Longrow Red 10 Year Old Refill Malbec Whisky Review - Plus A Bonus!

The latest 2021 release in the Longrow "Red" series, the series of wine cask whiskies from Springbank's dirtier, funkier variant. This one is very promising though, because of one word: Refill! But since I'm feeling generous, there's a bonus review of another wine cask Longrow to chase it!

I am a huge fan of Longrow, and I wish we saw more of it here in Australia. Aside from this annual-ish "Red" series, there's only really the NAS entry level bottling and the expensive 18-year old to choose from. The same does apply to the entire world, aside from the lucky markets who receive exclusive single casks. The reasons for this scarcity are many, but the main one is that Springbank Distillery just doesn't make enough Longrow (or Springbank, for that matter). While the distillery's theoretical annual production is over 750,000 litres per year, in reality the actual production is far, far less - well under half of that, in fact. And the long periods of pandemic-induced shutdowns during 2020 and 2021 won't hit us for quite a few years yet, but they're going to cause some problems. The same applies to the recent ramping up of production in an appreciated, but practically impossible, effort to keep up with the increased demand for Springbank whisky. The current capacity and those production numbers apply to the whole distillery though, which produces three separate spirits - the unpeated and triple-distilled Hazelburn, the namesake lightly peated and 2.5-times distilled Springbank, and the heavily peated and double-distilled Longrow. And Longrow accounts for just 10% of that annual production, as does Hazelburn. So there really isn't much of this special liquid around, and the massive increase in demand over the last year or so isn't helping the situation at all. Thankfully that seems to be focussed more on the namesake Springbank brand than it is on the distillery's other two products. And I'd say that a good portion of that "new money" investment crowd don't even realise that Longrow or Hazelburn exist! And I hope it stays that way...

Aside from the heavily peated malted barley and the double-distillation, there are two other little factoids that make Longrow special. Named after a Victorian-era Campbeltown distillery that closed in 1896, Longrow spirit only goes through the first two pot stills in Springbank's trio, skipping the third still altogether. That's important because the first of those stills, the wash still, is direct-fired rather than heated by internal steam coils, and the second still or first spirit still is equipped with a worm tub condenser, the more traditional method of condensing the spirit vapour back in to liquid which results in less copper contact and (all things being equal) a heavier, dirtier & more characterful spirit when compared with an equivalent modern shell and tube condenser. And those two facts make this quite a unique whisky. But there's a caveat with Longrow. Many peated whisky drinkers are disappointed when they first try one of these because they're expecting an Islay or Island (e.g. Ledaig) style of peated single malt. They see the words "heavily peated" or they read the ppm measurements, and they expect Campbeltown's version of Ardbeg or Laphroaig, which is not the case. That's largely due to the peat itself that is used to smoke the barley in the malting process, which comes from the mainland of Scotland rather than the islands, among other factors. In general that gives Longrow an earthy, smoky flavour rather than the heavier & deeper peaty styles of Islay, despite the ppm specifications being significantly higher than most - which is yet another reason not to pay too much attention to those figures!

There's another factor to consider though. Very rarely do we see a Longrow that has been matured solely in refill casks, or even solely in first-fill bourbon casks, particularly at a relatively young age and at cask strength. Most are either matured or finished in first-fill wine, sherry, or port casks, which while adding other flavours they can also overwhelm the lighter peat influence in this funky Campbeltown spirit. The "Red" series is a good example of this, being the most accessible higher-ABV iteration of Longrow. As the name implies, this series of nine cask strength bottlings to date is either fully-matured or finished/secondary-matured in red wine casks, or red fortified wine casks in the case of the port cask bottling from 2014. The Red series kicked off in 2012, and has employed red wine casks from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Chile, generally used for a finishing period of a few years after initial maturation in ex-bourbon or refill casks. But two of those nine bottlings to date stand out among the rest, because they've used refill red wine casks rather than first-fill - or "fresh" in Springbank-speak. They were 2019's 11-year old refill Pinot Noir cask finish, and this 10-year old refill Malbec cask finish which was bottled in late 2020. Why are refill casks significant? Well I can't yet claim to have tasted all nine bottlings in the series, despite the fact that these releases are generally "only" finished in wine casks rather than being fully-matured, the amount of wine cask influence in most of them is significant - and in some cases if you ask me, too heavy. Using refill wine casks for the finishing period preserves more of that delicious dirty, earthy, funky spirit character without imparting too much cask influence, which is a very good thing if you ask me! While I've enjoyed basically all of the Longrow single malt that I've tasted, my all-time favourite example to date was the 11-year old refill port cask bottling that I've reviewed here, which for my tastes had just about the perfect balance of cask influence and distillery character. Technically that is an independent bottling from Cadenhead's, but like Springbank and Glengyle distilleries that independent bottler is privately owned by the same company, J&A Mitchell. 

The Longrow Red that we're looking at today is the youngest in the series to date, at 10-years of age. It has been matured in bourbon barrels for seven years, followed by a 3-year finishing period in refill Malbec red wine casks that were sourced from South Africa - specifically the Stellenbosch wine-producing region around 50km east of Cape Town. Malbec is a dry red wine that isn't as heavy or tannic as Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz/Syrah. Despite its French origins around 75% of the world's Malbec actually comes from Argentina, although South Africa's wines are also highly regarded. 10,000 bottles of this Longrow Red were released in December 2020 at a cask strength of 52.5%, which is not huge at this relatively young age, but is still more than enough! Naturally, being a Springbank product this whisky is non-chill filtered and of natural colour. 

But that's not all, folks - there's a chaser review of another Longrow as a bonus, and it's not one to miss! Both of the samples for these reviews came from a generous friend over in New Zealand, where they have access to more Springbank - and at far better prices - than we do in Australia. Let's get to it! 

Longrow Red Refill Malbec 10-year old, 52.2%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Matured for 7-years in bourbon barrels, finished for 3-years in refill Malbec red wine casks from South Africa. Bottled December 2020. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Bronze. 

Nose: Surprisingly fresh & inviting to start with, and a good balance between cask & spirit. Dried raspberries, damp leather, muddy clay and fennel (think aniseed but milder and vegetal/green). Black cherries in dark chocolate, and black pepper. Hints of balsamic vinegar and earthy, spicy peat, and tobacco. Becomes lightly acidic/sour as it breathes - and I like that in a whisky! 

Texture: Medium weight. Earthy, dirty, lightly acidic. Slight touch of heat but not an issue. 

Taste: More leather, black pepper, and a pinch of solventy, diesel-like Longrow "funk". Drier here than the nose suggested. Touches of rubber & plastic - but in a good way - and more dried raspberry. Becomes a little sweeter towards the back. Touch of cocoa powder too. 

Finish: Medium-long length. Touch of petrol, then turns acidic & acetic with balsamic vinegar, black pepper and leather again, and black cherry with dark chocolate again. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: Delicious. As expected, the refill wine casks have done a great job here. If you ask me the best of the Longrow Red series have some refill casks in the mix - yes there are only two examples so far, but I stand by that statement! Refill wine casks over a longer finishing/maturation period generally gives a better balance, preserving more of that "funk" and spirit character. Which is exactly what I want in a Longrow! There's still plenty of cask influence though, as you can probably tell from those tasting notes. But instead of overpowering the spirit it's been more subtle and more supportive. 

Despite its dirty, funky & rich character the Longrow spirit does seem to be relatively delicate when it comes to heavy cask influence. Susceptible to cask influence might be a better way of putting it. By that I mean that it doesn't seem to take a huge amount cask influence to quieten/dull-down the smoky, earthy and dirty spirit character & distillery character, tipping the balance to casks that are too assertive. But when that doesn't happen and the cask & spirit work in tandem - in a refill cask, for example! - that's when the magic happens!

And now for the chaser!

Unfortunately, this next Longrow is something that most fans will never get to taste. This is actually a Cadenhead's independent bottling of Longrow that was offered during the Cadenhead's Warehouse Tastings in Campbeltown, and it was only available to visitors who took part in said tastings. They're cask samples really, a similar idea to the legendary cage bottles I suppose, although in this case you do have the chance to taste them before purchasing, and the entire cask is selected for bottling rather than just a bottle or two being taken from cask during maturation. I haven't yet had the chance to do a Cadenhead's warehouse tasting, since I've only visited Campbeltown once and it was a whirlwind trip, but they certainly seem like a great experience. This Cadenhead's offering is a 16-year old Longrow that was distilled in October 2001 and bottled from late 2017 to early 2018 at a cask strength of 56.0%, but there's a major difference here. This Longrow has spent around 10-years being finished / secondary-matured in a Chardonnay cask! A white wine cask Springbank is an extremely rare thing, very occasionally seen as part of a larger vatting with other cask types, or perhaps as single cask bottlings that are sold to specific international markets. In fact a white wine cask Scotch whisky of any sort, and particularly one in peated form, is quite the rare beast! Despite the rarity, that and the owner's generosity told me that this whisky just had to be reviewed! Something also tells me that it'll be rather special...

Cadenhead's Longrow Warehouse Tasting 16-year old, 56.0%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Distilled October 2001, bottled late 2017-early 2018. Finished in a Chardonnay white wine cask since 2008 (10-ish years), part of the Cadenhead's Warehouse Tasting experience in Campbeltown. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 

Colour: Amber gold. 

Nose: Buttery, spicy, dirty. Soft old leather, fresh boot polish, touch of mint around the edges which is surprising. Toasted buttery oak, a little whole passionfruit and cream, black pepper, and floral laundry detergent powder/granules - yes, really! 

Texture: Medium weight. Rich, oily & buttery. Lightly acidic and smoky. No heat at all. 

Taste: Buttery & oily, with vegetable oil and melted butter, and spicy peppery peat. More passionfruit & cream (but not sweetened), some bitter, dry smoke with a touch of ash, and dry leather. Buttery toasted oak and lightly-sour white fruit. 

Finish: Long length. Minerally - that laundry detergent powder again, and some chalkiness, and a touch of dry gravel. Touch of acidity again with that passionfruit & cream, and white / tropical fruit. Ground black pepper and buttery oak behind it. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Fascinating! Not really what I expected, with far less white wine / cask influence than I expected given that decade-long finishing period. Those creamy notes, and the acidic passionfruit & white fruit would have to be coming from the chardonnay cask, and they're not something that I've found in a Longrow before. But this whisky is also quite medicinal in a floral, dry, powdery, chalky way, which is remarkable, and again not something that I've found in a Longrow before. Some will probably struggle with those notes, but I find them very interesting. I can see exactly why this cask would've been chosen for the warehouse tastings, it's fascinating!

So, two very different Longrows here. One refill red wine cask finish, and one first-fill chardonnay cask finish, but where the finishing period on the first whisky was only three years, the secondary maturation period on the second was somewhere around a decade - hardly just a finish! Both though are nicely balanced between cask influence and spirit/distillery character, which is not always the case with Longrow and is great to see. We need more refill cask Longrows please Springbank, and also more first-fill bourbon cask Longrows for that matter!

Cheers!

Caol Ila Feis Ile 2018 Whisky Review!

A 10-year old cask strength Caol Ila from refill & rejuvenated casks. That may not sound remarkable on paper, particularly if you consider the countless options from independent bottlers. But the clue here is in the title: it's a Feis Ile bottling!

Caol Ila Feis Ile / Islay Festival bottlings aren't easy to come by. Much like the other Diageo-owned Ileach, Lagavulin, their limited releases are only sold from the distillery shop on Islay - although during the pandemic they've also been available online, but only to British postal addresses. The same scarcity actually applies to cask strength official bottlings of Caol Ila in general, at least aside from the massive array of independent bottlings that are out there. It's basically the opposite approach to that taken at Lagavulin, where the 12-year old cask strength bottling has been a staple of Diageo's Special Releases program for nearly twenty years, and independent bottlings are hard to come by - particularly with the distillery's name on them. There have been a few appearances from Caol Ila in the Special Release series, but most were either unpeated (which is really only produced for the blenders) or older single malts. Some of those unpeated bottlings were nice and some were interesting, but they're not really proper Caol Ila in my book. Otherwise the last time a cask strength official bottling of Caol Ila was available was back in 2008 when the fleeting & delicious non-age statement 'Natural Cask Strength' series (reviewed here) met its end. Since then, cask strength Caol Ila has really been the domain of the independent bottlers, thanks to the distillery's huge production output which is still mostly allocated to Diageo's blended whiskies rather than their single malt program - which leaves large numbers of casks available for blenders, independent bottlers and cask brokers. While some bottlings are naturally better than others, and on very rare occasion they end up being decidedly average, most independent bottlers do great things with Caol Ila, and it's not easy to find a bad one. 

And that makes things difficult for the distillery's owners when they decide to actually give Caol Ila some attention. Sure, they have the core range 12-year old and the non-age statement "Moch", and occasionally the moscatel wine cask finished Distiller's Edition that have all been around for a reasonably long time, but they're all bottled at 43% and are chill filtered. So when there are countless cask strength independent bottlings out there, how can the distillery owners differentiate their own? Well, in this case it seems that you don't really worry about it. Aside from the 30-year old and 35-year old from the recent Special Releases, Caol Ila's packaging & presentation is always minimalist. Brown glass with plain labels, simple designs and only the very basics of information - sometimes an age statement and a simple mention of cask type, but often just an ABV and little else. Like many of the independent bottlings of Caol Ila the vast majority of spirit is matured in refill casks, but that's no bad thing - refill casks means more distillery character and more spirit character, and since this quieter Ileach generally produces a lighter, less confrontational Islay whisky than some, that's really the best way to show what this underappreciated distillery can do. That's not to say that Caol Ila doesn't work well in first-fill casks, because it can. But it's also easy for a first-fill cask, particularly full-term maturation in a sherry cask, to completely overwhelm this comparatively gentler, lighter Islay spirit and leave you with a flat, dull and lifeless "sherry bomb" that is almost completely devoid of spirit character, even at a young age. And that's always a disappointment if you ask me. Now that's not a blanket rule of course - in fact I've had the privilege of trying a 22-year old first-fill European oak sherry cask at the distillery as part of their "Cask Strength Experience" that was absolutely incredible, one of the overall highlights of that trip to Islay, in fact. But that is obviously a serious rarity. On the other hand, not wanting to name names, but much younger independent bottlings from first-fill sherry casks have been massive disappointments, and their dark colour is actually something to be wary of rather than something to lust after. 

Diageo are not silly, and the distillery staff certainly know what they're doing, so when they're given the chance to do right by their quiet workhorse of a distillery, the results can be truly great. Aside from the more-recent Distillery Exclusive bottlings from 2017 & 2018 that were finished in red wine casks, and the sporadic older stuff from the Special Releases if you have the required disposable income, the only other option for official bottlings of peated cask strength Caol Ila is the annual Feis Ile bottling, released around May-June each year to coincide with the Islay Festival. The Feis has understandably been cancelled for the last two years thanks to the pandemic, so instead the Caol Ila (and Lagavulin) bottling has been offered from Diageo's single malts website - provided you have a postal address within Britain at least. Prior to that though, the only way to access these special bottlings was to get yourself or a "whisky mule" to venture down that steep winding road at Port Askaig to the distillery shop and grab one. But even then you'll also need to time it right - they don't tend to last long. These Feis Ile bottlings may be relatively expensive for their age, and no you won't get a box, and no you won't get fancy packaging or even a detailed label, but more importantly you might just get a great Caol Ila as a consolation prize! 

The Feis Ile bottling that we're looking at here is from 2018, and I was lucky enough to buy it from the distillery shop on what (sadly) was my most recent visit to Islay, in October of that year. The ages of these Caol Ila Feis releases are all over the place, from non-age statement to the 22-years old in 2019, and this particular release is one of the younger age-stated examples at 10-years. Also not a bad thing though, refill cask bottlings from this distillery can be great, even with ages in the single digits. This 2018 release has been matured in both refill American oak hogsheads (250-litre casks) and rejuvenated European oak butts (500-litre casks), meaning refill sherry casks that have been internally shaved and re-toasted and/or re-charred - based on smell & taste here I'd say they were merely re-toasted. There were only 2,500 bottles released at a cask strength of 58.2% ABV, and despite the lack of information on the label I can safely say that it is non-chill filtered and natural colour. Pricing was rather hefty at 100 GBP, but that's roughly inline with similar Feis Ile releases from the other distilleries. Tasting time!

Caol Ila Feis Ile 2018, 10-year old, 58.2%. Islay, Scotland.

Matured in refill American oak hogsheads and rejuvenated European oak sherry butts. Non-chill filtered, natural colour (but not stated on packaging). 2,500 bottles. 

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Sweet, salty & peaty. Sweet dried seaweed, salty smoked bacon, black jelly beans (aniseed) and shoe polish. Dried red chilli flakes, sweet lemon & orange further in. Sweet hot-smoked salmon, soft spicy peat smoke, touches of leather & damp wood. 

Texture: Light-medium weight. Lightly oily, but clean & fresh overall. Slight touch of heat. 

Taste: Sweet & oily entry, then a big wallop of dry & spicy peat, ashy smoke and red chilli flakes. Salty smoked fish, dried orange and burnt smoked bacon. Touch of old leather & dry shoe polish. 

Finish: Medium-long length. Sweet shellfish (crab?), touch of smoked ham and green chilli flakes this time. Gentle spicy & sweet peat smoke (ashy), touch of old bandages / old first aid kit. Black peppercorns, sea salt and dried fennel (think green, vegetal/herbal aniseed), and Caol Ila's trademark grassiness. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: Delicious young Caol Ila. Fresh & sweet, salty & peaty with a touch of that trademark grassiness & the cleaner, relatively gentler style of coastal/maritime notes that this distillery does so well. And that's always great to find in a Caol Ila since they're all matured on the Scottish mainland - even the warehouse pictured above is usually full of casks of Lagavulin. This Feis Ile Caol Ila may not be the most complex whisky out there, and it did take a month or so to relax after opening, but it does everything you'd want in a young Caol Ila, and it does it well! The youth does show itself in places, but with breathing time - both the bottle and with each pour - it's a lovely punchy young Ileach with plenty of spirit character left intact, and those rejuvenated sherry casks have certainly behaved themselves - although there probably wasn't many of them in the vatting. 

A great little liquid souvenir from my most recent trip to Islay, and it's a great motivator to get back there ASAP. 

Cheers!

Springbank 11 Year Old Local Barley Whisky Review!

The second instalment of Springbank's modern Local Barley series, from back in early 2017. The one that almost got away from me! 

Before the secondary pricing became stupid and before demand exploded through the roof in the last year or so, the Springbank Local Barley releases were only really appreciated in smaller circles. Those who knew, knew. And those who didn't, well they were missing out. Now of course almost everyone knows, and everyone is now competing for the same relatively small number of bottles as that smaller audience was. Unfortunately I suspect that's largely thanks to the dark colour of the 10-year old 2020/2021 release, the first & only bottling in the series to be 100% matured in sherry casks, which attracted a huge amount of attention and pulled the entire series (and perhaps even the distillery) into the spotlight behind it. It's also due to the pandemic-induced mayhem of course, and the ridiculous surge in demand for whisky & other luxury goods that it has caused. I've already moaned about this sorry state of affairs in the review of that controversial latest release in the series (linked above), so have a read there if you'd like to know more. For now though, we're going to rewind to the before-times, the brighter days when these releases and other Springbanks were still relatively affordable and easier to find, and to when more of them were opened & enjoyed rather than being flipped and traded amongst speculators & investors like they are now. Through no fault of the distillery, these are dark times for us Springbank lovers...

The modern Local Barley series - and when I say modern, we're excluding the legendary first series of unicorn 1960s vintage Local Barley bottlings - kicked off in 2016 with the absolutely epic 16-year old, followed by the 11-year old in 2017 that we're looking at here, then a 10-year old in late 2017 (reviewed here), then a 9-year old in 2018, and latterly two more 10-year old releases - the 2019 (reviewed here), and then the 2020/2021 sherry cask matured (reviewed here). Each release was distilled from barley grown in the Kintyre region and was matured in a different mix of casks, and all were bottled at cask strength. Of the six releases in the series that we've seen so far, the 11-year old was the only one that I hadn't tasted - until now! Of the five that I have tasted up until now the 16-year old is certainly the winner in my book. But really they're all winners, and you can't go wrong with any of them - at close to their original pricing at least. Are they worth the 400-800 pounds that they're (sadly) selling for at auction these days? Absolutely not. Not a chance in hell. For those of us playing in Australia, even the low end of that pricing spectrum at the UK auctions, which rather predictably is the delicious 9-year old bottling, the youngest release in the series, would roughly be a $750 AUD bottle landed here, after our customs agents & DHL have had their way with you. And that's utterly insane. Whoops, I'm moaning again! 

This 2017 11-year old Local Barley is the only one in the series so far that has been fully matured in 100% ex-bourbon casks. And that's a good thing, since the gentler cask influence is likely to show off more of the local barley character - which should be the point of the entire series, after all! But that's not all folks. This 11-year old is also the only release in the series that was distilled from the ancient barley variety Bere. In fact to my knowledge this is the only Springbank general release (i.e. not a society / cage bottling etc.) that has been distilled from 100% Bere barley, at least in recent years. Which makes this rather special! By the way, the word Bere is pronounced as "bare" and not "beer", but it could well be one of the origins of the word "beer" in the English language. Islay's Bruichladdich partake in Bere barley whisky more often than any, even growing it on Islay on one occasion, although Arran have also dabbled in the past. Most of this ancient grain is grown on the cold, windswept Orkney Islands north of the Scottish mainland, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea. Hardly the first place that comes to mind when you think of that postcard-image of sunny fields of golden barley! The reason for that seemingly-mismatched location is largely traditional, since barley has been grown in the Orkney Islands since the invention of agriculture, well before the Vikings came ashore. But Bere barley has survived & thrived there because it is more hardy, being less sensitive to soil quality and weather conditions. With a helping hand from the Orkney farmers Bere has evolved more through natural selection over those millennia rather than being scientifically bred in laboratory conditions (or even genetically modified) in search of higher yields and better disease resistance like most modern barley varieties. But this is not just an older, more natural version of the popular modern barley varieties like Optic and Concerto that we're more familiar with. This is actually a six-row barley grain, something that is found more often in Indian single malts, and also in livestock feed, than it is in Scotch whisky. As the name implies, six-row barley has six grain kernels per row rather than two, which are arranged in a star-shaped pattern if you were looking at a cross-section of the barley stem. Along with differences in protein content and starch content, and also enzymes - all of which affects malting, milling, fermentation and yield - compared to two-row barley, the kernels in six-row barley are smaller in size, and in general give more of a nutty flavour in comparison with the sweeter, more honey-like flavour of the two-row varieties. That's probably down to a slightly higher protein content and lower starch content, and also the thicker husks on the grain itself - which I'd assume would also affect kilning. I'm guessing this stuff would be a real pain when the time comes to mill and mash it!

As you can guess from the name of this series of special Springbanks, the Bere barley used for this 11-year old Springbank didn't come from Orkney. It came from the Kintyre peninsula - Aros Farm to be exact, which is less than three miles from the distillery, and since there are no farms within "the wee 'toon" of Campbeltown itself you can't get much more local than that! This being a Springbank single malt of course means that the barley was lightly peated to roughly 15 ppm, and that it was 100% floor-malted on-site at the distillery, and that it has been distilled a sum total of 2.5-times through a complicated regimen where at the end of the process some of the spirit is only distilled twice, while some is distilled three times. And that process includes Springbank's direct-fired wash still and worm tub condenser-equipped second still / first spirit still. The ABV here is "only" 53.1% in this case, which is the lowest in the series so far, and that may have been due to that lower yield from the Bere barley, or it may just be natural variation. In terms of volume of liquid though this release wasn't any smaller than the others with 9,000 bottles released. This 11-year old was distilled in Feb 2006 and bottled in Feb 2017, without chill filtration and naturally coloured as with everything that Springbank Distillery releases. While there was plenty of interest when it hit the shelves, this second bottling in the series now suffers from a touch of middle child syndrome, possibly because it followed the epic 16-year old first release which did cast a very large shadow, or possibly because of the slightly lower ABV. But more likely it's because it was "only" matured in ex-bourbon casks, which for some wouldn't have been as appealing as the other bottlings. Personally though, that plus the Bere barley used means it'll be very different from the rest and should show plenty of barley character, which makes it even more exciting if you ask me! The sample for this review came from a generous friend over the water in New Zealand. Oh and just to annoy everyone, the original Australian retail pricing on this 11-year old, around 4.5-years ago admittedly, was $220-240 AUD. Compare that to the $400-500 Australian retail pricing of the recent 10-year old sherry bottling... OK, I'm doing it again. No more moaning!

Springbank 11-year old Local Barley, 53.1%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Distilled from 100% Bere barley, grown in Campbeltown region. Distilled Feb 2006, fully matured in 100% ex-bourbon casks, bottled Feb 2017. Second release in the LB series. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 9,000 bottles. 

Colour: Pale gold. 

Nose: Lovely. Loads of waxy / unwashed lemon wedges, rich egg custard that is hardly sweetened but with a touch of vanilla. Dusty hay and a touch of spearmint. Sea spray and dried grapefruit around the edges. Dried herbs with a slight earthy peat smoke. More time adds sugared almonds. 

Texture: Medium weight, oily & creamy. A little dirtier than the nose suggested. Slight heat but very pleasant. 

Taste: Creamy egg custard again, but no vanilla this time, and again barely sweetened. Soft earthy peat behind it. Touch of dirty engine oil, sharp lemon which builds as the peat recedes. Touch of sweetened grapefruit and grassy malt, then those sugared almonds again with a good pinch of sea salt. 

Finish: Medium-long length. Touch of spirit-y heat, turning into white pepper when that creaminess comes through again. Then the lemon wedges, almost salted lemons now, touches of clove spice & petrol. Surprising creamy milk chocolate note in the background as it winds up. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: Lovely stuff. Predictably I'd say the other releases are all more "typically Springbank", while this is cleaner and more conventional, for lack of a better word. But this 11-year old is a lovely oily, creamy, lemony dram and it still has that coastal, old school Campbeltown character that we all love. Albeit without as much of the dirt, the funk, and the dunnage warehouse dankness. It's hard to pinpoint the Bere barley difference of course, that could be where those almond notes are coming from, although that could be coming from the oak. But it does also seem drier than your typical ex-bourbon Springbank. Regardless of the reasons it's certainly different to the other Local Barley releases as you'd expect, but make no mistake, there's no shortage of character or flavour here! And if it wasn't different, what would be the point!

The 11-year old certainly deserves its place in the LB line-up, and it's great to see something different in the mix - variety is the spice of life. And the quality is right up there with the rest of 'em. Let's hope we see more 100% bourbon cask releases in the series since it has now been extended indefinitely. And let's hope that plenty of the recent bandwagon-jumpers turn their noses up at them in favour of darker colours, so we can keep enjoying them! 

Cheers!

Coleburn 1979 29 Year Old (MacKillop's Choice) Whisky Review!

A 29-year old single malt, bottled back in 2008, from a distillery that closed in 1985, although the buildings still stand and the office & warehouses are now used by independent bottler Murray McDavid.

We whisky enthusiasts tend to romanticise the idea of closed and/or dead distilleries. Legendary names like Rosebank, Brora and Port Ellen are probably responsible for a large part of the allure. In fact all three of those dead distilleries are now being rebuilt and recommissioned by their respective owners. The resuscitation of Port Ellen is far behind the progress of the other two, although to be fair it's on a remote island and requires almost a complete rebuild, while Rosebank and Brora still existed to varying degrees - the latter has actually begun distilling again after almost forty years of silence, which is very exciting! Aside from those three legendary names there are plenty of distilleries that were closed in the latter half of the 20th century that have been sold, with the new owners then bringing them back to life. Benromach, Ardbeg, Bruichladdich, Glendronach and Benriach come straight to mind as great examples that were suffering from the neglect of their previous owners but are now thriving. Then we have recognisable and highly regarded distilleries that were closed in the same period and have been converted into housing or even demolished since; names like Banff, Convalmore and St. Magdalene / Linlithgow, to name but a few. Would that have happened if the (mostly) corporate owners had seen this current whisky boom coming before they pulled the plug? Who knows - it could have been cheaper to rebuild & recommission some of those rather than building brand new operations, but that's not a blanket rule since many were closed for operational reasons. Many needed major upgrades and major financial investment, or had unreliable water sources, or were logistically difficult. From there, even if we only look at the 1980s we're left with a long list of closed, repurposed and/or demolished malt whisky distilleries that were never really popular, have little-to-no hope of being brought back to life, and are now largely forgotten by all but the most hardcore of the malt anorak ranks. And of course, some of them just didn't produce particularly good whisky!

Most of those much-forgotten names produced only for blends, either for their parent company's brands or that of third parties. Here in 2022 in the continuing single malt boom it's easy to forget just how crucial blended whiskies have been for the success of Scotch whisky as a whole. While there are now dozens of independent bottlers and distilleries who only produce single malt whisky and do not sell to blenders, it's safe to say that without the demand of the blended whisky industry in the not-too-distant past many of those distilleries would have joined that list of their closed, repurposed or demolished brethren. And many of those independent bottlers would never have existed at all! Single malt whisky, particularly Scotch, is probably the "sexiest" aged liquor around these days, and it's been growing in leaps & bounds for quite a few years now. But while blends have not received the same level of attention or glory they are still a far, far larger market than single malt, and are the backbone of nearly all of the large whisky companies in Scotland. So what about those closed & dead distilleries that only really produced whisky for the blenders, and seldom (or never) released their own single malts? Are they worthy of your attention now? Well, maybe. These days most of them are only seen in independent bottlings that also have substantial age under their belts, and they're often single cask releases. Which says a lot really, because they're often freaks of nature. Single casks represent the exception rather than the rule, and they may not be a representation of the distillery's 'original' whisky which for whatever reason was never given much attention. 

There's no denying the emotional response that is invoked by drinking a single malt that will never be replaced, or one from a distillery that will never exist again, or one from a distillery that had shut its doors long before the drinker had even been born! But that certainly doesn't mean they're objectively great whiskies. My point here is that the few closed distilleries with now-legendary reputations have that status for a reason - although even then there are no guarantees with any particular bottling - while many of the unloved forgotten, repurposed or demolished distilleries have been forgotten, repurposed or demolished for good reason. But sometimes they're given the attention that they need to become good or even great whiskies, whether that be through the right cask selection or re-racking, or proper presentation (cask strength etc.), or just being from an unusually good spirit run, or more likely a combination of all the above, they can certainly be a great experience. On the other side of that coin, don't make the mistake of excluding or ignoring old blended whiskies purely because they're blended whiskies! So buyer beware. My advice is to do as much research as you can before dropping your hard-earned on an obscure dead distillery's whisky. 

The above precursor probably sounds like I'm about to absolutely destroy the whisky that I'm reviewing here. Not so! But this is certainly an example of a closed distillery that has been almost completely ignored and/or forgotten by the majority of drinkers, despite the original buildings being intact and having been repurposed within the industry rather than being converted into apartments. As far as I can tell the only real official bottling of Coleburn single malt was released back in 2000 as part of Diageo's Rare Malts series, which was the precursor to the company's annual Special Releases. There are still independent bottlings of Coleburn around, mostly from Gordon & MacPhail (including a recent 38-year old refill sherry cask), but the stock does seem to be drying up without so much as a single 'thoughts & prayers' post appearing on social media. Coleburn Distillery was founded in 1897 near the village of Longmorn in the heart of Speyside. The distillery's main claim to fame was being designed by Charles Doig, who invented the Doig Ventilator - more commonly known as a "distillery pagoda". Actually a practical structure that aids in the drying of barley in the kilns, these now-iconic shapes have become synonymous with whisky distillation in Scotland, and can even be found fitted to many modern distilleries that were never malted their own grain. 

Coleburn was sold to Clynelish Distillery Company in 1915, which later became part of DCL, which itself became part of United Distillers, which is now part of Diageo. The distillery survived the wholesale slaughter of 1983 which saw DCL close a whopping eleven Scotch whisky distilleries, but fate caught up with Coleburn two years later, and the stills were never heated again. While the buildings were largely left alone the site sat silent, occasionally being scavenged for equipment, with the distilling license expiring in 1992 and the site being sold off in 2004 to two brothers who had plans to turn it into a luxury hotel & entertainment precinct. Eighteen years later that still hasn't eventuated, but as mentioned above the warehouses & offices have been leased to independent bottler Murray McDavid. Coleburn was a large contributor of many lower-shelf blended whiskies, most famously Johnnie Walker Red Label. That probably won't tug at anyone's heartstrings, but I'm sure that demand kept the doors open for much longer than they would've been otherwise. Production at Coleburn wasn't particularly noteworthy and was typical of these quieter Speyside distilleries: unpeated, with two pairs of copper pot stills that were converted to internal steam heating in the 1960s, shortly before the malting kiln was decommissioned. And that's about all she wrote! The Coleburn single malt that we're looking at today is a single cask 29-year old from Mackillop's Choice, a small privately owned independent bottler based in Glasgow. I've had the chance to try a few Mackillop's Choice bottlings to date, and they've all been quite impressive. This one was distilled in February 1979 and bottled in May 2008, and while there are no cask details on the labelling I'd presume it was a refill ex-bourbon cask. What the labelling does tell us though is that it is non-chill filtered and natural colour, and bottled at a cask strength of 44.3% ABV. Let's get to it, shall we?

Coleburn 1979 29-year old, MacKillop's Choice, 44.3%. Elgin, Scotland.

Distilled Feb 1979, bottled May 2008. Single cask bottling but no cask number, cask type or number of bottles listed. Presumably refill ex-bourbon cask. Natural colour, non-chill filtered. 

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Dusty, malty, dry. Black pepper and red apples that are starting to brown. Some sawdust, aniseed and dried citrus around the edges. A bit of a nose prickle to it as well, which is surprising for nearly three decades of maturation and "only" 44.3% ABV. Dry grass and sweeter maltiness (e.g. Horlick's) with more time. 

Texture: Medium weight. Nicely oily, drying. Mild spirit-y heat that is a little distracting but not overly harsh. 

Taste: More dusty red apples, dusty gristy malt, sawdust, and a hint of dried lime. Machine oil, black pepper & a subtle earthy note. Touch of liquorice and dried raspberry.

Finish: Medium length. That mild-but-numbing spirit-y heat comes back through, before the black pepper and machine oils beat it back. Some charred wood & dried lime before the sawdust and that dusty red apple note finish things up. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Lovely "old school" whisky. It's not the most complex or challenging whisky out there, and that mild spirit-y heat - still present after nearly three decades of maturation, remember - would mean that the spirit was probably quite rough to begin with. Which is what you'd expect from an unloved workhorse distillery that was really only producing filler for it's owners' blended whiskies, so timely output was more important than quality. But that lovely dusty, oily, fruity and malty character is quite charming, and very enjoyable. At times this Coleburn is reminding me of a Hazelburn, or maybe a heavier & younger Rosebank in a way, with the "old school" oiliness, earthiness and maltiness, but it's still firmly planted in Speyside with that dusty red apple character. 

Since this is my first Coleburn I don't have much of a frame of reference here, but I would assume that the distillery was rushing things, cutting a few corners and pumping out spirit to keep the owners & the blenders happy. And this almost-certainly would've been a rough & harsh whisky at a young age. It's important to remember that while a few had other reasons, a lot of these 1980s-era dead distilleries were targeted for closure / released from service for a reason! Still, this 29-year old single cask Coleburn from Mackillop's choice is great introduction to this dead distillery. It's a nice "old school" whisky experience without the need to break the bank on one of the more famous names that also met their end in those dark times. Thanks again to the owner for the sample!

Cheers!

Port Charlotte The Heretic Feis Ile 2018 Whisky Review!

My first Port Charlotte Feis Ile bottling, and also the 'last of the first' Port Charlotte - this bottling contains the last five casks that were filled in 2001, the first year of Port Charlotte distillation at Bruichladdich!

From memory this was also the first full-sized (700ml) Port Charlotte to be presented in the current bottle design & packaging, which has helped Port Charlotte finally get the attention that it always deserved. Across Bruichladdich's three "brands", the super heavily peated Octomore still gets the lion's share of the spotlight, and the unpeated namesake Bruichladdich has always been the flagship, but Port Charlotte is no longer left sitting in both of their shadows as it once was. Octomore in particular has changed massively over the last four years or so (since the 8-series, in my opinion), with a change in character and a drop in peat levels - both in terms of the ppm measurements which had always been Octomore's calling card, and more importantly in the levels of peat influence in the whisky itself. While four years is a significant amount of time, in Australia there's been a 20% price increase over that period, from $200 AUD for Octomore 8.1, which was older than most Octomore at 8-years old, to $240 for the 5-year old 12.1 that has only recently landed here - although bizarrely some retailers were recently charging a ridiculous $299 and seeming to get away with it. Meanwhile Port Charlotte 10-year old, which is bottled at Bruichladdich's standard bottling strength of 50% ABV, can be had for $100 AUD, and even the cask strength limited release Port Charlottes are far more affordable in comparison - when they officially make it down here at least, which 2020's OLC01 did not and 2021's PAC01 is still yet to arrive. As much as I love Octomore, if you ask me the former-underdog that is Port Charlotte offers far better value for money these days, and also more consistency in terms of quality between releases. It's great to see this underdog brand finally getting the recognition that it sorely deserved. And it's been quite a long road!

Back in 2001, soon after Bruichladdich was rescued and revived by Mark Reynier, Jim McEwan, Simon Coughlin & Co., the first heavily peated Port Charlotte spirit flowed from the distillery's famous tall pot stills. The malted barley used for Port Charlotte has always been peated to 40 ppm, which happens at Baird's in Inverness on the mainland, even with the Islay barley releases. That measurement puts it roughly in the same league as most of the other peated Islay distilleries, but this is not just another heavily peated Islay whisky. With the barley being malted over on the mainland - and therefore smoked using mainland peat - the character of the peat itself is quite different. And let's not forget Bruichladdich's long fermentation, and slow distillation in their tall stills using the same narrow cut points as their unpeated spirit (the same also applies to Octomore). So while the levels naturally vary between releases, the BBQ smoke, farmyard character and 'laddie trademark lactic notes that most of the good Port Charlottes show certainly separates them from the other Ileachs, often - but certainly not always - with less medicinal character as well. These are still coastal, phenolic whiskies though, and it's important to remember that Bruichladdich mature 100% of their whisky on Islay and also bottle on-site at the distillery, unlike most of their larger stablemates. Back in 2001 the plan was actually to open a second distillery, a few miles west of Bruichladdich in the village of Port Charlotte, although that never eventuated and the plan was abandoned when Remy Cointreau purchased the distillery in 2012. The pretty little village of Port Charlotte was once home to Loch Indaal Distillery that operated from 1829-1929, and was the inspiration behind Bruichladdich's Port Charlotte brand, and Loch Indaal Distillery's old dunnage warehouses behind the village are actually used by Bruichladdich to mature their three different whiskies. 

The first Port Charlotte released was the 5-year old PC5, kicking off the 'PC_' series of cask strength releases which ended with the 12-year old PC12 in 2014. During that timespan there were two different batches of 10-year old Port Charlottes that were intended to be permanent & core range bottlings, but ended up being discontinued due to stock limitations. There were also quite a few non-age statement releases in there, and a series of Valinch hand-filled distillery exclusive single casks that were named "Port Charlotte Cask Exploration". While the brand was still successful, Port Charlotte was presented in the same bottles & tins as the unpeated Bruichladdich spirit, and with similar labels & designs, which for many consumers blurred the lines between the two. That changed in 2018 with the re-launch of the Port Charlotte brand, and the new "smoke grenade" bottle and new labelling & packaging has certainly helped this whisky kick into gear, along with the re-launched 10-year old core range bottling, a few annual Islay Barley releases, and the renamed "Port Charlotte Distillery Valinch" hand-fills. Over the years there have only been a few Feis Ile bottlings of Port Charlotte - excluding some of the Valinch hand-fills that are sold during the festival, but are technically not Feis Ile festival bottlings since they aren't labelled as such. The annual Islay festival sees each distillery bottle a special release, usually unveiled on their respective open day as part of the festivities. Some of these are easier to come by than others - the Ardbeg Day bottlings are certainly the most numerous and are sold all over the world, followed by Laphroaig's Cairdeas releases which are exported to some international markets - but not Australia, sadly. The other Islay distilleries don't go to those lengths, and tend to keep their Feis Ile bottlings as actual exclusives by only selling them from the distillery itself - either the physical stores or latterly from their own websites, thanks to the pandemic. Bruichladdich's Feis Ile bottlings tend to sell out completely on the actual day of their release, often within hours of the distillery's famous iron gates being flung open, and the releases are usually smaller than that of the larger distilleries. Obviously that makes them significantly harder to find, and also therefore often more expensive on the secondary market. 

The Port Charlotte Feis Ile bottling that we're looking at today was bottled to help re-launch the brand in 2018, and is named 'The Heretic' in reference to Bruichladdich's different, more flexible & more progressive approach to whisky making when compared to most of the older Islay distilleries. That's less the case now, but back in the 2000s the rekindled Bruichladdich was quite the young upstart in comparison. The Heretic was the first Port Charlotte released in the new bottle with the new labelling, and being the last of the first, was the oldest Port Charlotte released to date. This Feis Ile bottling contains the last five casks from the first year of Port Charlotte distillation, 2001 - so this whisky is rather special! While there's technically no age statement on the label, since it was bottled in May of 2018 that puts this whisky at a minimum age of 16-years, although some of the component casks could have been 17-years old. Two of those casks were ex-bourbon, two were ex-French red wine, and one was an ex-rum barrel, with a total output of 1,300 bottles at an ABV of 55.9%. 1,300 bottles may sound like a decent amount, but it really isn't! To give some perspective there, the Feis Ile released from Lagavulin and Caol Ila are usually between 6,000-12,000 bottles, and even most of Bruichladdich's Feis Ile releases are considerably larger than this, often 3,000 bottles or more. Even 2020's "digital exclusive" Port Charlotte 16-year old - which was not a Feis Ile bottling - consisted of 3,000 bottles. So, the last five remaining casks of Port Charlotte from the first year of distillation in 2001, released to commemorate the re-launch of the Port Charlotte brand during Feis Ile 2018, and the debut of the current bottle design & packaging, and one of only two 16-year old Port Charlotte official bottlings to date. This should be good!

Port Charlotte 'The Heretic', Feis Ile 2018, 55.9%. Islay, Scotland.

Distilled 2001, bottled May 2018 (minimum 16-years old) for Islay Festival. The last five casks from the first year of Port Charlotte distillation (2001), "The Last of the First": two ex-bourbon casks, two French red wine casks, and one rum cask. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 1,300 bottles. 

Colour: Gold/amber. 

Nose: Sweet, coastal and medicinal. Butterscotch, seaweed & warm sea salt. Hot tar, Russian caramel fudge, smoked bacon, damp hessian sacking. Iodine, salted honeycomb, fried cheese and peat fire embers. Big sharp fresh lemon and icing sugar around the edges with ashy peat & muddy farmyard / barnyard floors. 

Texture: Medium weight. Sweet, peaty & oily. Salty & ashy. Only very slight heat. 

Taste: Sweet entry with that butterscotch and icing sugar, then a slight of iodine, massive sea salt and big ashy peat drying things out. Green jalapeno flakes & sharp lemon, muddy barnyard floors with hay, touches of ink, smoked ham, black olives and dirty engine oil. Hints of under-ripe tropical fruit in the background. 

Finish: Very long length. More muddy farmyards, hay, ash & smoke that lingers throughout. Touch of old bandages and smoked shellfish. Loads of dried lemon, some dried herbs and more damp hessian sacking behind. Touches of honeyed maltiness and unripe melon. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Huge, powerful & medicinal Port Charlotte this. Almost like Port Charlotte and Laphroaig had a baby! But there's much more PC here than 'prhoaig, of course. This bottle has taken quite a while to relax and open up, a couple of months in fact, but it's really hit its stride now, and I'm loving it! Easily the most medicinal Port Charlotte that I've tasted to date. Very complex, quite challenging to unravel at times, and yet still very Bruichladdich. That underlying gentleness and sweetness, and the lemon & fruit notes give away this whisky's origins, but that hugely ashy, salty & medicinal power is calling the shots. We're in a very different place here compared to the 16-year old "digital exclusive" Port Charlotte from 2020. That was sweeter, lighter & fruitier, and nowhere near as medicinal or coastal. A curve ball of a Port Charlotte, as they sometimes are, and it's a cracker!

As usual with whisky, particularly high strength whisky, patience is rewarded. And it really has been here. As mentioned above this is the equal-oldest Port Charlotte official bottling released to date (tied with the aforementioned 16-year old "digitial exclusive"), and yet it's surprisingly fresh & lively, and so deep in flavour and complexity. I would've thought it would lose some of that freshness heading into these (relatively) advanced ages, at least in comparison to the 6-10 year old releases that are more commonly seen. But that's certainly not the case here. This 2018 Feis Ile bottling may have been the 'last of the first', but it hasn't been left behind by any means!

Cheers!

Shene Cognac Release Whisky Review!

A very tasty cognac cask-finished single malt from one of Tasmania's lesser-known distilleries, that along with the entire Shene Estate is now part of the "Lark Distilling Co." empire since its sale (for $40-million AUD) in October 2021. 

Shene Distillery, a.k.a. Shene Estate, is a relatively small distillery located in the small town of Pontville, Tasmania, which is around 35-minutes north from the state capital of Hobart. The distillery may be small, but as you can see from the above photo the estate's main building looks more like a medieval castle than a distillery - although funnily enough that main building pictured was essentially the estate's stables! While some casks are being stored in the lower levels of the main building which now mainly serves as a wedding & function venue, production takes place in a purpose-built timber-cladded barn adjacent to the main "castle", with the visitor's centre and shop located in a smaller but much older sandstone barn, all on the grounds of the estate in Pontville. The original buildings date back to 1851, when the estate itself - which is even older than that - measured a whopping 22,000 acres or roughly 89 square kilometres. It's now a more modest 40 acres. Like many of the early colonial buildings in Tasmania - known as Van Diemen's Land at the time - they were built by convict labour using local sandstone. The distillery itself was only established in 2013, and initially produced the Mackey brand of whisky named after founder & distiller Damian Mackey, who had first begun making whisky in northern Hobart in 2007 before joining forces with the then-owners of the Shene Estate, and expanding and shifting operations to the Pontville site roughly five years later. The main point of difference with Mackey's whisky is that it was triple distilled, and to my knowledge this is still the only Australian distillery to date that has released a 100% triple distilled single malt whisky. Supposedly this point of difference stemmed from Damian Mackey's Irish heritage, but more importantly it also gives the brand an actual point of difference in local terms, where many of the Tasmanian distilleries are still using (or outright copying, in some cases) the blueprints first laid out by the great Bill Lark, the godfather of the Tasmanian whisky industry, over twenty years ago. Further to that difference, Mackey whisky is also made using Brewer's yeast, and is using Tasmanian barley which is milled, mashed, fermented and distilled on-site at the distillery - which unfortunately is not a requirement for Australian single malt whisky, and many other distilleries in Tasmania are sourcing their wash from local breweries rather than fermenting at the distillery - a practice referred to by some as "beer boiling". 

Fast-forward to late 2018 and the Shene Estate now has its own cooperage, founded & owned by Sydney property developer John Ibrahim who is heavily invested in the industry in Tasmania, was also involved with Old Kempton Distillery, and has since built his own operation, Callington Mill Distillery. Known as Tasmanian Tiger Cooperage, the cask company imports and re-coopers casks into various sizes that are then either sold to the wider Australian whisky & spirits industry or are used by Shene Distillery and Callington Mill which is located in Oatlands, north-east of Shene Estate. Speaking of which, Ibrahim's new operation at Callington Mill is reportedly planning to be massive by Australian malt whisky standards - with a maximum capacity of over 400,000 litres of spirit per annum, which is inline with the production at Melbourne's Starward, one of the country's biggest players. **Edit: apparently that figure is out of date and Starward's output is considerably higher now** But somebody else has plans to eclipse both of those outputs. Lark Distilling Co. has plans to build a 1-million litre distillery, also in Pontville - right on the grounds of the Shene Estate, in fact. Which brings me to my next digression. As mentioned above "Lark Distilling Co.", the ASX-listed corporation previously known as Australian Whisky Holdings and the Australian whisky equivalent of the Galactic Empire, has now added the Shene Estate and Shene Distillery to its list of conquests. I wonder if they're going to call that massive new distillery "The Death Star"? Might as well! As far as I can tell their purchase of the estate & distillery did not include the aforementioned cooperage, which I believe is still located at the estate post-sale, although I could be wrong there. Interestingly, if you care to read some of the press releases regarding the Lark Distilling Co purchase of Shene - many of which include a direct quote from their CEO (who is quite possibly a Sith lord) about how much money they make by buying mature whisky at $49 AUD a litre and then re-selling it for $216 AUD a litre. Will they then be selling Shene / Mackey whisky under the Lark label in the very near future, like they already do with their stock of Nant and Overeem whisky? I hope I'm wrong, but after reading those quotes I'd all but guarantee it. I've written plenty about those practices here, as have others such as this article from Whisky & Wisdom, so I'd encourage you to read those posts if you'd like more information on this & other recent dark side tactics from the Empire. Sorry, I mean Lark Distilling Co.! 

Now you may notice from the title & description above, and the photos above & below, that this particular whisky is only labelled as Shene, not as Mackey. That's because this bottling is a mix of both double-distilled spirit (which is a new venture for Shene) and triple-distilled spirit, and the Mackey brand is currently reserved for the distillery's triple-distilled whisky - this particular whisky is still a single malt though since it was produced at the one distillery. Speaking of Mackey, Damian himself left the Shene Distillery in 2018, and is now back to producing under the name New Town Distillery - presumably since the rights to the Mackey brand name remained with Shene when he departed - although he's also involved with the aforementioned Callington Mill. Interestingly Mackey's new operation will be making a whisky that is similar to the definition of an Irish pot still whiskey - meaning it'll include both malted and unmalted barley and another unmalted grain, so despite being made at one distillery it will not be a single malt whisky or a malt whisky (see here for more information). That move is another first for the Australian whisky industry, although I'm told others are in the works, so it'll be one to watch. 

On to the whisky at hand! There's no age statement on this Shene release, but the Mackey releases are, or at least were originally, all 5-6 years old and aged in 100-litre casks. I'm not sure if that has changed since they started selling the Mackey spirit that was distilled at Shene, or indeed since Damian left. Since the double-distilled component of the spirit is a more recent change of / addition to their production we can assume that this is a relatively young whisky overall, particularly since it was matured in small 20-litre Apera (Australian sherry) and Tawny (Australian port) casks before being finished in larger ex-Cognac casks that were imported from France. And aside from the mix of double-distilled and triple-distilled spirit that cask finish is really this whisky's main point of difference, since there have only been a few Australian whiskies so far that have spent time in Cognac casks. We also don't know how long this single malt was finished in those Cognac casks, but based on smell & taste they certainly had an effect. Cognac of course is essentially a brandy but can only be produced in the Cognac region of western France, and it must be double-distilled and aged in virgin French oak for at least two years. Cognac casks seem to work very well with malt whisky, and we'll be seeing more & more of these & other different cask types as the price of sherry casks continues to rise in the years ahead.

Bottling strength on this one is 49% ABV, and all of the Mackey and Shene whiskies are natural colour and non-chill filtered, which is printed on the labelling and is great to see. At the time of writing this Cognac cask finish is still available from the distillery's website, and this bottle was purchased from the cellar door on our whirlwind trip to Tasmania in late 2021. One minor gripe before we get to it: I don't like the wording on the label - "Cognac Release" should really have been "Cognac Cask Finish", or at least "Cognac Cask Release" or just "Cognac Cask". Maybe I'm being pedantic there, since there are certainly far bigger issues from elsewhere when it comes to labelling standards in Australian whisky... But that's enough moaning!   

Shene Distillery Cognac Release, NAS, 49.0% ABV. Pontville, Tasmania, Australia.

Mix of double-distilled and triple-distilled spirit from 100% malted barley, matured separately in 20-litre Apera & Tawny casks, vatted together and finished in French Cognac casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Dark bronze. 

Nose: Sweet & wood-driven, with brown sugar toffee, freshly sawn wood and a touch of eucalyptus. Sweet dried stone fruit - apricot, nectarine, and a touch of caramelised banana with cinnamon sugar. Juicy sultanas and dates. Warm orange zest and some vanilla essence. 

Texture: Medium weight. Sweet & syrupy. There's some numbing spirit-y heat showing some youth, but it's not unpleasant, the richness & sweetness carries it well. 

Taste: Sweet toffee, more sultanas and dates, nutty, fresh timber and orange - but it's orange rind this time, not just the zest. Sweet juicy sultanas, vanilla, black pepper and furniture polish. The stone fruit is there but it's fresher & sweeter now, thinking of tinned fruit in syrup. 

Finish: Medium length. The sweetness is drawn back a little by a touch of astringent wood and that mild but numbing spirit-y heat. Then the wood and orange rind return, alongside more black pepper, dates and toffee. 

Score: 3 out of 5. 

Notes: Nice sweet & rich whisky with a noticeable youthful 'zing' to it. And the cognac finish has certainly been effective with those sultanas, fresh wood and orange rind, plus the influence of the wood itself although that could also be coming from the initial maturation in those tiny 20-litre casks. Most likely a bit of both, actually. It still has that eucalyptus note that seems to be present in many Tasmanian whiskies and also some Australian whiskies, and the slight numbing spirit-y heat does show the youth behind the cask influence, but it's not too distracting or off-putting. This is a rich & sweet dessert dram of a whisky, which is typical of most of the Australian producers, but the cognac cask and the wood influence does help to slightly temper that. It's certainly a welcome change from the onslaught of small wine/apera/tawny cask Australian whiskies that seem to be never-ending lately, and I hope we see more cognac cask whiskies in future - as I understand it they're not exactly cheap here when compared with the easily-accessible wine and fortified wine casks that are almost everywhere. But they also provide a key point of difference which is becoming more important with every new distillery that pops up in our still-growing industry. 

As for Shene's main point of difference, that triple-distilled spirit, well I'm not sure what the proportions were between the double-distilled and triple-distilled spirit used in this vatting, but I'm not sure that it shows itself here. Although that's not surprising since it's a lighter spirit by default, which generally means that it's more susceptible to heavier cask influence as a result - and it doesn't get much heavier than 20-litre casks, let alone 20-litre casks being followed by a first-fill cognac cask finish, in the warmer Australian climate. But the casks seem to have been managed quite well here, and it's certainly worth a try!

Cheers!

Springbank 12 Cask Strength 2020 & 2021 Whisky Reviews!

Not one, but two different batches of the mighty Springbank 12-year old Cask Strength. Firstly the latest release, batch 22, which was bottled in early 2021 and arrived in Australia around June, and then one (of two) that got away. Batch 21, bottled October 2020 and never imported into Australia. As much fun as this review will be, something tells me it'll also be bittersweet!

Springbank Distillery and its three whisky 'brands' have really exploded in demand over the last year or so. They've always been popular in somewhat smaller circles, but prior to around two years ago they really only had a cult following, mainly consisting of whisky nerds who loved the old-school approach and small-scale traditional production, and the old-school Campbeltown character that went along with it. But to some extent that approach, coupled with the almost-complete lack of marketing & advertising, the minimalist packaging & labelling, and the Campbeltown "funk" flavour profile that is divisive for newcomers, combined to help keep the distillery in the shadows for the larger whisky market. Back then there still wasn't enough of the limited releases to go around, even on the other side of the planet here in Australia. But the last couple of years have changed all of that. It's now becoming another name on the list of the most popular distilleries for one of the darker aspects of the modern whisky scene - flipping. That change has nothing to do with the distillery of course, who have recently done almost all they can to limit this practice - no more outer packaging (i.e. tubes or boxes) on the majority of releases, and the legendary cage bottles are now limited to one per person - which probably should have been the case a long time ago! Despite being a small company with a relatively tiny output they've also resisted any major price increases on their end, although the same cannot be said for some of their international importers & distributors. I've written more about that here - along with a review of one of the best/worst examples of this problem to date - so I won't harp on about it now. It was probably inevitable that the pandemic-induced mayhem involving the whisky market - along with a lot of 'luxury goods' - would catch on to Springbank at some point, but it's still a shame to see it hit this hard. 

While it's not really the case now, prior to that sudden explosion in demand the 12-year old Cask Strength, a.k.a. 12CS, Springbank was really the semi-hidden gem of the distillery's entire range. Typically released twice a year in relatively small batches of 9,000-12,000 bottles, with each batch varying in cask type and flavour profile, what helped keep this whisky out of the limelight is the fact that the relatively plain packaging doesn't change, and there are no batch numbers to be found on said packaging. The only way to identify the individual batches is to scour the internet armed with the bottling strength, and/or the bottling date & batch code from the back of the bottle, which will get you the answer. A few whisky pages have compiled complete lists of the batches, with this one at Brian's Malt Musings being current and handily showing the percentages of bourbon & sherry casks used in each release, although it should be noted that the ABV listed for batch 21 is incorrect - it should be 56.1% (probably a typo). 

Now if you've been following these batches here in Australia, you may have noticed that we completely missed out on both batch 19 from late 2019 (57.1%), and batch 21 from late 2020 (56.1%). Neither of those ever came to Australia, presumably because they sold out before our local importer had placed their order or confirmed their allocation, or possibly because they were waiting to fill a container or pallet to save on shipping costs, so the stock went elsewhere instead. I'm only speculating here, maybe there were other factors involved. And this does happen from time-to-time with quite a few other brands, but regardless of the reason it's always disappointing to the thirsty Australian fans. Adding salt to the wound, by many accounts the two batches that Australia missed out on are reportedly some of the greatest seen in recent years. Unfortunately batch 21 was also the only release of the 12-year old, so far, that had both burgundy wine and port casks included in the vatting, while the remainder of the last thirteen batches have stuck to the tried & true recipe of being a mix of bourbon & sherry casks. I've specified the last thirteen batches there because prior to that, from batches 1-9 (2010 to mid-2014) inclusive, the "12CS" was fully matured in sherry casks, with variation coming from the proportions of first-fill to refill. So if you have one of those early batches in your stash, you're very lucky!

The two batches of Springbank 12 that I'm reviewing today are quite different from one another. Firstly we have batch 22, the most recent release, which is a 50/50 mix of sherry casks & bourbon casks, bottled at 55.4% in April of 2021. It arrived in Australia in August, and thankfully the importer did keep the pricing at a relatively reasonable level. The second batch that I'm reviewing here is one of the two batches that unfortunately got away from us. Batch 21 was bottled in October 2020 at 56.1%, and as mentioned above is a real outlier in the 12CS line-up when it comes to the mix of the casks in the vatting. Batch 21 contained bourbon, sherry, burgundy and port casks, with the proportions being 25% bourbon, 45% sherry, 25% burgundy and 5% port casks. That's significant mainly because it's a first for the 12-year old Cask Strength, but there has been another 12-year old Springbank in the past that was fully matured in burgundy wine casks, and it was absolutely brilliant - you can read that review here if you'd like to reminisce. But it's also significant because port cask Springbanks are legendary, and extremely difficult to find. So, if this particular batch never came to Australia, how & why am I reviewing it? Well maybe I'm being a little sadistic, but I'm also punishing myself a little since I'll never get a bottle myself, and the sample for this review came from a very generous friend over the water in New Zealand. The local importer in NZ does a brilliant job of bringing them decent allocations of Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn, including limited releases and even a couple of single casks, while also keeping the pricing very low. In fact from an Australian's perspective their prices are almost criminally low in comparison! So before I actually turn green with envy, let's do this... 

Springbank 12-year old Cask Strength, 55.4%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Batch 22, bottled April 2021. 50/50 mix of bourbon & sherry casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Dusty, sweet & citrus-y. Quite malty & gristy, and surprisingly "fresh" in feel, but there's still that Springbank oiliness, minerality and salinity behind it. Olive oil infused with a handful of black olives, dusty & muddy farmyards, and a touch of spearmint. 

Texture: Medium weight. Very oily, malty & fresh. No heat whatsoever. 

Taste: Sweet salted caramel fudge, a dusty, gristy maltiness and a touch of salted honey. Olive oil, black olives and dried lemon wedges. Touches of creamy ointments & balms, but more cosmetics rather than medicine. Pinch of black pepper and subtle earthy peat behind it. 

Finish: Medium-long length. Touch of aniseed, black olives and salted caramel again. That lovely maltiness returns but it's creamy here rather than dusty or gristy. Lemon oil and a touch of earthiness to round things up. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. But not far from a 4. 

Notes: It's certainly "cleaner" and "fresher" than most Springbank 12s on the nose, and it's also lighter on the farmyard & dunnage warehouse "funk" on the palate, but it's still very much a Springbank. Which is to say, it's still delicious! There are shades of both the venerable standard Springbank 10-year old and the brilliant 14-year old Bourbon Wood from a few years ago. That might be stemming from the higher proportion of bourbon casks in this batch compared to most, but it's also a great thing and certainly not a negative - both of those are excellent whiskies after all! Some Campbeltown diehards may look down on this batch because it's "cleaner" and less funky than the other batches of the 12, and maybe a little safer - as in, less divisive and less extreme in its flavour profile. But the level of complexity, enjoyment, and quality in this 22nd batch is no different - and certainly no lower - than the 12-year old Cask Strength always provides.  

Springbank 12-year old Cask Strength, 56.1%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Batch 21, bottled October 2020. 45% sherry, 25% bourbon, 25% burgundy wine, 5% port casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 

Colour: Amber. Much darker than batch 22 as you'd expect. 

Nose: Dried raspberries, some plum & blueberry, and marmite (salty yeast extract spread). Hint of burnt brown sugar caramel underneath. Really quite salty & briny too. Balsamic vinegar, burnt toast and a touch of dried Chinese mushroom. Salted honey, fatty roasted meats - pork or even duck, with dried orange and a few cloves in the pan. 

Texture: Medium weight. Oily & rich, slightly fatty & greasy, and salty. No heat at all. 

Taste: Hoisin sauce, sweet & spicy, more roasted meats - still pork & duck. Fatty with dried orange and a touch of blowtorched herbs. That marmite salty & yeasty plus a touch of sticky sweet red grape & cherry with a little musty old oak. Which has me thinking that those 25% wine casks would have to be first-fill! 

Finish: Long length. Fatty & spicy, touch of fatty bacon and pork crackling. That yeasty & salty marmite again. Hoisin sauce, some roasted nuts, and honey soy sauce with more soy and less honey. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: Fascinating! Alternates between a Chinese-style roast duck with soy & hoisin sauces, to a crispy and fatty pork belly with some dried orange and honey-soy sauce. But there's also that sweet grape, blueberry and plum and a touch of oak. Rich, deep & complex. It's a brilliant batch, and I almost wish it wasn't - since it's not likely that I'll ever taste it again! This 21st batch is also lighter on the peat and funk like batch 22 is compared to some, but the two are polar opposites on the Springbank 12 scale. This is a deeper, darker and more complex whisky with more cask influence, and those marmite and mushroom notes are fascinating. Like many of the good Springbanks, it's a little bit bonkers!

Overall Notes: Well, this is just typical isn't it. Australia misses out on the craziest batch of Springbank 12 Cask Strength that I've tasted! Shock horror. Is batch 19 also brilliant, like the reports said at the time? Well it certainly wouldn't surprise me! There are other batches that are on par with 21 in terms of quality, but none that I've tasted have been remotely similar to this in flavour profile. Like batch 22 it's not your typical Springbank, and it's not what you'd expect based on the experience that the more 'traditional' or more typical 70/30 sherry/bourbon cask mixes usually give. And it's delicious!

But really, there isn't much of a gap between the Springbank 12s when it comes to quality. Sure, some are better than others, and the flavour profiles vary, but even the low point is still quite high. I'm yet to taste one that I haven't enjoyed, and I doubt that I ever will. If you can get your hands on any at all in today's climate, then my advice is to do it - provided you're going to open it and enjoy it! Unfortunately the secondary market is beyond insane with anything Springbank and has been for a while, which is not likely to change while people are still buying it at these extortionate prices. Let's just hope that at least some of those buyers are actually drinking it!

Cheers!