Our adventures in whiskies continued… with our first whisky from Switzerland.

Langatun distillery is located in Langenthal and while new to us is definitely not a new kid on the block… It can trace its lineage to 1857 when Jakob Baumberger founded a distillery on his father’s farm. Their granary harkens back to 1616. And they are no stranger to peat, playing around with its use for over a hundred years.

But what about the whisky??

Langatun Old Bear Cask Proof (May 2010/Feb 2016) 62.8% Peated Single Malt, Cask Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Non-coloured, Lot No L0116

• Nose – Apricot, plum, sweet, wood smoke, quite Christmassy, plum cake (one even described as edible rotten fruit)
• Palate – Complex… finally a truly complex dram! Layers upon layers upon layers, coating the palate beautifully with rich balance, lots of sweet spices of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, quite dry, caramel, treacle…. Yum!
• Finish – Fabulous! Dark chocolate with cherry fruit, wonderful sweet spices settling on clove

Just as the Box Dalvve was a summer dram, the Langatun was clearly a winter whisky.

Here is what the folks in Switzerland have to say about their malt:

The “Old Bear” is a homage to Jakob Baumberger, who founded a distillery on his father’s farm in 1857, and who also took over a small brewery in 1860 in Langatun. The company logo of the brewery was in the coming decades the bear, the “Old Bear”.

The “Old Bear” is prepared in the same way as the “Old Deer”, but with slightly smoked barley malt, therefore the additional name «Smoky». Incense is carried out as in the case of meat or fish: during the drying of the germinated barley, the drying air smoke is added, the aromas of which are deposited on the barley malt and reach the finished product through the further processing steps. 

The “Old Bear” is stored in oak barrels, where Châteauneuf-du-Pape was previously cultivated, a very strong deep red wine. Its traces can be found in the “Old Bear”: an intense red-brown color, in the nose beautiful notes of wood and smoke, in the taste a typical malt component and in the finish subtle smoky flavor with a slightly vinous undertone.

Back in 2013, Jim Murray gave this whisky a remarkable 96 points for the 2008/2012 Lot No1201 described only as “Whisky for the gods…”

Stuart P over at Master of Malt has this to say for tasting notes:

• Nose: Herbal and pine-cone freshness leaps from the glass, then richer aromas of vanilla custard and stewed red berries.
• Palate: More custard notes on the palate, subtle smoke and black pepper, along with stewed fruit, cake spices and toasty oak.
• Finish: Burnt sugar and cinnamon, with a hint of red berries.

Purchased at The Whisky Exchange for £69.55 and sampled from an unopened bottle in December 2017.

What else did we sample in our Après-ski evening:

• France – Michel Couvreur Special Vatting Malt Whisky 45%
• Sweden – Box Whisky Dálvve 46%
• Austria – Wieser’s Uuahouua Pinot Noir 40%, Waldviertler J.H. 5 year Single Malt 41% + Waldviertler J.H. 6 year Rye Malt 41%

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