Truth and Consequence Ben Nevis Sauternes Finish Whisky Review!

A new release from a new Australian independent bottler, and it's a sauternes cask-finished Ben Nevis! Not something you see every day!

Ben Nevis Distillery is in the Highlands region, sitting at the foot of it's namesake mountain, the highest in Scotland, roughly 2.5-hours drive north of Glasgow near the town of Fort William. Thanks to their Japanese ownership - by the Nikka corporation which is owned by Asahi - most of the 2-million litres of spirit produced annually at Ben Nevis is exported to Japan where it's blended with and/or labelled as Japanese whisky. That's likely to stop due to voluntary labelling regulations that come in to effect this year, at the very least for members of the industry body Japanese Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association which has implemented these voluntary regulations that are not legal requirements. The flavour profile of Ben Nevis' single malt has changed wildly over the years, ranging from sweet & tropical (particularly when distilled in the mid-1990s) to dirty & funky, although that profile seems to have been tamed in more recent years. This may be due to their use of brewer's yeast, which is very uncommon in Scotch whisky these days, but I'd say that it's also due to the changing requirements of their blended whisky customers who have always swayed the flavour profiles of the workhorse distilleries which mainly produce spirit for that market. Despite their importance to the owner's blended products, the distillery seems to be rather neglected by their Japanese corporate overlords. Official bottlings of Ben Nevis single malt are still few & far between, with a 10-year old flagship bottling at 46% ABV - which has also varied wildly in character over the years - and two NAS releases, one of which is distilled from peated malt. But I've never seen a sauternes cask Ben Nevis before... We can thank the independent bottlers for this one!

Sauternes is a sweet wine made in the Bordeaux region of southern France, produced from white grapes of the semillon, sauvignon blanc, or muscadelle varieties. The Sauternes region has its own appellation, so much like champagne, port, or sherry, sweet wines made outside of this legally protected region cannot use the sauternes name. Like many sweet / dessert-style wines, sauternes wineries take advantage of the naturally-occurring botrytis cinerea fungus that infects the grapes and consumes their water content, causing the sugars in the fruit to become concentrated. Due to this infection the yields from each harvest are very low, picking the fruit is very laborious, fermentation can take months due to the high sugar content, and botrytis may not occur at all in some harvests if the conditions are not ideal. All of which means that sauternes prices can be very high, especially from the more famous "premier cru" wineries. Sauternes wines tend to have floral and fruity characteristics, often melon, honey, and stone fruit flavours, and in good examples this will be balanced by acidity and nuttiness. They are traditionally barrel-fermented wines that can be aged in oak for considerable amounts of time, often a decade or more. Whiskies matured or finished in these casks tend to take on flavours of sweet tropical fruit, honey, and sometimes an estery overripe / oxidised fruity "funk". Personally I find this tends to work very well with peated whiskies (Kilchoman, Octomore, and Port Charlotte in particular, and even Ardbeg has recently entered the fray) where the smoke helps to balance the sweetness, while unpeated distilleries such as Glenmorangie, Arran, and Glencadam, have core range bottlings that are finished in sauternes casks. 

Truth and Consequence is a new range of independent bottlings from the crew behind Sydney-based online retailer The Old Barrelhouse. David Koutsoukos & Ross Havezov launched Truth and Consequence in late-2023 and have already released five single cask single malt whiskies; two from Scotland and three from Australia. All have proudly carried age statements and cask details, dates of distillation and bottling, and have been bottled at cask strength with no chill filtration or added colouring. The bottling that we're looking at today is the fifth Truth and Consequence released to date, and it's a 10-year old Ben Nevis single malt bottled at a cask strength of 58.6% ABV. This single cask Ben Nevis was distilled in May 2013 and spent 10-years in a refill ex-bourbon barrel before being transferred in to a sauternes wine cask for a finishing period of 3-months. That may not sound like much time for the cask finishing to do its thing, but this was clearly quite an active & good quality cask, because it's certainly left an impression! This Truth and Consequence is a great example of where independent bottlers shine; by using different cask types, bottling at higher strengths, and using more natural presentation than the distillery owners they can show us our favourite distilleries in new lights, or they can show us distilleries that we've never heard of and/or wouldn't normally bother with. The sauternes cask used for this Ben Nevis was sourced from Chateau Haut-Bergeron of the Sauternes DOC in the south of France, which I'll admit that I wasn't familiar with, since while I enjoy the occasional sampling of a sauternes I'm far from an expert on the subject. It turns out that Haut-Bergeron dates back to 1756 and is only a few miles south of a very famous sauternes winery that I certainly have heard of, Chateau D'Yquem. So I'm sure we're in rather experienced hands here. Time to find out!

Before we do, though... David from Truth and Consequence was kind enough to send the sample for this review, and he also sent a surprise bonus: a Samaroli Tasting Glass, which The Old Barrelhouse imports in to Australia along with the Samaroli range of whiskies & spirits. Obviously this is not associated with legendary Silvano Samaroli since he passed away in 2017, but he sold the brand name and rights to the current owners back in 2008. These French-made crystal tasting glasses are very different in shape to my go-to Glencairn glass, so I'm going to do something different here; I'm going to use both! We'll do a comparison between nose & taste between firstly the Samaroli glass, and then the trusty Glencairn. Any differences will mainly be in the nosing of course, but we'll see how we go with the rest of the experience. The Samaroli glasses are much lighter and seem more fragile than the Glencairns, and there's also a significant price difference: roughly $50 for the former, and $12-13 for the latter. Both are made from lead-free crystal. I do like a stemmed glass, they tend to keep cleaner since our greasy hands aren't all over them, but then I do prefer a sturdy, weighty glass that seems less fragile. But I've never done a direct glassware comparison on this blog, and it'll certainly be fun with today's test subject, the Truth and Consequence Ben Nevis!

Truth and Consequence Ben Nevis 10-year old, 58.6%. Highlands, Scotland.

Distilled 16/5/2013, matured in refill ex-bourbon barrel, finished in Chateau Haut-Bergeron sauternes sweet wine cask for 3-months, bottled 6/9/2023. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 215 bottles. 

Colour: Pale gold. 

Nose: Samaroli Glass: Yeasty bread, thick honey, salted nuts - walnut, hazelnut, touch of almond. Lemon rind acidity. Chewy malted barley. With more time, key lime pie (think lemon meringue pie but with lime), and rich tea biscuits. Slightly nippy around the edges, tickling the nose hairs, but it does calm down / breathe out quickly. 

Glencairn Glass: Less alcohol nip which is surprising given the smaller glass, smaller bowl, and smaller opening on the Glencairn. I did have it covered while I was nosing the dram in the Samaroli, which will have helped the Glencairn. The aromas do seem very slightly subdued over the Samaroli, and I think the "base notes" are stronger here - the malty notes, and maybe the citrus, but less fruit and less sweetness. 

Texture: Medium weight. Very oily, thick, sweet & acidic (lightly sour). Slight heat but not unpleasant. 

Taste: Samaroli Glass: Malty & fruity. Sweet tropical fruit - lychee, honeydew (white) melon, ripening pineapple. Touch of green grape & lemon rind. More chewy biscuity malt. White chocolate, caramel fudge sauce. Becomes more biscuity heading to the finish, but ginger biscuits this time. 

Glencairn Glass: Very similar as expected, but a little more malty in the Glencairn with less of the tropical fruit. 

Finish: Samaroli Glass: White chocolate & caramel fudge sauce carry through, then that sweet and acidic key lime pie returns with the biscuit base. A little stem ginger, and a touch of milk bottle lollies (creamy vanilla confectionary) behind the chewy malted barley. 

Glencairn Glass: No real change here. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Very interesting, this is a tasty little number! This was clearly a very malty, barley-forward Ben Nevis, with a lot of biscuit-y malted barley showing through under the cask influence. It hasn't been smothered by the sauternes at all, there's a nice level of sweetness and tropical fruit, so neither sauternes lovers nor malt whisky fans will be bored here. As you can tell from the notes this isn't a dirty or funky Ben Nevis, but to be fair in my experience that usually requires some sherry casks to be involved, and Ben Nevis in general isn't as chewy as it used to be. The oily texture that we want in a Ben Nevis is here in this Truth and Consequence bottling though, and the level of sweetness works well, as does the tropical fruit & brightness that the sauternes influence brings. Can't say I've tried a young Ben Nevis that has that side to it, when I'm getting tropical fruit in a Ben Nevis it was usually distilled in the mid-1990s, and you're looking at $600+ for anything like that these days. Which makes this 10-year old something of a bargain!

As for the glassware comparison, it's an interesting one. The Samaroli glass doesn't really work with small pours of 10ml or less, because of that little bowl in the bottom that you can see in the image above. The whisky sits in that little bowl and doesn't get much movement without vigorous swirling, which I find usually brings out more ethanol until the dram settles back down again. Pours of 15ml or so look odd in this one for the same reason. But it doesn't feel fragile like I thought it would, there's actually a solid feeling in the hand. It's also easier to warm the dram in your hand by holding it at the top of the stem and resting the glass on your hand, while the Glencairn can be held at the base if necessary which is insulated from the whisky itself. Whether that's a factor for you will depend on your local climate! But there's one factor here that we can't overlooked when comparing any glass to the humble Glencairn, which is the cost. Aside from the standard copita or spirits judging/tasting glasses that are cheaper again, it's hard to argue with. Still, a nice stemmed crystal glass does give a good bit of luxury every now & then. 

Thanks to David and Ross from Truth and Consequence for the sample of this tasty Ben Nevis, and for the Samaroli glass. As mentioned above I've never done a direct glassware comparison with the same whisky on these pages, so this was a bit of fun! 

Cheers!

Old Master Spirits 48 Year Old Armagnac Review!

Another single cask brandy from Old Master Spirits! These guys are really making a habit of releasing well-aged armagnacs and cognacs at extremely reasonable prices, and they certainly don't skimp on quality or value for money. 

This upcoming release from Old Master Spirits is a 48-year old single cask armagnac from producer Chateau Garreau (pictured above) in the Bas Armagnac region of south-western France. Chateau Garreau was officially founded in 1919, although the land has been used for viticulture since the 17th century, and is currently owned by fourth-generation family member Carole Garreau. The Chateau's armagnac stills date back to 1919 and 1932, with this single cask being distilled on the original still that was installed in 1919! Whereas cognac is required to be distilled twice in a pot still, most armagnac is distilled a single time in column stills, but they're nothing like what we whisky geeks know as the huge column stills used in grain whisky production. These armagnac stills are smaller and squatter in shape, and far more rustic in design rather than the giant industrial efficiency of a Coffey still, or a modern column still producing neutral spirit. For further reading I've covered more of the differences between cognac and armagnac here, there's more to it than merely location! 

The Bas Armagnac denomination is the créme de la créme of the official armagnac regions, the equivalent to a grand champagne cognac. Maturation is of course in French oak, but can also include time spent in glass demijohns (large glass bottles), although when giving their spirits an age statement Old Master choose to only include the time spent in oak. Which is not the case with the vast majority of brandy producers and bottlers, who will gladly include the time spent in glass in their "age" statements. This Old Master bottling of 48-year old armagnac was fully matured in a single French oak cask sourced from Gascony, and was aged in Chateau Garreau's unique underground cellar, with earthen walls & floors giving humid & stable conditions that are favourable to long-term maturation. 

This cask strength Armagnac from Chateau Garreau is being released on Thursday 14th of March on the Old Master Spirits website at an absolute bargain price of $269 AUD, in a 500ml bottle at a cask strength of 51.2% ABV. If you're also of a 1974 vintage, that's an absolute bargain for a "birth year" spirit of any description, less than a tenth of a similarly-aged whisky would likely set you back. This armagnac was distilled from Baco & Ugni Blanc grapes in 1974, and was aged in a single French oak cask for a whopping 48-years before being bottled in late 2022. It is entirely naturally presented, being cask strength, natural colour, and non-chill filtered, which is far from the norm with brandy of any description. Thanks to some shipping delays and other considerations it is being released this week, with only 152 bottles available. Not only that, but this is the only armagnac that Old Master plan to release in 2024. Don't sleep on this one folks! Let's see what it tastes like, shall we?

Colour: Bronze. 

Nose: Rich, sweet, and savoury. My kind of dessert! Dried leafy herbs (sage & rosemary), sweet juicy sultanas, and rich spicy oak giving cinnamon & clove. A little ginger ice cream on sticky date pudding. Sweet crispy pastries baked with stone fruit and sugar crystals. 

Texture: Light-medium weight. Rich, silky, sweet & savoury, lightly astringent (drying). No heat whatsoever. 

Taste: Rich & densely flavoured with more dried leafy herbs, more wood spices, and more sticky date pudding. Silky toffee sauce adding sweetness. More stone fruit pastries, some roasted hazelnut & chestnut behind that. Bitter dark chocolate comes through heading into the finish. 

Finish: Long length. Quite possibly the longest finish I've found in a brandy to date! More dried leafy herbs, a touch of bitter orange oil, soft leather, and dried stone fruit (apricot & cherry). Dark chocolate with that herbal note carrying through to the end. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: Just delicious. Remarkably easy-drinking, but without sacrificing texture or length, particularly on the finish. Brandy doesn't often come close to the texture, length, or complexity of a malt whisky, but these Old Master Spirits bottlings certainly do! This might be one occasion where I'd actually consider having a cigar with this armagnac, which is not my thing at all, particularly with whisky. But something tells me that it would be a fantastic flavour experience with a brandy of this quality. Then again, it's a 48-year old armagnac, so let's just leave it alone like the producers did! It's a fantastic experience on it's own anyway, with a great balance of sweet & savoury to spicy & fruity. Really enjoying those herbal notes as well, which I don't recall getting in an armagnac to this extent before. Great stuff!

Thanks to Deni & his brother in law for the sample for this review, and for continuing to bring us these delicious brandies & other spirits at such reasonable prices!

Cheers!