Monthly Archives: May 2024

Islay’s Caol Ila & Lagavulin – Blend, Independent, Cask Strength

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Our Nurnberg Whisky Explorers group doesn’t have many “peat heads” in our mix. Most veer away from the smoky stuff. Hence when we had a specially “curated” evening that started to move in the peat direction, we were opening new doors!

This trio was anchored by two distilleries – Caol Ila and Lagavulin. Both are from Islay. Both put out Original Distillery Bottlings, are found in both blends and independent expressions. Our evening explored all three approaches!

  • Johnnie Walker Black Label Islay Origin 12 year 42% ~Eur 65
  • Scarabus Islay 10 year 46% (Hunter Laing) ~Eur 48
  • Caol Ila Cask Strength 60.1% (OB) ~Eur 100 for 200ml (auction only)

Knowing this was a “first foray” for many in our group, our curator kindly prepared a document that included a description of both distilleries – key features, their house style, and a recommendation on what standard dram best depicts its character. Additionally, QR codes were provided, linking to more details about the three specific whiskies we were about to sample. Talk about organised!

We kicked off our peat trio with a limited edition “Islay Origin” expression from Johnnie Walker. In India, Black Label was once upon a time synonymous with “good” whisky. Priced relatively high yet prevalently available, it was featured in many homes, Bollywood movies, and more! It defined scotch whisky – a consistent blend with sweet and peat – which held up well with chunks of ice and mixed with water.

A typical Black Label will blend together Diageo’s different distilleries: Clynelish in the Highlands, Cardhu from Speyside, malt from Glenkinchie, grain from Cameronbridge… whilst some will say the smoky character comes from Lagavulin, others credit it to Caol Ila.

So when the folks at Johnnie Walker decided to launch in 2021 their “Origin” series without the grain, intended to heighten the focus on the featured regional elements – it was widely speculated that the Islay expression was probably both Caol Ila & Lagavulin.

Johnnie Walker Black Label Islay Origin 12 year 2021 42%

  • Colour – It was nearly orange!
  • Nose – Hello peat! Clear, clean peat stamp with a strong seaside salty air too. We also found mango BBQ chutney, some iodine
  • Palate – Way fruitier than expected – lots of dark fruits, smokey, salty, oily peat and sweet, some pepper joining the honeyed fruits
  • Finish – Very sweet with just a puff of smoke

Now, I must admit I was pleasantly impressed by how much I enjoyed the Johnnie Walker. It was surprisingly good, with a well-balanced palate, fruitier than anticipated to the point that I wondered if and how much sherry influence could be at play? We also speculated the extent to which Johnnie Walker’s relatively new master blender – Emma Walker – steered the approach.

From a variation on a well-known theme, we moved on to indie bottler Hunter Laing’s celebration of Islay.

Scarabus Islay 10 year 46% (Hunter Laing)

  • Colour – Light hay
  • Nose – Oaky and salty, cereals, malt and honey, a bit nutty
  • Palate – Fermented fruit, black pepper, oily
  • Finish – Cinnamon smoke then minty and herbal

The most debated element about this expression is whether it is Caol Ila or Lagavulin. I will admit that I also vacillated between the two – in one whiff thinking surely this must be Caol Ila then another sip, veered towards Lagavulin.

What we do know is that it is a single malt, aged for 10 years in a refill, ex-bourbon and virgin American oak cask. And that’s about it!

After the mystery malt, we closed with a clear Caol Ila – yet with a twist! It was a rare Original Distillery Bottling at cask strength. Part of a 200 ml tasting set together with a 12 year and 18 year expression, you won’t find this easily to add to your whisky cabinet!

Caol Ila (2005) Cask Strength 60.1% (OB)

  • Colour – So pale it almost appeared clear
  • Nose – Earthy gentle peat, dry smoke, a hint of citrus
  • Palate – Bright, very pleasant, no punch, just roll around in a well-balanced peat with sweet, some herbaceous almost medicinal elements too
  • Finish – Lingers, softly fading away

This was a classic Caol Ila, more restrained than anticipated for a cask-strength dram – certainly more so than most independent cask-strength expressions I’ve tried.

Wow – what an evening! There was so much care that went into curating two sessions into one! What a terrific way to discover two quite different sets of whiskies!

In case you missed the earlier post, here are the Glen Elgin‘s we tried in our April session:

Interested in joining our Nurnberg Whisky Explorer events? Just find us on Meetup! https://www.meetup.com/nurnberg-whisky-explorers/events/

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Glen Elgin – Original Bottling, Independent, Smoke

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Our Nurnberg Whisky Explorers group has a combination of what we call “curated” evenings and “contribution” based themes. For April, we had effectively two sessions in one! Each was carefully put together to introduce those newer to exploring whiskies with a strong foundation.

Let’s start with the Glen Elgin vertical. For those not familiar, a whisky vertical is when you explore different expressions or vintages from a single distillery. In our case, Glen Elgin distillery is from the Speyside region and is owned by Diageo.

Sukhinder Singh (founder of The Whisky Exchange) shared that he sees Glen Elgin as often producing a nice “session” dram. Something easy to enjoy over a leisurely period. So what did we think?

So what did we try in our theme exploring Glen Elgin?

  • Glen Elgin 12 year 43% (OB) ~Eur 43
  • Glen Elgin 12 year (16 Sep 2009 – 15 Apr 2022) Hogshead 806374, 806380, 806381 46% (Signatory Vintage) 468 bottles ~Eur 50
  • Glen Elgin Islay Peated Finish Hogshead 44.5% (Murray McDavid) ~Eur 37

Glen Elgin Distillery was founded in 1898 and uses six stills and six wooden worm tubs. Known for a fruity spirit, it has tended to go into blends and has only one “Original Distillery Bottling” aka “OB”. What did we think?

Glen Elgin 12 year 43% (OB)

  • Colour – Dark gold (possibly enhanced)
  • Nose – Marshmellow, apple blossoms, oats, a hint of bitter orange, some fresh grated ginger, overall mild and fruity
  • Palate – Spicy oak, malty, light coffee cream, crisp
  • Finish – Lingering cereals – think a warming porridge with apple sauce, brown sugar and a dusting of cinnamon

Overall we found it a most enjoyable way to begin. Nothing complex or challenging, just an easy fruity and fun dram to whet our appetite.

We then moved from OB to independent – first with another 12 year old – this time a combination of three Hogsheads from Singatory’s vintage series.

Glen Elgin 12 year (16 Sep 2009 – 15 Apr 2022) Hogshead 806374, 806380, 806381 46% (Signatory Vintage)

  • Colour – Bright light straw
  • Nose – Citrus and hay, honeycomb, red apple, so fruity and sweet, light lovely and inviting…
  • Palate – More cereals and spice, rich honey, incredibly smooth, yet much richer, dark and juicy, very plummy, almost rummy with raisins
  • Finish – Subtle and long

A few times one could hear exclamations like “Gosh this is good!” and “Truly lovely!” It had the most marvelous light freshness on the nose, so much heavier and more luxurious on the palate then back to a lighter more nuanced touch with the finish. One mighty fine dram!

Our fun didn’t finish with just one independent! Nope! We pushed the theme further by tasting a contrasting Glen Elgin with peat – yup peat! However this Glen Elgin didn’t use peated barley, instead it was matured in an ex-Islay cask.

Glen Elgin Islay Peated Finish Hogshead 44.5% (Murray McDavid)

  • Colour – A lighter golden hue
  • Nose – Interesting! It started off a bit metallic, seaside salty spray, light spice, some lemon peel… unmistakable peat yet it was a clear fresh peat joined by crisp and crunchy Granny Smith apples, some pepper
  • Palate – Spicy, thin, coco, toasted coal
  • Finish – Medium finish
  • Water – Stewed orchard fruits, salty taffy, some almost wine-like elements… grows on you more over time

You’ll note a certain enthusiasm for the aromas and then terseness with the palate and finish until we added water. It was underwhelming initially. Yet improved with water – some cereal elements we found in both the OB and Signatory were more discernable. Overall though it was a bit, well, odd.

As we stepped back and considered each whisky, there was a clear preference for the Signatory Vintage expression though also quite happy with the OB. With just a few more Euros a bottle, it was obvious to go for the independent! It was just the peated McDavid that caused some of us to pause – in part as peat has a mixed reception from this group!

Overall, it was an excellent introduction to Glen Elgin and a very well-curated theme!

Interested in joining our Nurnberg Whisky Explorer events? Just find us on Meetup! https://www.meetup.com/nurnberg-whisky-explorers/events/

And if you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

What’s in a Name? Memories Blair Athol 11 year

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Our “What’s in a Name?“ evening featured two Simply Whisky bottles! The first was Benrinnes 10-year “Peace, Love & Whisky” which was followed by “Memories“:  a single malt from Blair Athol. The distillery is part of the Diageo stable and tends towards heavy, spicy, sherry-matured whiskies. So what about this expression?

Blair Athol 11-year “Memories” (Oct 2010 – Dec 2021) Cask 302317, 51.6% (Simply Whisky) 265 bottles. GBP 70 (sold out)

What did I think?

  • Colour – Copper
  • Nose – A forest filled with damp leaves, copper… only after time in the glass do some fruitier elements come forward. Cherries, then Sangria-like with punchy alcohol and mixed citrus, and cinnamon candies. There remain deeper darker notes – we haven’t completely left the copper and forest behind.
  • Palate – Give it some time and all the heavy intense sherry standards come to the fore with dark fruits, some bitter coffee, mocha, and black pepper spice,
  • Finish – A bit hard to pin down – a bit of spice, a bit of dark grape peel, a bit of manuka honey, more of that leafy forest flavor, a bit of umami even…
  • Water – Absolutely! This really helps open up the dense dram… now there is a bit more fruit on the nose, and chocolate on the palate with the finish carrying through.

Again, this one has a punch! Just in a very different way. Lots of old oak and powerful sherry. It definitely needs time. There is even a heavy almost red-wine-like quality – think of a brooding Cabernet or rustic Malbec. Whilst I didn’t find tannins per se, it evokes the feeling or impression.

I also need to be honest, I’m not always a Blair Athol fan. This one is dense and intense, best had with a generous dollop of water, no mere drop or two! The palate especially benefits – from being almost too much to smooth and slightly more balanced.

Call it mood or something else, but I didn’t finish my sample glass. The next morning I nosed it – well, well, well… rather inviting! So I resolved to try again another evening, giving it hours not minutes to open. Better. Much better. But still not my preferred style.

What do the folks at SimplyWhisky have to say?

We release our whiskies in pairs. Memories is the third ‘Simon one’. It’s name was inspired by the times we’ve spent with friends, reminiscing about life’s adventures, mishaps and delights. What a ride and the best is yet to come!  Born in Scotland, Memories is a Libra and is bottled at cask strength.  Like the best conversations Memories takes a while to ‘open up’.  We suggest as least 5 minutes in the glass before enjoying.  Great whisky gift!

  • Promises on the nose – Candied apples, vanilla sponge cake, glacé cherries and the zest of an orange peel. Chocolate, rhubarb, tea leaves and black liquorice. Deep and intriguing.
  • Delivers on the palate – Black Forest gâteau with a rich chocolate cherry filling. Red and orange wine gums. More liquorice. Mouth coating with gentle spice and a mid-palate mustiness. Elemental and vibrant.
  • Delights on the finish – Dark red fruits and toasted coconut coir. Toffee ice cream lavished with black treacle and dry dark tea. Gentle bonfire smoke to fade.

The tasting notes mostly made sense – especially the rhubarb and tea leaves. I went back and could definitely find these elements. There is also a kind of mustiness on the palate and more tea on the finish.

Here are the other whiskies we sampled in our “What’s in a Name?” themed evening:

  • Benrinnes 10-year “Peace, Love & Whisky” (Apr 2011 – Dec 2021) Cask 304354, 50.5% (Simply Whisky) 364 bottles.
  • Ardnamurchan 5-year “April Fool – Extremely Old, I wish I were Younger” (2022) 53.2% (The Whisky Exchange) 1575 bottles.

You can also find even more Whisky bits ‘n bobs on:

What’s in a Name? Peace, Love + Whisky Benrinnes 10 year

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Some Scottish distilleries owned by the big players like Diageo were once in the shadows, with most liquid going into blends. Big brands like Johnnie Walker and J&B rely on such “work horse” distilleries as Benrinnes (sometimes also bottled as Stronachie).

With the hunger for something “new” or “different”, there is now an abundance of options via independent bottlers. So far I haven’t had a chance to try the Benrinnes official “Flora & Fauna” bottling, however, over the last few years there have been a few brushes with several independent bottles, with mixed results.

On one end of the spectrum was something fruity, floral, and fun. I was particularly enchanted with the older La Maison du Whisky (LMdW) Artist bottling (20+ year 1995 49.4%), also quite enjoyed The Warehouse Collection from Germany (19 year 1997 52.9%) and more recently the Signatory Vintage for LMdW (18 years 1997 46%).

Yet on the opposite side, were whiskies that were quite “hot” and imbalanced, with descriptions like solvent from the Single Malts of Scotland (24 year 1991 52.6%), rusty by a later LMdW Artist offering #12 (10+ year 2011 58.1%), and more recently one which was somewhere in between – both interesting and a bit odd from Chorlton (14 year 55%).

With no clear discernable pattern, I had no idea whether this bottle would be on the “yes please!” side or the “why did they bottle this” end…

Benrinnes 10 year “Peace, Love & Whisky” (Apr 2011 – Dec 2021) Refill Hogshead 50.5% (SimplyWhisky) 364 bottles, GBP 56

What did I think?

  • Colour – Straw
  • Nose – Honey on a warm baguette, fresh sea air, metallic, then something like sweet fortified red wine or red raspberry jam, herbal or resinous, increasingly metallic
  • Palate – Sharp at first, rusty nail, then fruity with sweet spices, ginger, malty, apple seeds, something almost a bit waxy or soapy, umami
  • Finish – A mix of straw, spice and bitter
  • Water – Helps. Opens up to reveal a sweet-sour candy

OOh! That has a kick! Perhaps as it was the first dram of the evening… yet I found it certainly needed some time for it to settle down. Even then, it was quite active. The metallic element on the nose was quite prominent. Not sure this is one for me… I set it aside for some time….. still not convinced.

What do the folks at SimplyWhisky have to say?

We release our whiskies in pairs. Peace, Love & Whisky is the second ‘Franchi one’. It’s name was inspired by the warmth and friendliness of the lovely whisky people who work in the whisky industry worldwide.  Here’s to you!  Great to enjoy alongside a fresh lager or a pale ale.

  • Promises on the nose – Sweet red plums, honey, lemons and green apple skin. With time leather, walnuts and milk chocolate. A warm copper still. Peaceful and herbal.
  • Delivers on the palate – Gummy bear sweeties, pepper spice, lemons and juicy blood oranges. Lovely rounded mouthfeel.
  • Delights on the finish – Long, savoury, chocolatey and slightly minty. Dolly mixtures. Honey, a slight waxiness and finally a wisp of dry hay.

Hmmm… Some parts of the official notes rang true – the red plums, the copper…. however lovely rounded mouthfeel? Hmmm… ?

Here are the other whiskies sampled in our “What’s in a Name?” evening:

  • Blair Athol 11-year “Memories” (Oct 2010 – Dec 2021) Cask 302317, 51.6% (Simply Whisky)
  • Ardnamurchan 5-year “April Fool – Extremely Old, I wish I were Younger” (2022) 53.2% (The Whisky Exchange)

Waiting in the wings, so to speak, are more Benrinnes… I’m no longer sure if this is a good thing or… ?

  • 9 year (30 June 2011 / 4 June 2021) Refill Butt 307210, 46% (Signature)
  • 12? year (2009/2022) Vin Santo Barrel Finish 54.3% (Berry Bro’s) DE mini
  • 15 year (2007/Jun 2022) 46.4% (North Star, Series 019)
  • 23 year (1997) 1st Fill Barrique Chateau Lafite 55.9% (WW8)

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BMC July 2023 edition – What’s in a Name?

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Last summer, I missed an interesting session with the Bombay Malt & Cigar gents with the theme “What’s in a Name?“.  The inspiration for this theme obviously came from how the whiskies were dubbed: “Peace, Love & Whisky”, “Memories” and “April Fool’s”! All three were from independent bottlers – two from Simply Whisky and one from The Whisky Exchange. The gents kindly kept samples aside for me – yeah!

So what did we try from the evening of “What’s in a Name?“:

What an interesting concept! Curious to see the results? Click on the links above and live vicariously through my notes! Or share your experiences too!

You can also find even more Whisky bits ‘n bobs on: