence and to stop further evaporation. Whether or not this storage period in glass has an effect on the spirit is controversial, but in this case that storage period was almost 20-years, so you'd have to assume that it has. This period spent in glass is why this cognac doesn't have an age statement, since Old Master don't agree with most mainstream brands which include this glass 'resting' period in their age statements. That's a commendable piece of integrity there, because an age statement of 76-77 years would've made this positively ancient cognac fly out the door. Instead they've gone with a simple "V.45" in reference to the year that the Ugni Blanc grapes were harvested, much like a vintage is used in the wine world, rather than referring to the year of distillation. It was distilled in 1946 and bottled in 2023, 

Once again, as with the other old cognacs and armagnacs bottled by Old Master Spirits, we need to talk about pricing. Back in 2015 I was lucky enough to try a 1946 vintage 52-year old Macallan single malt which had been bottled in 1997 with an original RRP of roughly $5,000 AUD. At the time that I tried this phenomenal single malt it was valued at $30,000 AUD. Now almost ten years later, and given what has happened to the global whisky market since, I shudder to think what that bottle would be worth. In 2015 Gordon & MacPhail released their 75-year old Mortlach single malt, which at the time was the oldest single malt whisky ever bottled. It had an RRP of £20,000, which equates to roughly $52,000 AUD today. More recently, Macallan's 81-year old - complete with ridiculous bronze sculpture - went for $125,000 USD. So with this 1945 vintage Tiffon cognac being of a similar age, if you include the time in glass at least, and with it being extremely scarce with just 24 x 500ml bottles available, it might surprise you to learn that the retail pricing from Old Master Spirits is just $1,299 AUD. In some social circles that would be considered an absolute bargain! As mentioned above, those 24 bottles are being sold by ballot, to be drawn on October 31st. Like all Old Master Spirits brandies, this cognac has had no flavouring or colouring added (see here for more information), and is non-chill filtered and bottled at cask strength. Let's get to it!

Old Master Spirits 1945 Vintage Tiffon Cognac, Bottled 2023. 45.2%. Cognac, France. 

Distilled 1946, matured in refill French oak for 60+ years, transferred to glass demijohns in mid-late 2000s. Bottled 2023. 24 x 500ml bottles. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Rich red amber. 

Nose: Surprisingly bright & lively for something so old! Fruity & zesty, plenty going on here. Raisins & dried currants, dried & fresh orange peels, warm coffee grounds, and soft leather. Some furniture polish, sweet apricots & nectarines, caramelised figs. Very complex! Warm oak & wood spices with freeze-dried pineapple & raspberry. Touches of vanilla & lemon yoghurt and dried tea leaves. 

Texture: Medium weight. Silky, luscious, mega-fruity, lightly creamy. No heat whatsoever. 

Taste: A little drying wood spice & tea leaves at first, then a big wave of fresh tropical fruit! I've never tasted a brandy like this! Under-ripe mango, tart pineapple, apricot & nectarine. That vanilla & lemon yoghurt note again which is delicious! Hints of freeze-dried raspberries & strawberries & orange furniture polish around the edges. 

Finish: Medium-long length. Dried herbs - rosemary & sage, maybe a couple of lime leaves? Chocolate-coated dried orange slices, soft leather, more of that lemon & vanilla yoghurt. Fresh stone fruits again (apricot & nectarine). Slight touch of gravy powder, and sweet pickled ginger. 

Score: 5 out of 5. 

Notes: Absolutely delicious. Luscious. Without doubt the finest "malternative" spirit that I've come across. Very fruity, bright & citrusy, balanced and complex. This is no one-trick pony, even after more than sixty years in French oak. Clearly it's been expertly managed during maturation, and I can see why it was moved to glass for the remaining 20-ish years - evaporation aside, it'd be a shame to lose any of that tropical fruit balancing against the wood influence (reminding anyone of some Bowmores?). It does have those herbal, spicy & tea leaf notes that we can expect in a well-aged cognac, but those fresh fruit & dried citrus notes keep that in check, and those flashes of vanilla & lemon yoghurt creaminess are fascinating. Very moreish too! This V45 cognac is an absolute mic-drop from this small independent operation, which is only four-years in - and what a way to celebrate their fourth birthday! For two gentlemen from Melbourne to pull of something like this is quite the achievement! 

Thanks to the generous chaps at Old Master Spirits once again for the sample for this review - it cannot be easy to part with anything this scarce, let alone a 75+ year old single cask cognac! They've really outdone themselves here, this is one is going to take some beating! Get in on that ballot folks!

Cheers!

Carn Mor Williamson 8 Year Old Whisky Review!

An affordable 8-year old unnamed Laphroaig from Carn Mor's "Strictly Limited" range of small batch independent bottlings. Probably one of the cheapest ways to taste a spirit-led & natural Laphroaig!

Williamson is the most common "trade name" for anonymous independent bottlings of Laphroaig, much like Kildalton is for Ardbeg, or Staoisha is for peated Bunnahabhain. These trade names are used by independent bottlers and blenders where the cask owner/seller/broker does not have the rights to name the distillery on the bottle, so they use a widely-known pseudonym instead. This is a step above independent bottlings that can only name the region that the distillery is located in, like the countless anonymous Speyside and Islay single malts that are out there at the moment, which can be a bargain but are often something of a gamble. Generally speaking these labelling issues do not correspond to the quality of whisky that is inside the bottle, which like all independent bottlings - and official bottlings for that matter - can vary wildly. Find a bottler that you trust with a particular distillery, look up reviews, or ask the question on social media, and the odds will be more in your favour. These anonymous bottlings can sometimes be cheaper than they would have been otherwise since they're cheaper for the cask buyer, although that's obviously not necessarily passed on to the customer. The answers to many of these mysteries are usually a quick google away, while some are left as mysteries - which can make for fun and very challenging guessing games. 

Prolific Islay distillery Laphroaig needs no introduction on these pages, but it's not an easy task to find an official bottling that is naturally presented, i.e. no added e150 artificial colouring and no chill filtration. It's even harder to find an official bottling that has been matured in refill ex-bourbon casks, which are generally the best representation of a distillery's character. Laphroaig's official bottlings tend to lean heavily on casks and are often dosed with caramel colouring - despite the green glass used in the majority of cases - while the flagship 10-year old, the old 15-year old, and the entry-level Select / Select Oak / Oak Select bottlings are also chill filtered. The higher strength official bottlings are very enjoyable of course, Quarter Cask and PX Cask for example, but even those do not allow the spirit character to show itself fully - both are finished in small 125-litre ex-bourbon casks and the latter in additionally finished in PX sherry casks, which is a lot of wood influence, even for a spirit as robust as Laphroaig. As is often the case this is where the independent bottlers step in to save the day, finding a gap in the official line-up and giving the whisky geeks what we want. While examples labelled as Laphroaig are certainly becoming harder to find as the distillery owners reduce their supply of casks to external customers - as is the case with all Islay distilleries - there are still plenty around for the time being. Many of these are at significant ages that are a fraction of the price of an equivalent official bottling - Belgian bottler The Whisky Jury comes to mind here. Why is Laphroaig bottled under the trade name "Williamson" then? That would be a nod to a surprisingly progressive piece of Laphroaig's history! Ms. Bessie Williamson, former distillery manager and owner of Laphroaig Distillery, was one of very few female distillery owners in the history of the Scotch whisky industry. 

The "Williamson" Laphroaig that we're looking at here is from Scottish independent bottlers Carn Mor, the independent bottling arm of Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers, the company formerly known as Morrison Bowmore Distillers which once owned Bowmore, Glen Garioch and Auchentoshan before selling all three to Suntory in 1994. Morrison is also responsible for the Mac-Talla brand of anonymous single malts and the Old Perth blended malt, and the company built its own distillery, Aberargie Distillery, in 2017 in the town of the same name south-east of Perth (Scotland). Carn Mor's "Strictly Limited" bottlings are mostly small batches / vattings of 3-5 casks, generally bottled at 47.5% ABV but occasionally at cask strength, and are non-chill filtered and natural colour. The name Carn Mor means "Great Peak" in Gaelic, named after a mountain in the Western Highlands. This particular Carn Mor Williamson / Laphroaig is an 8-year old that was distilled in 2013 and was matured in refill ex-bourbon hogsheads (250-litre casks). It was bottled in 2021 at 47.5% ABV, with a yield of 780 bottles - so four or five hogsheads vatted together. RRP here in Australia is a reasonable $175 AUD, although it and the rest of the Carn Mor range can occasionally be found at sharply discounted prices from online retailers. This one is still available in Australia at the time of writing. Happy hunting!

Carn Mor Williamson (Laphroaig) 8-Year Old, 47.5%. Islay, Scotland.

Distilled 2013, matured in refill ex-bourbon hogsheads, bottled 2021. Non-chill filtered, natural colour, 780 bottles. 

Colour: Very pale gold, white wine. 

Nose: Fatty & greasy, sweet & peaty. Fatty smoked bacon, damp fresh-cut grass, black & green peppercorns. Touch of melted salted butter, fresh herbs - dill & tarragon. Some de-seeded fresh jalapenos (most of the spice & heat removed). 

Texture: Light-medium weight. Silky, quite peaty, spirit sweetness. No heat whatsoever. 

Taste: Sweet peaty entry, building to bitter & dry, almost acrid peatiness. Coke bottle / cola cube lollies. More fatty & greasy smoked bacon, melted salted butter, oily smoked fish with fresh herbs. Fizzy lemonade, burnt toast, root ginger. 

Finish: Long length. Chunky bitter peat, acrid & pungent running all the way through. Burnt toast, a little aniseed, powdered ginger. Touch of lemon juice & olive brine to finish. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Lovely spirit-driven, "clean" Laphroaig without any heavy cask influence or saccharine sweetness getting in the way. And there's no obvious signs of immaturity here, thanks to that punchy peatiness filling in the voids. Fantastic "breakfast whisky", provided you're in to this style of course. That'd be the SMWS name for this one too; "Scandinavian Breakfast Dram". That pungent, acrid peatiness never fades away in this dram, balancing that lovely malty sweet spirit without the huge vanilla & artificial wood sugar notes found in most of the official bottlings. There's no need for that sort of thing with this lovely peaty spirit! Just put it in refill bourbon casks and let it sing, like most of the good independent bottlers do. This youthful & punchy Laphroaig is in the same camp as Port Askaig 8-year old (a.k.a Caol Ila), Lagavulin 8-year old, and maybe Kilchoman Machir Bay with less cask influence. Some may draw parallels to Ardbeg Wee Beastie as well, but to my tastes this is far more mature and eminently more drinkable. Unfortunately it's nearly double the price of all those named above, which is a shame, and that's going to make it a hard sell. Probably why it's still readily available I suppose, that and the relatively obscure bottler, and the trade name. Still, for fans of Laphroaig this is an easy win. 

Cheers!

Springbank 12 Cask Strength Batch 1 Whisky Review!

A blast from the past that I've never tried before! Batch One of the excellent Springbank 12-year old Cask Strength, bottled way back in 2010. They're currently up to Batch twenty-five!

This older Springbank is from the days when the 12-year old Cask Strength and all Springbank was much easier to get your hands on in Australia, which was the case right up until 2020 or so when all things J&A Mitchell went insane. Surely that was the worst thing to happen to humanity that year, right? The entire Springbank core range, the local barley releases, and the limited release cask finishes all lasted much longer than they do these days, and a lot of Hazelburn and Longrow releases barely sold at all. Nowadays even the standard core range rarely makes it to shelves at all, whether those shelves be physical or digital. The distillery are doing everything they can to help with availability during this insane spike in demand, and their pricing has barely shifted at all despite the huge increase in sales and the many retailers and importers that are price gouging on anything Springbank. Unfortunately for those of us who remember the before times - I'm going to get "I was into Springbank before it was cool" t-shirts printed - the 12-year old Cask Strength seems to be the worst hit by this massive surge in popularity. Ignoring the Local Barley releases, at least, although they seem to have calmed down a bit now. If you ask me the "12 CS" was always the sweet spot for an excellent Springbank at a very reasonable price - commonly selling under $140 AUD back then, when the "entry level" 10-year old was around $90-100. Unfortunately it now retails for $250 or more, if you can even get your hands on it at all, and our importer does not receive stock of every batch released. But considering that the entry level 10-year old Springbank is now retailing for a ridiculous $200 AUD, that's still not such a raw deal. Obviously availability is more of a hurdle than pricing in this case, unless you're insane enough to entertain the price-gouging "retailers" who are attempting to get over $400 for one of these bottles. The importer should not be entertaining them by selling them stock. 

Just to clarify, this Batch 1 Springbank 12-year old was not the first cask strength Springbank official bottling, far from it. Nor was it the first 12-year old official bottling, there have been quite a few including some at 46% and some at 57% (100 Proof). Obviously those earlier bottlings are now the stuff of collectors, and even these earlier batches of the 12 Cask Strength go for ridiculous money on the auction sites, often over £300 plus fees & shipping. Which after shipping to Australia and being reamed by the customs department, you'd probably be looking at around $900-1,000 AUD. Absolutely mental. Back in these early batches the 12-year old Cask Strength was 100% sherry cask matured in both first-fill and refill Oloroso sherry casks. This was the case until 2015's Batch 10 when ex-bourbon casks were added, initially in a proportion of 30%, which then changed to 50% in late 2018 which Batch 18. The cask make-up has continued to fluctuate since then - including a fantastic 100% ex-bourbon cask Batch 23 (reviewed here), with one instalment even having some red wine & port casks in the mix with Batch 21 (reviewed here). The 12 Cask Strength has never had a batch code printed on the label, so the laser-printed bottling date on the bottle and the ABV are your only guides as to which batch you're actually looking at. You then take that info to google and/or whiskybase.com, and you'll get your answer. J&A Mitchell have now made the same change to sister distillery Glengyle's Kilkerran Heavily Peated range, which from Batch Ten onwards will no longer have a batch code printed on the label. With the Springbank 12-year old there was one major change back in 2014, when the labels were modernised slightly from the old black label with red 'S' as pictured below, to a solid red label with white 'S' inside a red circle. So if you're looking at a black label Springbank 12-year old it's Batch 13 (released early 2014) or earlier, and if it's the (slightly) more modern red label it's Batch 14 (released late 2014) or later. 

This very first batch, released over 14 years ago now, has always been on my wishlist. Batch One of Springbank 12 Cask Strength, released in March 2010 with an outturn of 6,000 bottles at a cask strength of 54.6% ABV. Obviously it's natural colour and non-chill filtered, as with all single malts bottled by J&A Mitchell. Batch 1 was a vatting of 60% first-fill sherry hogsheads (250-litre casks) and 40% refill sherry butts (500-litre casks). As you can see from the colour though, those first-fill casks can't have been particularly active, which is definitely a good thing! This mix of first-fill ("fresh" in Springbank-ese) to refill sherry casks stayed constant until that introduction of ex-bourbon casks with Batch 10. The actual bottlings still varied a great deal of course, as has always been the way at Springbank. Consistency isn't a goal here, and nor should it be! Both character and quality do vary in these fantastically old school whiskies, which just keeps things interesting for us geeks. Speaking of which, the sample for this review came from a very generous fellow whisky nerd over the water in New Zealand who has shared some extremely special samples with me over the years. While I do try to return the favour, I still can't thank her enough when it comes to drams like this. Let's get to it!

Springbank 12 Cask Strength Batch 1, 54.6%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Bottled March 2010. 60% first-fill sherry hogsheads, 40% refill sherry butts. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 6,000 bottles. 

Colour: Pale copper. 

Nose: Yep, it's proper Springbank! Salty, rich, fruity, quite savoury. A little softer than I expected, but then it's been a long time since I last tasted one of the 100% sherry batches. Ripe red apples with a little dust, dark & thick caramel fudge sauce. Sea salt flakes, apricot jam, a little fresh white peach. Lime juice. Old oily rags & sooty fireplaces, greasy old metal, damp dunnage warehouses with gravel, packed earth, and dusty old wood. Salted nuts & aniseed around the edges. 

Texture: Heavy weight. Chewy & thick, rich & savoury. No heat at all. 

Taste: Chewy & thick caramel fudge sauce, heavily salted caramel this time. Touch of that apricot jam, and it's on some buttered burnt toast now. Damp malted barley around the edges. Sooty fireplaces & dirty old rags. The red apples are stewed now, with some currants and baking spices mixed in. Dried bitter orange peel. Sooty & oily peat smoke with that damp & musty dunnage warehouse "funk". 

Finish: Long length. Big sea salt, stone fruit, spiced butter caramel chocolates. Dirty old diesel fuel, oily & sooty. More bitter orange peel and more sea salt, slightly drying. Dirty, dusty, musty. Lime juice, salted caramel, and dusty red apples to finish. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Just delicious. I'd almost hoped that it wouldn't be. This 12yo ticks all of the Springbank boxes that you could wish for, without focussing on any one area in particular. That said, aside from that salted caramel fudge sauce this is quite a savoury dram, with more sea salt & peat smoke than I remember finding in any recent batch of the 12-year old Cask Strength. Arguably less cask influence than most of those, too. Which is certainly no complaint. You do have to work hard to find a batch of the '12CS' that isn't a good dram, but some are merely good, while some are great, and some are excellent. And this, the very first batch, is one of those. As usual, tasting something like this is sadly a little bittersweet! 

The modern Springbanks, Hazelburns, Longrows, and Kilkerrans can be just as good though. The magic of Springbank, and the magic of Campbeltown, is certainly real. The big question is, are these older bottles worth hunting down at auction and paying exorbitant amounts for? It's a tough call. I just wish I'd had the foresight and the cashflow to buy more of it back in the "before times"...

Cheers!

Glen Garioch 1999 Vintage Sherry Cask Whisky Review!

13-years old, fully matured in Oloroso sherry casks, and bottled at cask strength. That's a solid spec sheet, but as much as I'm a fan of Glen Garioch in general, experiences with this distillery may (will) vary... Let's see how this one goes!

Beam Suntory's Glen Garioch (pronounced "Glen-geery") Distillery has been getting more attention than usual lately, although the usual level of attention is precisely zero attention. It does seem like the Japanese corporate owners have glanced in the distillery's direction in Old Meldrum in Aberdeenshire near the east coast, and remembered that they owned the place. After they purchased Glen Garioch from Morrison Bowmore Distillers in 1994, along with Bowmore and Auchentoshan, they soon closed the site down and wasted no time in changing the distillery's direction towards production of blend filler, mainly supplying the company's blended whisky brands. Glen Garioch's three pot stills were then converted from direct-fired heating to indirect steam coil heating. Next they decommissioned the distillery's floor maltings, switching to 100% externally-sourced commercial malted barley, which since the distillery re-opened in 1997 has been entirely unpeated. In mid-2021 though Beam Suntory seemed to have a change of heart, announcing that they were investing over 6-million pounds in the distillery. There seems to be renewed emphasis on Glen Garioch as a single malt brand, geared towards spirit quality and flavour rather than production volumes and efficiency. In the 18-months or so since that surprising announcement, not only have they reinstated the distillery's floor maltings, joining the likes of Islay's Laphroaig & Bowmore in the Beam Suntory portfolio of floor malting, but they also installed a direct-fired wash still! This may seem like a minor change, but it's actually quite significant and is all about getting more flavour & character into the spirit. Among other changes direct-firing means more heat at the base of the still and more temperature variance in different parts of the still, creating what's known as a maillard reaction, giving toasted and/or slightly burnt flavours in the wash. These flavour differences are more pronounced in the first (wash) distillation rather than the second (spirit) distillation, so as with Springbank and a few other distilleries the spirit still/s retain indirect heating via steam coils. Obviously we won't see the results of the new processes for a few years yet, but it's still rather exciting, and certainly a bit of a surprise. 

Official bottlings of Glen Garioch are a very rare sight on Australian shores. Beam Suntory's distribution arrangement with Coca Cola Amatil (CCA) means that we're basically starved of anything outside of the box, including Laphroaig's 10-year old Cask Strength and Cairdeas releases, anything decent from Bowmore, and basically no Glen Garioch whatsoever. The local operation only seems interested in moving huge volumes of entry-level Jim Beam bourbon (at 37.0% ABV no less) and pre-mix / RTD cans of bourbon & cola, while occasionally raking in the profits with overpriced and overhyped Japanese products. Australia's growing whisky scene and the masses single malt fans are seemingly ignored under this arrangement, to the frustration of many including some of the company's local employees. But now Beam Suntory's distribution arrangement with CCA is coming to an end in June 2025, when the Japanese giant will take over all local production and distribution themselves, branded as Suntory Oceania. It remains to be seen whether this major change will improve the local situation with their portfolio of single malts, but we can only hope! For the moment, if any of the higher strength official bottlings of Glen Garioch do make it here it's generally by way of parallel import where a retailer bypasses the official local importer and brings the stock into the country themselves. This parallel importing also happens with the likes of Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength and Cairdeas and any decent Bowmores (i.e. not the core range bottlings), but since Glen Garioch is far less known and far less popular in comparison the retail pricing tends to be lower than those. 

In the case of this particular Glen Garioch, said retailer was able to sell it for $160 AUD, which is very reasonable for a cask strength sherry cask official bottling from any distillery, particularly one aged in the teens. The line-up of official Glen Gariochs is a little convoluted, but essentially the NAS Founder's Choice is the entry-level single malt, followed by the 12-year old flagship bottling. These are both bottled at 48% ABV and are non-chill filtered, but as is Beam Suntory's standard operational procedure for their single malts, both are artificially coloured. From there we go to the Renaissance series which tend to be red wine cask influenced, and then to a number of Vintage releases that seem to be sporadic, including this one. This 1999 Vintage release is from Batch 30, and was bottled back in 2013 - it only arrived at said Australian retailer in early 2023 though, so wherever it originally came from it clearly didn't sell very well. These Vintage releases tend to be either sherry cask matured or bourbon cask matured, in this case fully matured in Oloroso sherry casks - presumably both first-fill and refill, since that's not specified. Supposedly it's a small batch bottling, but we don't know how many bottles were in said small batch. As mentioned above Glen Garioch's flavour profile can vary quite dramatically, in general it's quite a thick, full-bodied whisky, but there can be sulphur issues when sherry or wine casks are involved, and often some spirit heat as well. In my experience the standard 12-year old is the most dependable in the line-up of official bottlings, but some independents can be rather tasty. This one will of course be a sherry bomb and it's cask strength, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes. No time like the present!

Glen Garioch 1999 Vintage, Batch 30, bottled 2013. 56.3%. Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Distilled 1999, fully matured in Oloroso sherry casks (presumably first-fill and refill), bottled 2013. Non-chill filtered, colouring unknown (possibly e150). 

Colour: Bronze. 

Nose: Still a little raw & nippy, and this bottle has been open for a long time! Christmas pudding, treacle toffee, roasted walnuts, black cherries, and a bit of rubber. Some marzipan and vanilla fudge around the edges. Plum jam & dried orange, crystallised ginger, and a touch of black coffee. 

Texture: Medium weight. Oily, well sherried, but a little flat too. Still quite hot & rough. 

Taste: More walnuts, black cherries, and crystallised ginger. That rough & spiky spirit heat is annoying. Getting past that there's some sticky date pudding with dark & thick toffee sauce, dried orange, and vanilla fudge. Turns astringent (drying) once that heat has subsided, red chilli flakes. 

Finish: Short-medium length. Still astringent & rough. Dried fruit, Christmas cake spices, marzipan, and vanilla fudge again. Maybe a slight touch of the rubber note from the nose, but it's better hidden. 

Score: 2.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Once you get past that annoying & distracting heat - that spiky roughness that could only come from an off batch or batches of spirit - it's an enjoyable "sherry bomb" of a Glen Garioch with plenty of cask influence. Or rather, if you can get past that heat. Even 13-years in active sherry casks couldn't overcome it. I've had significantly younger whiskies at much higher strengths that didn't have this problem. Still, sherry cask fans will like this one, at least with a dose of water added - but don't expect that to fix it completely. Some of these youngish sherry cask-driven whiskies are often like this; Tamdhu Batch Strength, some more recent batches of Aberlour A'Bunadh, and some of the older batches of Glendronach's NAS Cask Strength come to mind. Sherry cask influence yes, enjoyable flavour yes, and reasonable pricing yes - but not you anymore Aberlour, sit down. But hot & rushed spirit, also yes. Sometimes water makes that go away, sometimes it helps, and sometimes it doesn't. Which is a shame. I've had significantly better Glen Gariochs! Let's hope the new production regimen at the distillery - and the slower distillation that comes with that direct fired still - helps to stop these variations in spirit quality. 

Cheers!

Signatory Vintage Benrinnes 23 Year Old Whisky Review!

A 23-year old cask strength Benrinnes from independent bottler Signatory Vintage's Cask Strength series. Partial triple distillation, worm tub condensers, long-term maturation in a refill cask, and natural presentation at cask strength. Very promising!

Benrinnes Distillery (pronounced "Ben-rin-iss") is a quiet achiever. While most of its 3.5-million litre annual spirit capacity goes to owner Diageo's blended whiskies, in terms of single malts it's basically only seen in independent bottlings, with the exceptions of a fleeting 15-year old Flora & Fauna release, one early appearance in United Distiller's Rare Malts Selection, and two well-aged appearances in Diageo's annual Special Releases a few years ago now. Benrinnes was founded in 1826 around five miles south of the village of Craigallachie in the heart of the Speyside whisky region. It was completely destroyed in a flood only three years later, then a new distillery was completed in 1835, running until 1896 when a major fire forced large-scale repairs and refurbishments. The distillery was also completely rebuilt in 1956, and the traditional floor maltings were decommissioned in 1964, being replaced with a Saladin Box malting system which operated until 1984 when 100% of the distillery's barley requirements were outsourced to commercial maltings. Further "upgrades" occurred in 2012 including automation of the production process, with the distillery now run by a single human operating all equipment via a computer in the control room. Hardly the romantic imagery that we associate with a 200-year old malt whisky distillery in the middle of picturesque Speyside! Benrinnes was initially privately owned until being purchased by John Dewar & Sons in 1922, then DCL when Dewars became part of DCL in 1925, which would eventually become part of the modern Diageo. This is still an interesting distillery though, which like some of the other "workhorse" distilleries has a small but passionate group of followers who will hunt down good examples of independent bottlings of this single malt. A "workhorse" distillery is one that quietly pumps out malt for its parent company's blended products (mainly Johnnie Walker), staying hidden in the shadows and not getting much, if any, attention in terms of single malt bottlings, visitor's centres, or a marketing budget.

There are a few interesting similarities between Benrinnes and Diageo's more famous Mortlach site which sits a few miles to the east. The latter enjoys quite the cult following and attracts plenty of marketing attention from its owners, and has even been through a few attempts to launch & re-launch it as a single malt official bottling - which were fumbled by the owners' marketing department. Benrinnes on the other hand gets none of the above! There are three main similarities between these two Diageo malt distilleries; a slightly mysterious system of partial triple distillation, traditional equipment including wooden washbacks and worm tub condensers, and a "meaty" more viscous flavour profile that seems to work particularly well in ex-sherry casks. Diageo gets a lot of negative attention from some corners of whisky geekery, but when it comes to traditional production equipment they don't muck around - wooden washbacks and worm tub condensers in particular. Plenty of modern distilleries argue that such equipment doesn't make much of a difference and that any changes in profile can be achieved through changes in spirit cuts, but if that was the case, why would a corporation the size of Diageo not do the same? They'd cut costs and drastically reduce maintenance requirements, while increasing production efficiency in the process. The clear answer is that these traditional production methods do make a significant difference which can't be easily replicated otherwise. Diageo themselves found this when their Highland distillery Dalwhinnie was converted from worm tubs to modern shell & tube condensers in the mid-1990s, and the difference in the resulting spirit was so drastic that they promptly reversed the changes and re-installed the worm tubs. Any company, let alone one the size of Diageo, would not go to this expense and difficulty if the undesirable changes could be hidden by simply making changes to the spirit cuts. Unlike Dalwhinnie Benrinnes does not have a core range "Classic Malts" bottling, which means major changes in its spirit profile aren't as frowned upon...

Whereas Mortlach uses a 2.81-times distillation process that is the sum of a complex system where some of each spirit run is returned to the spirit stills to be distilled again, Benrinnes used a simpler system employing two wash stills to feed four spirit stills, two of which were smaller "intermediate" stills which were only filled with a portion of the feints from each distillation run - meaning that part of the spirit collected at the end had been triple distilled, while the remainder was double-distilled. I'm using past tense here because  unfortunately this system was stopped in the late 2000s, somewhere between 2007 and 2009, in the name of production efficiency. Since the late 2000s the distillery's entire output is double distilled, although the worm tub condensers are still used on all spirit stills - resulting in less copper contact with the spirit vapour as it condenses back into a liquid, giving a more sulphurous, meatier profile. So at the time of writing any Benrinnes that is 16-18 years of age or older was partially triple-distilled, giving a heavier, more sulphurous and "meaty" spirit character, which will then be amplified and enhanced by the worm tub condensers. As mentioned above, that heavier profile tends to show more in ex-sherry casks, whether refill or first-fill. And that's not what we have here!

This particular Benrinnes from independent bottler Signatory Vintage has been fully matured in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead, albeit for a significant period of 23-years! This is a single cask (#11715) that was distilled on the 28th of October 1996 and bottled on the 9th of March 2020 (wasn't that a fun time for us all!), yielding 287 bottles at a cask strength of 52.6% ABV. It is of course non-chill filtered and natural colour. Being part of Signatory's Cask Strength series means that it is presented in their very pretty decanter-style bottles, which has certainly helped get Signatory bottlings on more shelves than they would've been otherwise! Signatory Vintage has been around since 1988 and is still privately owned by Andrew Symington & his brother Brian who also own Edradour Distillery. I purchased this Benrinnes from the Australian importer The Whisky Company only a couple of months ago, so while COVID probably slowed everything to a crawl when it came to bottling and shipping, they still must've had this stock sitting around for at least a couple of years. Unfortunately that's a common thing with independent bottlings from lesser-known distilleries in this country, our small whisky market does sometimes sleep on things like this in favour of "sexier" and more collectable alternatives. That being said, I did purchase this bottle while it was on a clearance special for roughly $75 less than the regular price - it has since sold out, of course. This 23-year old cask strength single cask set me back around $250 AUD, down from $325. For those playing overseas, here in Australia the standard Glendronach 18-year old at 46% ABV is around the same price. So this was a no-brainer! Or was it...

Signatory Vintage Benrinnes 23-Year Old, 52.6%. Speyside, Scotland.

Distilled 28/10/1996, matured in a single refill hogshead #11715, bottled 9/3/2020. Non chill filtered, natural colour. 287 bottles. 

Colour: Full gold. 

Nose: Malty, dry, creamy, spicy, citrus-y. Rich Russian caramel fudge, creamy vanilla custard, bitter & sour orange rind, touch of hessian sacking & old ropes. A little burnt toast around the edges. Rich biscuity malted barley, slight hint of sour berry jam, and a pinch of dried herbs - tarragon & oregano. With more time, dusty old leather & sweet liquorice. 

Texture: Medium-heavy weight. Oily, creamy, lovely. Very slight heat, very pleasant. 

Taste: Creamy vanilla custard but only slightly sweetened. Fresh orange rind, sweet & sour. There's a touch of negroni (bitter amaro cocktail) here, which I absolutely love. Bitter, sweet, orange-y and intensely flavoured. The biscuity maltiness is here again but less dry this time. Creamy Russian caramel fudge, and touch of sour (acidic) green grapes heading to the finish. 

Finish: Medium-long length. Black pepper, more fresh orange rind, malt biscuits, touch of milk chocolate. Those dried herbs again (tarragon & oregano) & a little sour green grape. Pinch of fresh sawdust. Slight bit of lightly sugared almond flakes, and creamy milk bottle lollies (confectionary). 

Score: 4 out of 5. Not far from a 4.5. 

Notes: Delicious Speysider with plenty of flavour, and decent complexity on the nose. Less to explore on the palate and finish, but I'm being picky. What is there is rich & dense, and I'm loving that sweet & sour orange with the creamy & malty notes. I do love a whisky that is on the drier & more sour/acidic side, particularly when there's an oiliness and maltiness alongside, so this is ticking a lot of my boxes! I don't recall having many ex-bourbon cask Benrinnes' before, which either means I haven't had many or they weren't memorable, but this one is great example of a drier, malty, sweet & sour Speyside whisky that seems quite "old school". Worm tub condensers, thank you!

Cheers!

Old Master Spirits 63 Year Old Cognac Review!

A whopping 63-year old single cask cognac from the independent brandy masters over at Old Master Spirits, and it's their oldest release to date!

A 1960 vintage single cask, bottled at cask strength with no additives, and with an age statement of 63-years. What would something like this cost in the whisky world? In most official bottlings you'd be looking at north of $20,000 AUD. Google shows an equivalent Glenfarclas is listed at $23,000 or a Glen Grant at $39,000 (good luck with that!), and a recent social media post showed a 60-year old Balvenie for $165,000. Which is utterly, utterly stupid and utterly, utterly tone deaf in this day & age. I'd proffer that in this economic climate not even the ridiculously wealthy will be comfortable spending that much on a single bottle of Scotch whisky. With any luck it'll never sell, I hope for the retailer's sake that it's on consignment! As usual the independent bottlers are going to be much more reasonable in this bracket, but stock of this age is obviously very scarce and you're going to have to pay for that scarcity. Think around $12-15,000 AUD at a minimum. So what do you do if you're a 1960 vintage yourself and you don't have Gordon Gecko wealth, but you quite like the idea of drinking a quality spirit that was distilled in the year you were, and is roughly as old as you are? Well once you look outside of whisky and head over towards brandy, you're in for a very pleasant surprise - if you play your cards right and stay away from the "luxury" brands. What if I told you that a 63-year old single cask of Grand Champagne Cognac, distilled in 1960 and bottled at cask strength with no additives or chill filtration, was available for under $400 AUD? But that's not all folks! How about $349 AUD? You'd struggle to find a 20-year old whisky for that sort of price on these shores. Age isn't everything of course, it's maturity and quality that matters. Of course it is. But an age statement like this is impossible to ignore. Even the most diehard spirit geeks will still go weak at the knees when presented with something like this! 

This forthcoming release from Melbourne's Old Master Spirits is an absolute bargain when it comes to the age of this liquid. But more importantly, the quality is there to match those numbers and exceed your expectations - which is becoming a theme with anything bearing the Old Master Spirits label. That fairly non-descript building shown above and on this bottle's label is Maison Peyrot, the family home of five generations of Cognac producers that dates back to 1893. Cognac Peyrot is currently owned by Mathilde Peyrot, the fourth-generation descendant of the founder, and it has been under her domain since 1956. Her first year at the helm of distillation was the 1960 vintage, which includes this very cask! Peyrot is a 25-acre vineyard located around 1.5-hours north of Bordeaux in the south-west of France, in the Grand Champagne region of cognac production, the geographical crème de le crème of brandy producers. Cognac is a brandy produced in the Cognac region, which must be double-distilled in copper pot stills prior to being aged for at least two-years in French oak casks, and it must be bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV. The vast majority of cognac is blended from large numbers of barrels, often from different vintages and different producers, whereas this independent bottling from Old Master Spirits is a true single cask offering - one vintage, one producer, and one cask. Quite the rare thing in the brandy world, let alone one that is a whopping 63-years of age!

This 1960-vintage 63-year old Peyrot cognac was distilled from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes, and was entirely matured in French oak prior to being bottled in late 2023 at a cask strength of 42.9% ABV. As with all Old Master Spirits releases it has not been chill filtered and has had no colouring or wood flavouring (known as boise) added - you can read more here along with more info on cognac and brandy in general. Likewise this cognac has not had any time in glass vessels included in that age statement, the full 63-years of maturation was spent in French Limousin oak. This single cask cognac is being released on Old Master Spirits' website on the 20th of June 2024, and is limited to just 155 bottles. But let's see what is tastes like first, shall we? 

Old Master Spirits 63-Year Old Peyrot Cognac, 42.9%. Cognac, France. 

Distilled 1960 from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes, matured for 63-years in French oak. Bottled at cask strength with no chill filtration, and no adding colouring or flavouring. 155 bottles. 

Colour: Polished wood. 

Nose: Very fruity, sweet, and silky. Spiced pears with toffee sauce, oily furniture polish, sweet orange-scented candles. Touch of honey-roasted nuts, and heavily-sweetened black tea. Becomes more herbal & floral with more warmth and more time in the glass, plus a touch of Vietnamese coffee (with sweetened condensed milk)

Texture: Light-medium weight. Silky, balanced, elegant. No sign of alcohol whatsoever. 

Taste: Runny honey, fudgy caramel slice with dark chocolate coating. Dried flowers (pot purri) with a few dried berries thrown in - cranberry & raspberry. Some tarragon, and drying wood spices heading in to the finish. Nutmeg and sandalwood. 

Finish: Medium length. Sweet runny honey and fudgy caramel slice again, with the spicy & sweet oak coming through behind black cherries coated in dark chocolate. Nutmeg & tarragon return, along those dried flowers & dried berries. Touch of dried tea leaves with melted vanilla ice cream to finish. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Lovely elegant, balanced cognac with a wonderful silky texture. Extremely easy drinking but with plenty of complexity and a great balance of sweet & spicy, floral & oaky flavours. That whopping 63-years of maturation in French oak has clearly been expertly managed, the oak impact is very measured in comparison to a lot of spirits at a third of the age of this cognac! Yet another delicious brandy from the team at Old Master Spirits, and an absolute bargain for any spirit of this age - particularly one of this quality. This 1960 vintage cognac is highly recommended if you're looking for an affordable advanced (very advanced) age statement that drinks well above its price tag and is sure to impress any whisky drinker. 

Thanks once again to Deni & David from Old Master Spirits for the sample for this review, and for their excellent work bringing quality brandies to a thirsty and eager crowd here in Australia. 

Cheers!