www.caskstrength.net - whisky blog

Old age is a funny thing.

In life, we look at old age as something to be fearful of. Things stop working the way they should. We slow down, most likely become more intolerant of the things that irritate us and reminisce about the 'good old days'. In fact, the archetypal pensioner in the UK comes in for a lot of stick really.

In whisky however, people seem to think that older is definitely better. Whilst it is fine to applaud complexity and wisdom, championing the well-seasoned and the mature, simply using age as the be-all- and-end-all indicator of quality seems absurd.

But as we all know, both life and whisky are full of surprises.

What. A. Legend.

When Fauja Singh first ran the London Marathon back in 2000, he was one year shy of his 90th birthday and clocked a time of six hours and 54 minutes. Impressive stuff. By the time he had completed his 5th London Marathon he had shaved nearly an hour off that time and became the world record holder for his age range - aged 93. Now aged 102, his achievements keep getting all the more remarkable - he can still run 10k in an hour and a half.

We couldn't find a suitable
picture of an rubbish old whisky,
so here's Flavio Briatore in a thong.

Conversely, there are some truly terrible old whiskies. Bitter, brittle and well past their best, they coast ungracefully into an oaky retirement home of obscurity, still thinking they're as vibrant as they were 20 years their junior.

Likewise, there are some excellent age-defying whiskies that continually challenge the logic of older is better. Consider the recent Brora 40 year old we reviewed a few weeks ago. Stuffed full of complexity, yet still as vibrant as a Hoxton hipster's moustache. In the same post, we referenced Overeem's magnificent sherry cask bottling which is likely to have only just seen its 5th birthday, yet has a startlingly broad array of complex flavours. Go figure...

We continue this theme with the launch of yet another old-aged head turner. (Thankfully not wearing a thong)

Master Of Malt continue to surprise and delight with their diverse portfolio of releases: from the brilliantly constructed barrel aged cockails, gins and other maverick gems, through to some serious single cask releases. Their latest is no exception, this time weighing in at 60 years old.

Carrying the banner of the Secret Bottlings Series, this ancient Speysider (no real clues to which distillery it comes from, although we have a couple of ideas) allows the chaps to bring in some very old stock for a very decent price. £999 is what this will set you back - yes, still a lot, but clearly a fraction of what this would have cost if the distillery name was included on the label.

With anything this age, one has to leave any preconceptions aside: If whisky were measured in dog years, this would weigh in at 420. Lucky it isn't, but our impressions of the majority of whiskies the wrong side of 50 have left a lot to be desired - save for Highland Park's initial batch of 50 year old and the absolutely stellar Bowmore 50 year old which was released at the end of last year. How will this fare?...

Master Of Malt - 60 Year Old - Secret Bottling Series - 42.2% - £999

Nose: White grapes, some apple sour sweets, quite distinct herbal notes and then a nice waft of polished oak furniture. The age is present in a dusty, hot landscape-style aroma, but is still surprisingly restrained. Given a little time in the glass, toffee apple and sweet tea notes begin to come to the fore, giving this a very complex aroma.

Palate: Milk chocolate and rich sticky flapjack coat the mouth with a swathe of leather bound books and some dark cherry notes. Given a little more time to open up we find Black Forest gateau with a large dollop of vanilla sweetened cream, which makes for a palate both spicy and sweet - with a good vibrancy for its age. The oak is there, but again mercifully, not cladding the walls of the glass, like a Highland Castle drawing room.

Finish: The cherry notes leave their mark, this time backed with nutmeg and cinnamon spice alongside some sweeter vanilla notes.

Overall: An OAP whisky who has wisdom, wit and can probably run a marathon quicker than most middle aged posers in their expensive sportswear. Keep an eye on it too...it'll probably have charmed the pants of your missus within five minutes of being introduced. A truly surprising elderly gent with the physique and personality of a whisky 30 years its Jr. If it were a real person it would clearly be this person...

As we roll comfortably into spring, it seems that the major players in the world of whisky are moving forward with their big ticket items, as the yearly release schedule gets firmly under way. Only two weeks ago, Suntory unveiled their mighty new No Age Statement Distiller's ReserveYamazaki and Hakushu expressions. Now, hot on their heels, comes arguably the most widely anticipated release so far: the reemergence of Mortlach.

So far, the news of four new Mortlach bottlings has not gone down well with one particular camp.

The withdrawal of the Flora & Fauna 16 year old (which, according to Diageo, was sitting at around 800 cases per year, so a tiny outturn indeed) ruffled a few feathers with a small-but-vocal core of whisky enthusiasts and fanatics. The announcement of two No Age Statement releases (Rare Old, a name which has been particularly prickly for many and a Special Strength version (the same liquid but bottled at 49%) alongside a brace of older, super premium expressions (18 and 25 year old) did little to help stem the negativity about the releases, which are scheduled for June/July this year.

But far from throw our miniatures out the pram and take to Twitter like it was a modern day pitch fork, we looked at the plan objectively. Mortlach is currently undergoing something of a major transformation from an under-appreciated distillery many whisky drinkers simply know nothing about - to a major player in the luxury market, which spans global proportions. Capacity is being doubled from an existing 3.8 million litres, with six new stills being installed - complete with worm tub condensers: probably the first time since the 1980's that any distillery of note (save for smaller, more craft orientated operations) has gone down this route.

There are clear similarities with a certain distillery beginning with M and ending in acallan. Limited stock and a rising demand for a particular flavour profile internationally has meant that a rethink was necessary in terms of the type of bottling available and its pricing structure. Macallan's huge success in Asia has meant that certain expressions have been withdrawn and the stock structure has taken on an altogether more personality (and colour) led focus, without age statement.

The new look Mortlach, when it is finished.

Mortlach has the opportunity to do the same and become a serious rival in the same circles as The Macallan. It has a bold, European oak dominated character and given proper investment and careful stock selection, Diageo can promote the brand into the luxury league.

But this can only happen if the new liquid is any good. Despite the best efforts of anyone, there will always be those who fervently criticise the decision to withdraw the 16 year old, resenting the progress of the brand into the major-league.

To use an analogy from the world of music, it's a little like when Dylan went 'electric' back in 1965. 'Judas!' cried one hessian-clad misery guts. 'He's sold out,' cried another be-sandaled folkie, the full horror etched for all to see on his patchily bearded face, as Dylan tore through 'Like a Rolling Stone', backed with a new set of amped up, electrified musicians.

The reason for their protestation? Arguably because they had lost control of something they thought they had all to themselves.

Dylan's canon of music is of course a milestone in the Great American Songbook and his solo performances will always stand the test of time. But without his reinvention, his popularity would have swiftly reached a plateau. Probably fine for his many folk followers, but for a man of clear ambition, success needs progress - and progress requires decisions - many of them hard to swallow for those who felt They Woz There from the beginning.

Of course, Mortlach is a distillery, effectively owned by shareholders; a commercial distilling enterprise, not a visionary (if slightly frazzled) American singer songwriter. So the changes Diageo are implementing for the brand make a great deal of sense from a business point of view. By creating a range of whiskies, each with an escalating price point and age, alongside a bottle design with a greater degree of craftsmanship (they are quite stunning close up)- the halo effect comes into play, rather the same as it does in the Johnnie Walker range.

But for the principle to work and for the halo to become fully (and angelically) illuminated, the liquid needs to be a fine piece of work at every price point, especially given that the releases are bottled into 50cl sized vessels (75cl for the US)

So is it?

Well, today, we got the chance to find out, thanks to a presentation from one of its main creators, Dr Matthew Crow and Mortlach's newly appointed ambassador, Georgie Bell. After trying the new make spirit (which was about as bold and malty as any we have come across) it was time to visit the range for the very first time.

Time to turn up the volume and hit play on Blonde On Blonde?

Or simply skulk off to an inoffensive, grumpy solo acoustic version of The Times They Are a-Changin?

Mortlach - Rare Old - No Age Statement - 43.4% - 50cl - RRP £55

Nose: A big hit of bold copper aroma, woody spice, rich caramel sauce, Creme Brûlée and a little charred meat. It perhaps doesn't have the full on 'meatiness' that the Mortlach of old has become renowned for, but anyone approaching this from afresh, will find a plenty of meat on the bone - the spices are very well integrated, alongside a sweeter vanilla note too.

Palate: The charred meat continues, with swathes of robust caramel sauce, tobacco, dark chocolate and a touch of orchard fruit. With a little water, the orchard fruit comes to the front and the creamy vanillas start to take hold. A dram of two halves, that's for sure.

Finish: An oaky dryness, with a lingering and very mature spice note.

Overall: It's Mortlach.... That's right folks, it's Mortlach. Nothing really taken away and nothing unnecessary added either. Solid, warming and very robust, just like it should be. The cask choice here is very complimentary and the refill hoggies balance nicely with a little re-charred spice, alongside a drop of European oak richness. A great start.

Next up - The Special Strength version, released specifically for Global Travel Retail outlets. This is effectively the same formulation as the Rare Old, but weighs in at 49%. Will the slightly higher ABV make much of a difference?

Mortlach - Special Strength Edition - No Age Statement - 49% - 50cl - RRP £75

Nose: Wow, a real surprise. Fresh blueberries, toasted vanilla, burnt caramel, milky coffee and a much more intense copper coin note. Vintage aromas at work? In fact, open a bottle of 'Old' whisky, i.e. one bottled a long time ago and this shares a number of similarities. Given time, a sticky gingerbread pudding note develops alongside the more familiar charred wood/meat aroma.

Palate: The extra strength gives this a much more defined and direct mouthfeel, with scorched orange zest, blueberries, a very fatty nuttiness and a hint of menthol. Water brings through a light blackberry note, alongside a slate/flinty note.

Finish: Dry tobacco and dark chocolate.

Overall: The sceptic in me would look at this release as a bit of a cash cow, but in total fairness, this is a very different whisky to the Rare Old, despite sharing its DNA. The extra strength gives it a fundamentally different personality altogether and one which I very much enjoyed. A whisky that will keep delivering in many different ways, whenever you go back to it.

Next up, the 18 year old, which Matthew informs us has a greater proportion of first-fill European oak, balanced with refill barrels and butts. Clearly, the 16 year old will be a reference point, but by how much?

Mortlach - 18 Year Old - 43.4% - 50cl - RRP £180

Nose: You're straight into a very robust mix of wet mossy leaves, gingerbread, spiced dried fruits, some earthy tobacco, dark chocolate and orange zest. Given time, a more fragrant rose note begins to develop (rather like Turkish Delight) and a lighter coffee aroma. Superb.

Palate: The bold-as-brass approach continues to the palate, but with some very well balanced complexity in tow: more of the dried fruits, a return of the charred meat, malty dark chocolate, Cognac steeped oranges and then sweet vanilla. Water brings a welcome return of the orchard fruit and then a more milky/creamy coffee note.

Finish: Dry, with more dark chocolate and oaky spice.

Overall: A different liquid to the 16 year old, with greater subtlety and integration of the bold flavours you would hope for. This is sensational stuff, make no mistake.

To finish - the 25 year old. Priced against the Macallan expression of the same age (around £600) this is clearly aimed squarely at the same type of high end drinker. A significant price uplift on where the 18 year old fits, so one would expect this to really deliver. The profile is taken solely from refill American oak casks too... Curious...

Mortlach - 25 Year Old - 43.4% - 50cl - RRP £600

Nose: Hard to put an age on this, but if we were pinned to the wall, we would say it has aromas associated with far older whiskies: highly polished leather, mahogany tables, toasted chestnuts, then into a heady mix of sandalwood, cedar and scented wax. Give this more time to open up and you're suddenly in tropical fruit heaven: custard topped mango, with a little dusting of soot, followed by more of the Turkish Delight from the 18 year old. Effortless ageing - peerless aromas.

Palate: A continuation of the fragrant wax, backed with salted caramel, light tropical fruits, Portuguese custard tart, and a hidden nuttiness (chestnuts again). Given more time, the complexity develops further with a wonderful integrated spiced oak, sitting alongside the creamy custard. Nothing is out of place, or too dominant - it all sits together rather brilliantly.

Finish: Lengthy notes of creamy oak, some lighter fragranced wood and a more gentle spice, tempered by a sweet vanilla.

Overall: This is something to sit with, ponder over and try to get to the bottom of. It is without doubt, one of the best new releases to come from Diageo in some time (alongside the Special Release Convalmore of last year.) At £600, anything less would be considered as a huge disappointment, but hats off, as this delivers on every level.

So there you have it. A brand new core range has arrived. Dylan has officially picked up his Stratocaster. The ticket price and volume have gone up accordingly and the venues are getting more far flung and exotic - but the show has become far more engaging.

Those who don't want to go along for the ride, remember the old times, start stashing away the bootlegs and tell everyone you were there at the start...And if you still don't like what you're hearing, there's always Woody 'Dailuaine' Guthrie. He's not due for a reinvention any time soon, as far as we can see...

Wow, the month has surely shifted on. Only a second ago, we were sitting in our office, enjoying a brace of old blended Scotch whiskies we had won in an auction, lamenting the time it had taken for us to post anything meaningful on Caskstrength. Then suddenly it was the middle of December.

Take into account two house moves, several hundred whiskies to sell and a lot of other nonsense - and you realise that all of one's good intensions have simply vanished into thin air.

Needless to say, that we return within a month where Scotch whisky has already faced three fairly major discussion points.

The whisky elves wait for a comment from JM

First up and we find Best PR Campaign Of The Month#1 in full swing. Yes, the vibrant, yet choice words of whisky writer Jim Murray, who this week apparently claimed that Kentucky was producing better whiskies than the ones coming from Scotland, or words to that effect.

Journalists across Fleet Street were poised over their keyboards looking for the killer headline. Was this the end of Scotland's dominance in the whisky world, its mighty crown lying tarnished amongst some mythical whiffy sherry casks? Or was it simply just a well chosen sentence from the adroit Murray, in an attempt to give some much needed Christmas spice to his latest edition of The Whisky Bible, of which one assumes he has a warehouse-full ready to ship as stocking fillers.

Either way, people chatted, tongues clacked, keyboards rattled and Twots Twitted, all somewhat having the desired effect, we imagine. Effortless PR at its very best.

Seriously, most people who own a bottle of bourbon and a single malt Scotch whisky will be able to tell you that making any comparison between the two is like comparing the sound of a Tuba with that of a Xylophone. Yes, they sit near each other in the whisk(e)y orchestra, both offering wonderful layers of texture to the symphony of spirits, but singularly, they have vastly different timbres, which is a quality to be celebrated. We love American whiskey. Hell, we even awarded a blisteringly youthful single malt from America our new release Whisk(e)y of the Year last year in the Best in Glass award (this year's is being hosted in January, folks)- but that doesn't mean that all Scotch is redundant, or that the US is officially producing 'better' whisk(e)y. No, they're producing different whiskies with their own wonderful character.

It's high time to celebrate the category as a whole, driving success forward, ever challenging boundaries and above all, bringing drinkers together in a way that other spirits can only dream - both men and women (hmm...see our final point below)

Yes all this is probably sentimental tosh and yes, it is 'just whisky' but clearly, people care and that is good.

A thoroughly modern Mortlach

Speaking of which, earlier this month, Diageo announced that the Mortlach distillery is to expand its range of whiskies, including two no age statement releases (Rare Old and Special Strength) an 18yo and a 25yo. Alas, the tremendous 16yo is to be discontinued, but for any new Mortlach to see the light of day is truly exciting news. Mortlach remains a criminally underrated distillery and we're looking forward to trying the new expressions soon. The Mort, the merrier.

Finally this week, PR Campaign Of The Month #2... of sorts. Dewar's, no stranger to courting controversy (earlier this year releasing the questionable Highlander Honey) unveiled its 'Meet The Baron' campaign, where a sturdy, reliable and all-round good egg can be seen selflessly helping various drinkers in perilous situations, such as being chased by rabid dogs and chatted up by a buxom lady.

Hang On!! what was that?? Oh yes, the Baron's skills apparently spread to effortlessly intercepting an approaching blonde assailant (a larger lady), allowing the intended 'victim' to hang out instead with a bevy of lingerie models.

Watch the film twice and we're pretty sure you can just about make out the sound of the hand grenade pin hitting the floor of the marketing department, coupled with anguished flailing executives desperately trying to regain control of the inevitable explosion that is about to occur.

The Baron, shortly before the 'car crash'-of-an-advert
was pulled

Sure enough, it did. After numerous complaints citing sexism, the video was (rightly) taken down from Youtube and similar online sources. But not before nearly 300,000 people had seen the clip.

Not only does the advert brilliantly slip on its own banana skin, but it highlights how desperate whisky companies are to try and appeal to who they perceive as 'The Drinking Man' (actually the brand's campaign slogan.) What surprises most is the fact that given the firewall levels of market research, focus grouping and other more robust legal checks most sensible companies go through, no one thought that the advert might come across as a poorly put together and totally outdated piece of 70's thigh-slapping nonsense.

Whoops.

Like a faint waft of Brut aftershave, the video has now disappeared into the ether, so it's unlikely you'll be able to find it. Don't worry though - Anchorman 2 is about to come out. Whammy...

Back on lighter, more enjoyable grounds, we met up with the fantastic Tom Bulleit yesterday and tried his newly released, higher strength Bulleit Rye. We'll explore this later this week, but needless to say, it is excellent. Now what was Jim Murray saying... ;-)

Funny old business, whisky making. So steeped in tradition, proud values and time-honoured recipes and practices. Yet on the other hand, so vibrant, challenging and bubbling with creativity. Well some of it.

Recently we've seen a massive growth in craft distilling in the US, so much so that to a point, the whole 'craft' thing has somewhat 'Jumped the Shark', (look it up if you're not familiar with this phrase) with a new whisk(e)y seemingly being created every week by a micro distiller. These 'whiskies' are seldom whisk(e)y but just spirit, rested in oak and fired out the door to try and nail down the spiralling costs that running a distillery presents.

However some distillers, like the magnificent Balcones, Tuthilltown and Corsair have taken their time, experimented in the right way and diversified their businesses to offer genuinely different products that have captured the attention of a very crowded market place, now gaining international reputations and - importantly, distribution.

But the same thing hasn't really kicked off here in the UK - yet.

Last week saw the very first spirit run from London's newest craft distillery, The London Distillery Company in Battersea, which has been producing a gin for the past year to supplement the business plan of actually creating a new spirit from scratch. Finally, after months of wrangling, HMRC granted LDC a license to distil the first malt spirit in the capital - the first in over a century, since the Lea Valley Distillery closed in 1910.

What does this all mean? Well, the precedent has now been set for other would-be distillers to follow suite and similarly create something from scratch. Rather than the dusty, leather-bound rule book being ripped up, it has just been re-published in a handy, wipe clean paperback size, which seems to be a good thing.

In a little under three years and a day now, we'll be able to clearly see whether the LDC has achieved its objectives and made a single malt whisky as brilliant as that produced by, let's say, Kilchoman on Islay, or more appropriately, St George's in Norfolk especially after such a short time. Until then, let's applaud someone for moving things forward and boldly opening the doors on so many distilling possibilities.

Of course, an English whisky is nothing new. As mentioned above, St George's in Norfolk have been distilling successfully since 2006. Then in 2010 came the Adnams Brewery, who only last week released their very first 'whisky'- two in fact.

Adnams have taken a great position in the new emerging sphere of English whisky, by applying their brewing prowess (which spans some 140 years) and coupling it with brand new distilling technology. With stills that look like they have been lifted from the pages of a Jules Verne novel, Jonathan Adnams, Head Distiller John McCarthy and his team have already successfully built a formidable distilling reputation with several very creative recipes: Oak aged vodka matured in French oak, Spirit Of Broadside, using the classic Broadside ale and now a brace of 'actual' whiskies: a traditional single malt matured in French oak and a triple grain, using East Anglian barley, wheat and oats, which is then matured in American oak.

Only 20 casks have been produced in this first batch (dating back to a fill date of November 2010), but the results are impressive indeed - at least when it comes to the triple grain, which we have been lucky enough to sample.

Adnams - Triple Grain Whisky - Three Years Old - 43%

Nose: An initial spirit note gives way after a few seconds in the glass revealing some slightly sweet boiled vegetable notes, vanilla, golden syrup, porridge oats, gingerbread and rich dark chocolate. It's slightly unusual at first, then the true picture of the recipe comes to life.

Palate: The malty notes from the nose develop into malted chocolate milkshake, creamy oak, a hint of white pepper and caramelised peaches. The influence of the oats is very noticeable here and the lingering sweet cereal really shifts this up a gear.

Finish: The malt notes deliver a slightly spicy note as the palate dries, with a return of the oak and the vanilla.

Overall: Undeniably youthful, but cleverly delivered. This triple grain has balance, emerging complexity and a personality all of its own and we can't wait to see where it develops with more time in cask. If the single malt (which we haven't tried) can replicate this potential, then the category of 'English whisky' is very much alive, full of vitality and growing in stature by the day. The gauntlet has been thrown down to all. Who will pick it up next?

Look out next week for a review of The One, the UK's first 'British Whisky'... Intrigued? So are we.

I have a new favourite spot of an evening to sit and write. It is outside one of my new local pubs. Having recently moved house, I have had an opportunity to explore the array of local ale houses, on a mission to work out which shall eventually become my (second) home.

At present, my chosen haunt is a classic English freehouse: yards from Windsor Castle, it is steeped in history, has real ale on tap and, more importantly, has Lagavulin 16 on an optic (on an optic!!).

Handily, along with two open fires inside, it also sports a small group of outdoor tables, allowing for a large glass of whisky and a cigar as the spring evenings start to turn into long summer ones.

Sitting, as I am tonight, enjoying a glass of Laga and a Monte Open Junior, I am alone in the half-light of the evening, due to a slight cold snap which has taken hold in the south of England.

However, the pub inside is rammed and as I sit here, the sounds of the gathered masses indoors, muffled by the thick Edwardian walls of the establishment, bleeds into the open air. It is a sound of convivial jolliness, people enjoying themselves, relishing their conversations as they nestle their chosen drinks for the evening.

As the conversation flows, I can still make out parts of chitter-chatter, threads of debate as the words mix into the night air along with my cigar smoke.

For someone who is passionate about whisky, of all types, I'm always looking at the global impact of the spirit and the hot topics of conversation around it. Having recently visited the U.S. to discover more about bourbon production and American white oak casks, I was able to dip into the current hot topic of conversation which is bubbling away Stateside. Like someone popping into the bar to place their next order and accidentally getting caught up in the chat, being back in the UK is like being back outside the pub, listening to the debate from afar; slightly muffled by the walls of distance.

The conversation in question comprises two main parts and it all starts around a legislation passed in 2013 to define what Tennessee whiskey really is.

It was the Tennessee General Assembly which created a designation for whiskey produced in the State, drawing up a rule which says that Tennessee whiskey can be made only of "fermented mash comprised of at least 51 percent corn, aged in new barrels of charred oak, filtered through charcoal and bottled at 40 percent alcohol (80 percent proof), or higher, by volume".

Now, those of you who know whiskey, will realise that this sounds a lot like the way the Tennessee stalwart Jack Daniel’s is made.

Jack Daniel’s – No.7 – Tennessee Whiskey – 40% abv

Nose: Sliced green apples dusted with cinnamon. Vanilla and light toasted oak notes. Fire-charred marshmallows and a hint of hazelnut. Not strong, which makes this more of the mixer that we know it as, rather than a sipping bourbon.

Palate: At first a plesant palate of hazelnut and fig, with a touch of toasted almond; but it becomes slightly 'plastic' over time in the mouth. Once this subsides red apples and more fig appear backed with spices and air dried, salt cured ham.

Finish: Spices; vanilla and cinnamon. Medium in lenght.

Overall: Nothing wrong with this whiskey, it is just a little weak and a little over spiced. Want vanilla coke? Drink JD & Coke. It is a classic, afterall.

Essentially, what this ruling has done is to ring-fence a specific production method, one that happens to be the same one used by Jack Daniel’s, for any product which wants to call itself ‘Tennessee whiskey’; something I find rather strange because if you have a product which has a uniqueness in the process, why would you want other producers to have to conform to that standard? Celebrate what it is that makes your product different from others; give yourself a USP. Vodka producers are looking for one all the time. If your USP becomes legislation, it is no longer a USP. Look at Kim Jong Un’s hair cut. Distinctive. A brand. His brand. That is, until he gets all the other men in North Korea to have the samestyle... then it becomes just a hair cut; the same as everyone else’s.

This legislation has caused somewhat of an upset between some of the other producers in the State, particularly the Diageo-owned George Dickel, which calls itself ‘Tennessee whisky’ and who want to keep using that moniker but also maintain their production method, which differs from those laid out in the legislation.

It has all started to get rather complicated and has seen much debate in the corridors of power in Tennessee, to the extent that just this week, following a debate, it has been decided to refer the matter to a Summer Study review.

If you really want to, you can watch all 15 mins or so of amendment 14041 being proposed in the General Assembly, here (about 2 hours in). You should, as I’m going to come back to it in a moment.

So, why should there be any concern to us, the humble whisky drinker, agnostic as to where our matured spirit comes from (be it Scotland, Ireland, any number of States in the USA, Japan, or indeed elsewhere), but just loving the spirit we call ‘whisky’?

Well, because there is one key rule in the production of American whiskey, be it bourbon from Kentucky, bourbon from elsewhere in America, or Tennessee whisk(e)y which is the use of new American oak barrels.

In the above link, the chaps in Tennessee are discussing what gives a product the right to be labelled ‘Tennessee whiskey’ and they hit on an interesting point, when Rep. Bill Sanderson, proposing the amendment says, referring to some Crown whiskey he has in his car:

“We can make quality Tennessee whiskey by using used barrels.”

Later in the debate, Rep. Curry Todd underlines the issue of wood, by saying:

“This is all about barrels.”

Now, let’s focus on Scotland for a moment: Scottish distillers, from small indie operations through to the major distillers who base their business on blended malts (where the millions of litres of new make grain spirit produced each year is often filled into First Fill, or 'used' American oak barrels) will be looking nervously over their shoulder to see if there is not only a change to the production methods of the spirit that can be called Tennessee whisky, but also the maturation process in America, too.

And a small change from the use of ‘new oak’ to simply ‘oak’, will have a huge effect in Scotland, Ireland, Japan and other whisky-making counties, as much as it will in Kentucky or Tennessee. With American oak casks becoming harder to source anyway, a change in legislation towards the use of barrels more than once could cause somewhat of a bottle-neck to those distilleries outside of American looking for used American white oak in which to mature their spirit.

As a result of this possible restriction in the supply of casks from the US to the rest of the whisky-producing world, the price of casks is sure to go only one way: up. And if the cost of goods to the producers increase, you’ll more than likely see this reflected in the price of the bottle on the shelf.

If I were a distiller, I’d be keeping a close eye on the proceedings in the American States’ Committee houses on this subject. And as a whisky drinker with a limited budget, I’d relish today’s prices because tomorrow’s may not be quite so pleasing.

Rather like Christmas seemingly coming earlier every year (FYI ONLY 267 shopping days to go folks!) the attention on Brazil being this summer's most desirable media/product tie-in nation has well and truly begun in advance of the big event.

Only last night did we witness the first domino falling in the commercial build up to the World Cup, with Budweiser producing an 'emotional' (their words, Lynn, not mine) black and white TV advert around the passion of football. As the official beer of the World Cup, Bud have produced some limited edition bottles clad in gold, which, will no doubt taste every bit as interesting as their current product.

But brushing aside the cynicism, there are a brace of other drinks companies who have also seized the opportunity to use the summer blockbuster as a launchpad for new products - and both of them look a lot more interesting to us.

Ballantine's have ventured into the flavoured whisky market with their newly released 'Brasil': a low ABV spirit drink (so not a whisky at all, being both flavoured and bottled at 35% abv) which is flavoured with Brazilian lime peel. Expect to see a full review on here soon, in a special feature on flavoured whiskies.

Next up comes a late entry on the team sheet, this time from Islay.

What is arguably the worst kept secret in whisky right now, Ardbeg is releasing AuriVerdes at the end of May, a limited edition bottling in homage to the summer football spectacle, but actually marking their very own celebration of Ardbeg Day, an annual event in the distillery's calendar on the 31st May, coinciding with the hugely popular Feis Ile. Expect football themed high jinks if you're heading to Islay and the Ardbeg Open Day.

A Possible Photo from Ardbeg Day 2014

So what of the liquid itself?

Well aside from the very shiny gold bottle (the regular release will be in traditional 'Verdes' green) the news is that the Ardbeg whisky creation team has been busy experimenting with freshly toasted new cask ends. With the whisky drawn from bourbon casks, the toasted ends give the 'classic' Ardbeg notes a new dimension...

Ardbeg AuriVerdes - Ardbeg Day Bottling - 49.9% -Outturn TBC

Nose: Hot, with some distinct Ardbeg smokiness (sweet cure bacon), alongside a little dry spiciness, a big waft of vanilla pipe tobacco, expresso coffee, a touch of ginger and an injection of some lighter citrus zest - fresh lemon and lime. It's powerful, but with a light touch alongside - think Didier Drogba...

Palate: More classic Ardbeg fullness, the smoke turning a little more medicinal, with greener notes (fresh orchard fruit) and something a little more savoury - sweet potato perhaps? There is a youthful zestiness at play too but the mouthfeel is superb, with more smoked meat, vanilla and a candied sweetness - the 10 year old is a good reference point, but it has a little more depth alongside.

Finish: Surprisingly dry, with a lingering oaky spice, some sooty residue and a last-gasp citrus bite.

Overall: Another Ardbeg that offers a real star quality. For those who were fans of the likes of Alligator and Ardbog, this fits nicely into the extended family. Enough of a team player, by not straying too far from the 10 year old, whilst also in possession of a few maverick tendancies.

For more football fun, click here:

GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!

Those of you who have read this site for a while will remember back to my 30th birthday. In the years leading up to it, I had assembled a collection of bottles from the year of my birth, 1979. Doing so wasn't too difficult (this was in the days when one could purchase a bottle of 1979 Port Ellen from an indie bottler for under £100, and an OB for little over that) and the army of drams which were opened on my celebration day would grace any high end hotel nowadays.

I'm not one of those people who perpetually complain about the price of whisky rising. I understand that it is a finite product and if demand rises, so will prices. Doing so, is like complaining about the current house prices in certain parts of London. 20 years ago, I could have probably afforded to live in, say, Notting Hill. But not these days. Do I complain? No, I just go and live somewhere that is nice and affordable. Move on. Literally.

The price of a bottle of whisky is not determined just by the demand for mature stocks, however. As discussed in a post from last week about the possible shortage of casks coming over from America(legislation tbc), cash-flow plays a major part, too. If more money is needed now to lay stocks down for the future, then you'll more than likely see an uplift in the cost of your beloved dram.

All of this is going to have an effect on whiskies from the year of my birth, 1979 especially when people like me actually go and open the damn things. More so, any Scotch from the 1970’s seems to have seen a fairly hefty price hike in the last few years and my thoughts go out to you if you were born in the 60's, 50's or, god forbid, the 1940sand you’re looking to purchase birthday bottles! My advice would be: stockpile now if you want something to drink on your special birthday in the future.

However, there is hope! The indie bottler often rides to the rescue of those indeed of a rare, old dram and we feature a few of them on this site every so often. But one bottler who we hardly ever talk about (in fact, I don't think we ever do) is Cadenhead’s.

The last time we had a wee drop from these chaps was down in Campbeltown after a visit to Springbank distillery. They have a shop locally and sell some quite astonishing stuff at exceptionally low prices. I used to frequent their shop in London's Covent Garden (before rent price hikes forced them out to Marylebone- see what they did there? When faced with a price hike, they just moved on...) but have sadly not taken the time out to check out their new London store.

Silly me.

Why? Because of bottling such as this:

Cadenhead's 43 yo Glenlivet

I discovered this wee treat behind the bar at the Royal Oak pub in Dufftown a few weeks ago. Not many people have whisky dating back this far. And not many sell it for well under £200 a bottle. Yeah, you heard: under £200 a bottle.

So, what do Candenhead’s have in store for future release? Well, one of them is their most expensive bottling ever, a 41 year old Glenfiddich from 1973 which comes, as Brand Ambassdor Mark Watt excitedly tells me "in a cardboard box!" and is a single cask which yielded just 96 bottles, retailing for £450.

Glenfiddich - 1973 – 41 Years Old – Wm. Cadenhead – 96 bottles only - 43.1% abv

Nose: A complex nose of sandalwood, petrichor, old diesel locomotives, school desks and furniture polish. This is like sticking your nose into a 1960's ercol cabinet. Some orange peel, fig, angostura bitters... this would be brilliant in an Old Fashioned.

Palate: Rich and oily, it starts off with apricot jam, dark chocolate-dipped candied orange, some more sandalwood, cinnamon sticks and ginger. Rich and mouthfilling, this could have been dry and woody, but it is as refreshing as a dewy walk through an autumnal wood at dawn.

Finish: Apricots, old armagnac and a hint of menthol.

Overall: Rich with great woody notes, a full body and lots of fresh fruits. Fantastic.

Alongside this release is a single cask 37 year old Dalmore, retailing at an astonishing £170.

Dalmore - 1976 – 37 Years Old – Wm. Cadenhead - 150 – 46.4% abv

Nose: Brandy butter, rich clotted cream, some marzipan and toasted almonds give way to the oak, which takes a while to lift from the glass, but once it does it provides a good spicy topline, finally resting on fresh pine needles.

Palate: Vanilla again, rounded with cinnamon and green apple, which quickly develops into toffee apple and light, runny honey. The palate also has an element of watermelon and pear drop sweets. Some custard notes, too.

Finish: Rhubarb and custard sweets.

Overall: A great dram at a stella price, this is all about the vanilla, cinnamon spice and rhubarb & custard.

So, if you look hard enough, you'll find the odd bottle out there which is extremely good value for a well aged product. Just keep your eyes peeled.

Well, sometimes prophecies do come true it seems.

In January, we looked into our crystal whisky glass and thought long and hard about what was going to happen in the whisky world.

Our first prediction was that the world of grain whisky would get a lot more popular with several major players entering the market place with new products.

Our second prediction was that there would be the unveiling of a huge celebrity endorsement whisky. At that point, the waters went cloudy and we couldn't quite make out just whose face was disappearing back into the haze - but they looked familiar, fairly handsome and in possession of a decent haircut.

Today it seems that both of these predictions have proved to come true.

The whisky world has entered another realm of celebrity with the announcement of Haig Club - a brand new grain whisky partnership between Diageo and none other than football's favourite son, David Beckham.

Beckham and his manager, the show business mogul Simon Fuller are familiar to millions around the globe so make no mistake, this is quite a big deal. What is surprising, but equally very pleasing, is that the whisky in question is a grain; the bedrock of any blended whisky and the spirit that really drives the Scotch business forward. Without it, the world domination of whisky simply wouldn't have occurred. Brands like Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, Cutty Sark and any of the many other ubiquitous blends would not be welcoming sights in back bars from Alaska to Zurich.

So why Haig Club?

Well, the Haig family has a long seated presence in the grain whisky world. The Haig family are arguably the first distillers of Scotch whisky on record, dating back to 1655. In 1824, John Haig established the Cameronbridge distillery, which has now become one of Scotland's largest grain distilleries producing around 120 million litres of spirit every year. From Smirnoff vodka- to Gordon's and Tanqueray gin, through to a host of blended whiskies you will have tried, the large proportion of the grain spirit within these famous brands is made at the Cameronbridge distillery.

Haig is the name on another hugely successful blend - Dimple, which for all those Breaking Bad fans, was Walter White's favourite tipple of choice, shortly before cooking up a bad-ass batch of Crystal Meth.

Now it seems that Haig has reinvented itself again - this time with a new global icon at the helm.

David Beckham and his team of business advisors have clearly entered the whisky market at the right time, given its continued global expansion. With the Far East becoming more switched on to Scotch whisky of all kinds (premium single malts and blended whiskies) and also South America (particularly Brazil) developing a healthy appetite for whisky, it is undoubtedly hot property. But the fact that Haig Club is solely a grain whisky is doubly clever. Unlike malt whisky, grain has a softer profile, lighter in style, making it easy to mix and certainly easier on the palate than heavier, more robustly flavoured whiskies.

Until recently, when William Grant & Sons released their Girvan series of whiskies (essentially becoming pioneers in opening up a new grain whisky market) there was little consistency around grain whiskies, with most coming from independent sources: some were excellent, some were truly terrible. Grain whisky has clearly always been an untapped resource and now it all lots set to change once again from being a team player within the confines of a blend, to becoming a real star player on its own (sorry, we couldn't resist that)

The new Haig Club whisky won't carry an age statement and will be made from three distinct styles of casks: refill - used whisky casks, rejuvenated casks (which give a greater level of spiciness to the flavour) and first fill bourbon casks. With grain whisky intended to be easy to mix with pretty much anything: from soda, tonic, lemonade and cola, it is not going to be as complex and structured as a single malt - but that's the point. At the moment, there is no RRP, but the whisky will be released later this year, so we shall see if it will come with a price tag as lofty as a premiership transfer fee.

We were invited to try an advanced sample of Haig Club a few months ago and here's our tasting notes:

Haig Club - Grain Whisky - 40%

Nose: Fresh coconut, milk chocolate, rich Madagascan vanilla, chopped hazelnuts, honeycomb and a hit of banoffee pie and a little fresh pine aroma too.

Palate: Coconut, pineapple and banana come to the fore, backed with a delicate undertone of blackcurrant, a hint of raspberry and more fresh vanilla. This is a sunny tropical fruit salad of a whisky, but there is a solid foundation of oak underneath.

Finish: Milk chocolate truffles, more coconut and a hint of oak-led spice which gives some real uplift to the finish.

Overall: This is not a flighty, flavourless grain but one which has taken on a good balance of both tropical fruits on the top end (giving a mouth-watering flavour) yet with a strong foundation of vanilla and spice. No doubt, it will be a real game changer, like the man who has lent his name to the project.

Here at Caskstrength, we have a distinct soft spot for the Arran distillery.

Back in 2011, when we decided to embark on our epic journey into the A-Z of Whisk(e)y, we began with A for Arran- a particularly fine 14 year old expression in our opinion, which quickly sold out.

The Arran itself was deliciously light in character, full of orchard fruit, caramel malt and zest. When looking at the range of Arrans available We wouldn't hesitate to recommend the 10 year old to anyone looking to experience a single malt for the very first time (a steal at around £30) and the 14 year old continues to develop the distinctly fruity softness to another degree.

In fact, we came to associate Arran with the flavours of summer, despite there being a host of other more robust offerings including a host of sherry and wine finishes available, alongside the lighted peated Machrie Moor and the spicy, slightly spirity Devil's Punch Bowl.

The distillery's newest offering, a 17 year old, is the oldest expression to date (continuing the countdown to next year's 18 year old, after the official release of a 16 year old last year) and marks another turning point in the its very own spirited journey. But rather than focus on the full fat, buttery rich sweetness of first fill bourbon to give all those lovely light summery notes, this release is made up from sherry hogsheads.

So where does it fit into the canon of current releases?

Well, the good(ish) news is that it isn't a million miles from any of the previous ones...

Arran - 17 Year Old - 46% - RRP £65

Nose: Undeniably sweet from the get go, with a clean malty cereal note, tangy orange zest, a hint of golden syrup, some hazelnuts and a little liquorice. It isn't the most complex 17 year old you're likely to encounter and shares a lot of the hallmarks with the distillery's younger expressions.

Palate: Slightly sharp initially, but with a return of the orange zest, a little spiced sugar syrup, more chopped nuts, fragrant marzipan and green apple. Given time, the orchard fruits we have come to expect develop with soft white peaches and pears coming to the fore. Again, it isn't the boldest palate you'll encounter, but it is certainly in-keeping with the Arran we have grown to love.

Finish: Slightly short, with lingering chopped hazelnuts and a touch of liquorice.

Overall: Anyone hanging on for Arran's ascent into the realms of deep, dark complexity will be sorely disappointed. But in our opinion, that is unlikely to happen any time soon. The distillery has set its stall out as a characteristically light, easy drinking whisky and, wait for it... they have easily achieved this again with the 17 year old. For the price, you are getting a very dependable and well made whisky (given the cost of the numerous No Age Statement whiskies out there). It may lack the bold touches other distilleries achieve at this age but with spring definitely joyfully bounding around like a puppy full of penny sweets, whiskies like this most certainly come into their own.

And we're back. After a very leisurely Christmas break, it's nice to pick up the reins again and excitedly look towards 2014 as a year of exceptionally fine spirits. You'll be seeing a few changes to this website during 2014, alongside the release of our forthcoming book, The Spirits Explorers, which is due to be published later this year. After six years of bringing you news, releases and opinions on primarily whisk(e)y, we'll be bringing you a lot more on other unmissable spirits from around the world. Stay tuned with your glasses primed!

Back in 2013, half of the Caskstrength team saw in the new year with a particularly fun theme:

A Fawlty Towers party.

A Damn Good Thrashing awaits...

Alongside turning Ridley Towers into Fawlty Towers, several games featured for the assembled guests (aka Polly, Sybil, the Major, Manuel, Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby and other cast members):

The Gin & Orange, Lemon Squash and Scotch & Water Challenge (where contestants have to make the aforementioned drinks in as quick a time as possible against an opponent - a ref. to the episode 'A Touch Of Class')

Thrashing an Austin 1100 Piñata, which was swiftly despatched with a tree branch to reveal its contents.

Stupidity aside, New Years Eve was a great opportunity to do a round up of a number of new (old) whiskies which have recently arrived in the post and in our trolleys: Cutty Sark's brand new Prohibition-inspired release, a brace of exceptional 'old'White Horse blends, an Auchentoshan 1975 vintage and perhaps the most prestigious, a 50 year old Bowmore.

We won't be officially reviewing the White Horse blends, but suffice to say that if you see any cropping up at auction (especially from the 70's and 80's) you will face some stiff competition from us. Any respective whisky cabinet should contain an old blend in our opinion. Not only do they provide an insight into whisky making of the yesteryear for a less than premium price, but also highlight some very unexpected flavours. The penultimate drink of the evening was an Old Fashioned, made using the White Horse bottle to the left of the picture (thought to be from the early 80's) and its sweet, delicate smoke and malty, creamy fudge notes were absolutely stupendous. Perfect for Basil and Manuel to put their differences aside... for a few minutes anyway.

The first sample of the evening was a new(ish) offering from Cutty Sark. Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition this robust blend harks back to Cutty's coming of age in the US, and continues the blend's innovative approach. Prohibition will now be available outside the US for the first time, so let's hoist the anchor and set sail...

Cutty Sark - Prohibition - 50%

Nose: Toasted almonds, battenberg cake, some fresh mint and marzipan, plus a hint of smoke. There is a solid balance between smoke, vanilla, hot buttered toast, dark chocolate and hazelnuts. Pure smoked praline in a glass.

Palate: With the 50% abv this gives a delicate, yet prickly mouthfeel. First up is fresh apricot, followed by mango chutney, toasted oats and tinned pineapple.

Finish: Some spices, cinnamon, oak and a nip of sherry.

Overall: A complex dram. I accompanied this sample with a craft American IPA and the rich, bold flavours of the whisky stood up to the yeasty/hoppy notes of the beer. The opposite of the usual delicate Cutty: bold, rich and malty- yet with bags of fruit.

Next up was Auchentoshan's latest release- a 1975 vintage, bottled at 45.6% exclusively for travel retail. This vintage sits alongside the distillery's other previous vintage releases from the 70's and the 500 bottles are drawn from ex-American oak casks. We reviewed a previous '75 release back in 2011 and quelle surprise, this offers many of the same delicious characteristics.

Auchentoshan 1975 - 45.6% - 500 Bottles

Nose: Wafts of toasted coconut, milk chocolate, light lemon zest and creamy vanilla. The classic complex-yet-inviting bourbon cask notes make this irresistible. No need for any water here- it would be very easy to drown the subtleties on offer.

Palate: A continuation of the beautiful aromas above. Sweet and creamy, vanilla custard hits first, with a touch of oaky dryness creeping in, but not in an overpowering way. Alongside the cream comes toasted almonds, a smattering of citrus zests, gooseberry fool and a surprisingly fresh sliced green apple.

Finish: The green apple is smothered in patisserie cream, which sticks to the palate with an after taste of soft brown sugar. Sensational.

Overall: Yet again, this 70's offering demonstrates Auchentoshan at its very best. It will set you back £500 and a flight somewhere (we're unclear as to which airports you'll be able to find it.) But chances are, it's unlikely you'll still find its similarly aged sibling any longer. Scanning through various online retailers we also find that the closer to 2015 we get (and a 40th birthday looming large) whiskies of this nature are becoming more pricey as the months tick by.

And Finally... We make it towards midnight, with a sing-song from Gary Barlow on BBC1 and Kevin Costner's 'Waterworld' on ITV (really... Why??)

Following on from Morrison Bowmore's Lowland distillery comes the latest release from the company's Islay powerhouse. Bowmore continues to innovate, despite being one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. The 50 year old, distilled in 1961 is currently the oldest commercially available single malt from Islay. Two ex-bourbon hogsheads have yielded just 200 bottles, each one priced at an eye watering £16,000.

Old Bowmore always offers up a wealth of extraordinary discoveries. Take their last benchmark- the 1964 Fino cask release from 2012. Intense tropical fruits, divine creaminess and a waft of the most subtle sweet perfumed smoke. Bowmore of this age ceases to be just a whisky, but is something far more beguiling- as we shall see below.

Bowmore 50 Year Old - Distilled December 1961 - 40.7%

Nose: Where to start. The most intense Bowmore nose yet, jam packed full of tropical fruit notes and so much more. Passion fruit, papaya, mango and ripe kiwi fruit mix with plump vanilla pods, parma violets, a wonderful light, floral lavender-influenced smoke, white chocolate and sweet patisserie cream. Quite where the mysterious 'Bowmore fruit' actually comes from is up for debate, but it makes Bowmore arguably the most distinctive distillery on Islay, and for that matter, probably in Scotland too.

Palate: More of the same beautifully detailed tropical fruit notes. The classic Bowmore parma violets are powerful, but flavours of tinned peaches and cream, vanilla and mandarin segments sit nicely alongside, with a backbone of dry, floral smoke. Exceptional.

Finish: Lingering tropical fruit and a slight oaky dryness lead the light smoke in what is a deeply expressive and complex tongue twisting finale.

Overall: It's difficult not to sound like a pretentious tit when writing reviews of whiskies like this. But you just can't sum them up fairly using simple reference points. What we have here is one of the truly great whisky releases of the decade, with effortless balance and charm. If money were no object, this would be a whisky that could simultaneously start and end one's journey into malt whisky. It's the equivalent of discovering the end of the masterpiece tome by a venerated author, the playback of a classic album that defined a generation or the photo finish to a world-record breaking 100 metre final (or perhaps a much longer race for that matter!)

All in all, a stunning way to see in 2014. Quite where the distillery goes from this expression remains to be seen, but here's hoping that Warehouse No.1 contains even more blinding discoveries.

Now - a few Caskstrength predictions and observations for 2014:

Grain Whisky to finally get the recognition it deserves from major distillers - in its own right.

William Grant & Sons had the foresight in 2013 to release a single grain whisky as a proprietary brand and it is inevitable that others will follow suite. Let's never forget just how important grain whisky is in blended whisky and it is great news to see the whisky begin to gain momentum under its own steam. Legendary William Grant & Sons pioneer and former chairman Charles Gordon sadly passed away over the Christmas period, but he leaves his company in vibrant shape, full of innovative ideas and enthusiasm for developing the whisky category.

More companies to receive a public hiding for dubious marketing campaigns.

The Dewar's Saga or 'Barongate' (read about it here if you're unfamiliar) demonstrated an acute and frankly baffling misunderstanding of who the company assumes whisky drinkers are, whilst providing the whisky community with a relatively easy target to bark at. Importantly it also gave everyone a reason to move forward, away from the ass-slapping masculinity of tired whisky campaign ideas several decades old, that still seem to rear their ugly head from time to time. The reputation of the brand took a big dent (rightly so) but we suspect this won't be the last time that a brand gets a marketing campaign catastrophically wrong. We watch and wait with eager excitement... Sharpen your pitch forks.

World Cup Fever hits the whisky world.

The biggest sporting event of the year is bound to have a knock on effect everywhere and given the growing demand in the host nation Brazil for whisky, it is inevitable there'll be a flurry of World Cup themed whiskies. We recently read that one well-known Islay distiller has allegedly planned something featuring the colours of the Brazilian flag, but until we hear it from the horse's mouth, we'll say no more.

Seasoned whisky drinkers get fed up with whisky and move on.

Previously known as 'The Whisky Shop'

Slightly OTT this one, but given the constant negativity surrounding new No Age Statement releases, price rises and new emerging markets, spirits like Armagnac, rum and mezcal will begin to sound their Pied Piper tunes, proving irresistible to ~~connoisseurs~~ whisky obsessives, thanks to their accessible price points and bold flavours. Whilst you'll still find us at the front of the queue when it comes to reviewing new whiskies, we're also going to be writing a great deal about the aforementioned spirits, simply because we love them and the possibilities they offer.

...And a few shorter predictions...

The most staggeringly brilliant release from a distillery/distilleries beginning with E.

(probably... ;-p )

Your Grandma asking you which whisky she should put her money into.

(highly likely and slightly scary)

Another swathe of new whisky auction sites open for business.

(including 'Japanese only' perhaps?)

A massive celebrity endorsed whisky...

(who knows who, but probably on the cards somewhere...)

The word 'Dram' to be made illegal, especially during over enthusiastic whisky-related conversations and even more likely when used as an annoying prefix.

( ;-p )

2013 was a blast for us, hope it was for you too. Keep reading and exploring great spirits in 2014...

Joel & Neil

Life Imitating Art:

I’m Alan Partridge: A Room With An Alan. BBC TV, 1997.

Fictional radio DJ and TV presenter Alan Partridge meets the Head of BBC Programming, Tony Hayers to pitch ideas for some fourthcoming shows:

Alan Partridge: ‘Shoestring’, ‘Taggart’, ‘Spender’, ‘Bergerac’, ‘Morse’. What does that say to you about regional detective series’?

Tony Hayers: There’s too many of them?

Alan: That’s one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is, ‘people like them, let’s make some more of them’....

An alternative scene in a drinks company marketing department, c.2013:

Marketing Person 1:‘Jim Beam Red Stag’, ‘Wild Turkey American Honey’, ‘Jack Daniel’s Honey’, ‘Dewar’s Honey’, ‘Evan Williams Honey’, ‘Bushmills Irish Honey’, ‘Fireball Cinnamon Canadian Whisky’, ‘Paddy Devil’s Apple’. What does that say to you about flavoured whiskies?

Marketing Person 2: There are too many of them?

Marketing Person 1: That’s one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is 'people like them, let’s make some more of them’...

And so here we are today, with a glut of flavoured whisky from both sides of the Atlantic. But what are these beasts which seem to have been unleashed on us and what are they for?

Well, the first thing to point out is that they are not ‘whisky’, something which is made clear on their labels with the use of the phrase ‘Spirit Drink’ in large letters (although on the Scotch products, the term ‘Scotch whisky’ does appear, which could lead to some light confusion for the consumer).

The reason these products, specifically the ones from Scotland, are not ‘Scotch whiskies’ is twofold: firstly, because they (more often than not) are under 40% abv, and secondly because they have been flavoured.

So what is the point of these remixed editions? Well, it certainly is not about sipping and savouring. If you want to find that, buy a ‘proper’ whisky. These products are more about making spirit drinks more accessible, hopefully in a positive ‘David Beckham-esque’ manner, not a ‘make-it-sweeter-so-teenage-drinkers-can-woolf-it-down-in-the-graveyard-after-dark’ stylee.

The versatility of whisky (and we’re talking ‘whisky’ again here now, not ‘spirit drinks’) has been focused on in a new book by the always fantastic whisky writer Dave Broom. Whisky: The Manual takes the reader on a journey of discovery, looking at different whiskies and how they work with mixers; everything from your classic Jack & Coke combo through to Macallan’s and Yamazaki 18 with coconut water, cola and green tea.

Scrabbling around the office, we managed to find a couple of the whiskies included in Broom’s book and try out his little exercises to see what whisky works with what mixer.

First up, a classic: Cutty Sark Original and Soda Water. Broom scores this a 5* (the highest rating in the book) calling it an ‘an instant, appetizing, moreish, lightly herbal drink where the crispness of the mixer plays off the sweetness, revealing perfume notes’.

This drink is a favourite in both the Ridley and Harrison households, with many a summer sundowner created with a light whisky (which Cutty is famed for) and a good slug of soda and ice. Test in the office, which was little needed to be honest, mirrored Broom’s notes, creating a vibrant and delicious drink perfect for a warm spring afternoon.

Casting the net from the other side of the boat, Broom kicks the hornets’ nest that is single malt and mixers, taking some reverenced expressions such as The Macallan 18, Highland Park 18, Yamazaki 18, Talikser 10 and The Balvenie 12 Year Old Doublewood and trying them out with different partners.

Not all scored well (for example, the Yamazaki and Macallan 18’s were both regarded as being perfect ‘naked’ or with a drizzle of water, but not much else), where as the Bowmore 12 Years Old scored well with coconut water and the one we decided to try, Lagavulin 16 with coke, both coming in with a 5/5 score.

Lagavulin 16with cola was a real surprise. Measured out in equal parts, the smoke kicks through the bold cola flavours and delivers something not too far off a smoky Dr. Pepper. I’d be interested to see where a cola syrup would take this (or even a cola cube in an Old Fashioned: ‘Smoke and Coke’, which sounds like a like a night out in 1980’s New York, anyone?) and how far this partnership could be pushed. Well worth a try at home.

Broom’s book is another step towards the idea of whisky (in ALL forms) as a mixer. Not to remove the halo that, say single malt Scotch has and force on a crown of thorns, whisky is just a drink and should be enjoyed. If enjoying it means mixing it, then by all means do so.

And this brings us back around to flavoured whisky: if used properly, they can provide a great entry point for the consumer into the world of whisky and a wonderful mixer to a cocktail. At their very bet, these ‘pop’ editions of whisky might even encourage their fans to seek out the real flavours behind the booze. But only if they’re good.

Of the new releases we have seen recently, few have taken well to our palate. Not for their over-sweetened ideal of what a cocktail ingredient should taste like, but their closeness to reality: how realdo they taste.

One good example has been Jim Beam Red Stag, something we used a few years ago in a coffee cocktail, and it was excellent.

But recently there have been some new release, in the shape of J&B Urban Honey and Ballantine’s Brasil from Scotland and Early Times Fire Eater from the States.

Ballantine’s Brasil is bottled t 35% abv and is a Spirit Drink made from ‘Scotch whisky selectively cask steeped with Brazilian lime peel’. The result is a rather odd affair of sweetness and bitterness, delivering some oak-tones and a smoothness on the palate with a hint of lime coming through. Too much of a liqueur note about this for us, used as a mixer it added an additional layer of sweetness to most of the cocktails we tried it with. However, with soda and a lime wedge with wasn’t half bad.

Urban Honey sounds like a new album from Beyonce, but is actually the new expression from the age-old blended Scotch house J&B. The thing about this release is... it is actually really, really nice. On the nose, there is nothing but honey and whisky; no saccharine sweet notes. It doesn’t smell like a freshly cleaned diabetes ward, which a lot of these products can. The biggest surprise here is the taste, which is a brilliant balance of honey and whisky. Enough earthy tones from the oak matured spirit, this certainly has a ‘real’ feel to it. Again, this has been developed at 35% abv.

Early Times Fire Eater: this is a ‘hot cinnamon liqueur’ and is ‘a blend of fine spirits, Early Times whisky and cinnamon flavours’. Also at 35% abv, this is very sweet and full of cinnamon (as you would expect). I’m not quite sure what the point of this is or where one would best use it. Aside from the extreme sweetness, the flavour is good and it tastes real. I think this could work well with Ginger Beer... something for the backburner (if you excuse the pun), the results of which I’ll let you know about at some stage.

So there you have it, as the doors of ‘Club Whisky’ swing wider by the day, with grain whisky, flavoured offerings and books like Whisky: The Manual, opening the appeal of our beloved spirit to an even wider audience, we are seeing the dusty old members’ club become more of a drinking democracy. In the words of Woolf Smith: Power To The People.

Long Live The Whisky Popular Front.

The newspapers in the UK are alive with stories of the British music scene from the mid-1990’s, when ‘Britpop’ lit up the world. British music has always been a major cultural export ever since Wings, only the band The Beatles could have been, released their debut album Wildlife in 1971. They got the ball rolling and it hasn’t stopped since...

From Punk, through to New Waveand beyond, it was through bands like Oxford’s Ride and London’s Lushthat Britpop took shape, with highlights coming from Blur, Pulp, Suede, Oasis, Elastica, Ash, Supergrass, Radiohead and a few chosen others.

But, as with any cultural movement, there were a lot of people who jumped on the bandwagon, releasing music which never quite made it. Bands like Menswear, Northern Uproar, Rialto, These Animal Men, Whiteout, Sharkboy, Ultrasound, JJ72, King Adora, Seafood, The Llama Farmers, Sleeper, Marion, Heavy Stereo, Gene, Gaydad, Powder, Salad, 60ft Dolls and other acts whose CD’s and 7” releases when on to be filed under ‘indie landfill’.

The problem with these acts, the almost-rans, is that they didn’t provide any point of difference; nothing unique to make them stand out from the crowd.

The single malt whisky category is in danger of becoming like the Britpop-era music scene. At that time, you could pop into the Good Mixer pub in Camden and meet the lead singer of any band you wanted, good or bad. It was rammed with second hand clothes shop wearing indie hipsters, arguing over the merits of a cravat and brogues or tracksuit top and gazelles. Not much talk of the music was happening.

A similar situation occurs in whisky’s own ‘The Good Mixer’ today: The Whisky Exchange in London Bridge. The shelves are crammed with an ever expanding range of single malts, all vying for your attention and ‘share of throat’ as it is known in the business. But which expressions will win? Which will be the Blur and which the Marion?

Two new expressions which have recently been released by the folk over at Diageo are from the Singleton stable. Singleton is an interesting beast: in a niche of its own when it comes to the malleability of the liquid inside, having bottled single malts from Dufftown, Auchroisk, Glenn Ord and Glendullan so far.

The ‘standard’ release here in the UK is the Singleton of Dufftown 12 Year Old, a whisky which is designed to be easy to drink and doesn’t stray far from that objective. It has a 15 year old sister bottling which gives a little more depth of flavour, but doesn’t push any boundaries or ask any interesting questions.

They have now been joined by two more expression, Sunray and Tailfire (themselves sounding like Britpop almost-rans).

The Singleton of Dufftown – Sunray – NAS – 40% abv - £39.00

Nose: A nice nose of apricot, honey, some fresh pine notes, a hint of tonic water, tinned pineapple and red apple.

Palate: A slight green veg note at first which develops into cream soda, dried apricots, peaches and pears. Not quite tropical fruit but it flirts with it. Easy and smooth.

Finish: An excellent finish of runny clear honey, more pineapple (chunks this time) and peach melba.

The Singleton of Dufftown – Tailfire – NAS – 40% abv £35.00

Nose: Much more earthy than the Sunray, this has a serried tone to it of dunnage warehouse floor and bung cloth. Fruitier than the Sunray, it has bigger elements of blackcurrant leaf, strawberry and blueberry.

Palate: A spicier palate which takes the red fruits from the nose and adds cinnamon and nutmeg. Some oak tones which add body and complexity to this palate, but do add a bitter overtone as well.

Finish: The nutmeg takes over and leaves a ‘used sherry’ impression at the end.

Overall: We both preferred Sunray, which gives a lighter, more palatable expression of the Singleton of Dufftown and, with a higher proportion of toasted ex-Bourbon casks, this way of maturation seems to be a more comfortable fit for the spirit from Dufftown. Tailfire, with a higher proportion of whisky from European oak casks, seems a little tired, a little too earthy for us. A clear winner at Caskstrength HQ was the Sunray edition. For under £40, this is actually a decent slug of single malt and, to be fair, the comparison between the two is an interesting exercise.

In the past we have discussed how we feel the Singleton of Dufftown at 12 Years Old is a little too underwhelming; an artist taking the popular bits of everyone’s songs and constructing a tune which hits the middle of target but with no personality or appeal. Coldplay, if you will.

However, these two new expressions do indeed show a different side of Dufftown’s output and the Sunray bursts through the clouds to really shine on their spirit; a good, solid release from this distillery. The Tailfire however feels like a bootlegged copy of a good album: lacking in a certain clarity. Ultimately, we are still waiting to see this distillery play live, to really excite us.

We love a good indie whisky release here at Caskstrength.net. In fact, so keen are we on one-off interesting little gems, that they actually make up a rather large portion of our own cabinets. The issue with independent bottles is that unless you try it, you can’t quite be sure of what it is you’re gonna get. That’s the gamble.

The whole point of a proprietary bottling is consistency. When you buy a Glenfiddich 12 Year Old, you know you should be getting something very similar to the last bottle you bought. And the next bottle you buy.

Indie bottles are different, however. As the mavericks of the business, they can be totally leftfield from the norm. The Syd Barrett of bottlings: sometimes genius. Sometimes, erm, questionable.

But amid all the inconsistency that indie bottles can deliver, more often than not they uncover some real gems, as we saw recently with the liquid coming out from Cadenheads.

And it is retailers who seem to be taking a lead in either bottling their own expressions or working with other likeminded souls to release exclusive bottles of indie offerings.

A few weeks ago, The WhiskyExchange released eight new bottles; all independent bottlings, all exclusive to them. Of the eight, four are smoky, four are not. Let’s have a quick look at the latter four first:

Balmenach 1988 (25 years old), Hogshead #1132, Signatory Vintage, 55.6% abv: I think this is the first Balmenach we’ve ever reviewed on Caskstrength.net. A rich and creamy nose gives great flavours of watermelon and mint. The palate is oily and thick and gives oak spices, vanilla and tea tree oil. Takes water well to give a finish of strawberry coulis and cream.

Clynelish 1995 (17 years old), Refill Sherry Cask #12794, Signatory Vintage, 56.2% abv: Theclassic Clynelish nose of wax candles burning in the middle of a table where a steak dinner has just been served. This gives way to light summer fruits. On the palate, more meaty and waxy notes which are really quite delicious and provide a bold but rewarding flavour experience of plums and blackcurrants. The finish carries on in the fruity nature of the palate. Very tasty indeed.

Edradour 2006. Bottled 2013. Oloroso Cask #240. Bottled for The Whisky Exchange. 59.2% abv: A very oaky and woody nose, this is giving little more than ‘oak’ until the addition of water brings out the Oloroso notes, raspberry jam and cigar casing. The palate delivers more oak, dunnage warehouse flooring and some sulphur tones which linger into the finish, too.

Glentauchers 1997. Sherry Cask #5580, Gordon & Macphail for The Whisky Exchange. 54.3% abv: BBQ brisket, Mars Bar, chopped hazelnuts on the nose. The palate his a HUGE hit of sherry; so powerful yet with some grace and balance. But pretty much just sherry, backed with a hint of the BBQ brisket again. On the finish, coffee, coffee and more coffee. A big dram!

Of these four whiskies, the latter two were forward on the sherry front with the best of the bunch being the Clynelish which carried a great balance of flavours. A really quite fantastic dram.

On to the smoky offerings:

Ledaig 1997, Sherry Cask #465, Bottled by Gordon & Macpahil for The Whisky Exchange. 56.8% abv: Ahhh, we love a Ledaig here at Caskstrength.net and this is a great example of why. A rich nose of mince pie and smoke, sweet yet earthy. The palate gives smoked cream soda rapped with parma ham and figs and the finish... smoked brown sugar. A little dry, but aside from that a winning dram. Really very good indeed.

Kilchoman 2008. Bottled 2013. Bourbon Cask. Bottled for The Whisky Exchange. 61% abv: a whopping ABV here, I was expecting more smoke on the nose, but again this is classic Kilchoman, with smoked cheese, fresh vanilla pods and lilies on the nose, a hint of coal dust but more vanilla on the palate and more smoke an vanilla on the finish. 61%? You’d never guess it. Another brilliant, but disturbingly easy-to-drink, dram.

Caol Ila 1984 (29 Years Old), Refill Sherry Cask #2758. Signatory Vintage. 54.7% abv: Oooh, on the nose this is another corker. Rich balsamic notes mingle with air dried speck ham, cigar smoke and real ale. The palate gives real aged spirit, delicate oak balanced with smoke and cherry jam. The finish is a perfect mix of smoke and red berries. Delicious.

Laphroaig 1998 (15 Years Old), Refill Sherry Cask #700393. Signatory Vintage. 60.8% abv: Hummm... a very sweet nose, which works well with the smoke to give a Lapsang-Souchong-with-a-spoonful-of-sugar effect. The palate once again hides this massive abv with oak, varnish, antique shop, cinnamon spices and smoke. A finish of red fruits and more spice finish of this wonder.

So, that’s four fantastic peaty offerings from the good people at The Whisky Exchange. If I had to pick one... well, I’d go for the Kilchoman I think. No, the Laphroaig. No, wait... the Caol Ila! It is a very hard choice.

A nice step-change from your usual distillery bottlings, these showcase a different side of the distilleries on offer, in only a way that indie bottlers can do. Great stuff.

** A quick Amendment: The guys at TWE have informed us that the Edradour and Kilchoman bottlings are partnership releases with the distilleries, not indie releases. **

In our second look at some indie releases from retailers, it is the chaps over at Master of Malt who yet again throw their creative brains into a cask, add in a bunch of spirit and leave it to infuse.

Having stepped up their game in terms of their own bottlings (crowing their releases with a 60 Year Old earlier this year), some of the most memorable ones being an 18 year old Ardbeg last year and a very floral Bowmore before that, they have now released a new mini-series of whiskies which have all been additionally finished in a small, first fill sherry cask (50 litres).

The series, known as Darkness!, features spirit from Ardbeg, Macallan and Clynelish distilleries as well as two from Benrinnes.

Benrinnes 15 Years Old, Pedro Ximenez Cask Finish, 53.3% abv: A nose of rich fruits and oak, linseed oil and fresh leather. The palate gives a firm oak note, followed by dark cherries, cinnamon and nutmeg. Fruity and spicy. The finish is oaky and fruity with lasting spices. A big tasting dram.

Benrinnes 15 Years Old, Oloroso Cask Finish, 52.9% abv: A more subtle dram with less big oak and more fresh pine (as you would expect from the different style cask), raspberry and white chocolate. The palate is again more subtle with cherry pie and apricot jam. The finish gives sandalwood and old leather.

Macallan 15 Years Old, Pedro Ximenez Cask Finish, 52.3% abv: Ginger and mint, this is the most closed of the five samples we have but over time opens up to reveal vanilla and cream soda. The Palate is sweet and rounded, the most easy drinking of the bunch and feels a lot older in flavour, with a hint of sulphur and red apple. Finish plays with spent matches and meaty pulled pork.

Clynelish 16 Years Old, Oloroso Cask Finish, 54.9% abv: Wood polish/wax, butter beer, some sweet cure bacon and ghee on the nose. The palate is hazelnut praline, walnuts and crunchie bar. The finish is chopped chilli and milk chocolate.

Ardbeg 21 Years Old, Pedro Ximenez Cask Finish, 40.1% abv: Well, this shows that no matter what cask Ardbeg spirit has been sitting in, you always ‘come home’ to Ardbeg when you stick your nose in a glass of it. Classic Ardbeg smoke, this isn’t a meaty dram it is quite delicate for a PX casked whisky and at 21 years old comes from their lighter production period (in terms of volume) of the early 1990’s. Apple pie with cinnamon and warm custard on the nose, followed by a palate of very delicate smoke, apple sours, some sour cherry, vanilla and lemongrass.

Of these initial samples, the two Benrinnes showed up the best. The biggest curveball was the Ardbegwhich we thought might end up somewhere in Lagavulin 16 territory but actually retains a huge amount of vanilla and green apple; a surprisingly easy dram to drink but not a ‘sherry monster’ like the others.

This range is due to spin off battings from other Scotch distilleries, including single grains (which we are personally looking forward to the most) and already has a North British, Dailuaine,two Aberlours, an Aultmore, a Glen Moray and a Tomintoul(all carrying age statements) in their stable. Obviously, coming from such a small cask, they are in 50cl bottles (the new ‘en vogue’ bottle size these days, don’t ya know) and bottled at cask strength.

There is something quite glorious about a summer’s day. To be honest, here in London, it isn’t quite summer just yet, but we are at the start of a rather warm snap which will, fingers cross, will last across the weekend.

In the UK, this is the sign for women to raid their wardrobe for flowery Laura Ashley dresses and for men to bare their legs; but when it comes to whisky, our thoughts turn from heavily peated numbers, to lighter whiskies (grains and blends), served up in a highball glass with ice, topped up with soda water and a slice of something zesty.

And herein lies the exact reason why we all need a cabinet of drinks: there is no one ‘cure all’ spirit for that moment when you want to pour yourself a dram or mix yourself a cocktail.

Our advice for putting together a basic drinks selection is to build up your cabinet from the basics, making sure you have a good quality gin and vodka in your freezer, with plenty of ice and some glasses, too (if you don’t have a lot of room, then make sure you have four Martini glasses at the very least). If you can store highball glasses too, then a top tip is to put a small amount of water in the bottom of each glass, so you have a natural layer of ice in each one; brilliant for G&T’s.

Moving from the freezer to the fridge, ensure you have some cans of tonic and soda water, as well just some filtered water too.

Topping all this off, a good drinks cabinet should contain a nice brandy (go Armagnac for better value than Cognac), a good rum (two if you can afford it- one for sipping, one for mixing), some Tequila and cocktail bitters (Angostura at the very least). And then some whisky.

You’ll notice here that, save for the rum where you can reach out over several varieties and Tequila / Mezcal where you might want a sipping option as well as a mixer, whisky is where the greatest variation is to be found. If we were being honest, you probably could do with having the following in stock:

A Smoky Whisky: Preferably a single malt with a good level of peat smoke. Example: Lagavulin 16.

A Sipping Whisky: Not everyone likes peat, so have a non-peated offering, too. Could be a blend, single malt, a bourbon, Irish or Japanese whisky. Example: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Years Old.

A Sunshine Whisky: A grain whisky or blend helps for those summer days when you want a long drink. Example: Cutty Sark Original.

So, in a basic cabinet we’d look at three different whisk(e)y offerings; quite a lot more than the others, but all playing different roles in the team.

In this blog we focus on all styles of whisky, trying to review them with their purpose in mind. As became evident in our look at flavoured whiskies recently, you can’t review something like J&B Urban Honey in the same way that you would a 40 Year Old Brora.Equally, as with Dave Broom’s new book The Manual, you shouldn’t be ashamed of mixing a ‘sipping single malt’, either.

When it comes to these single malt sippers, there are more and more appearing on the market all the time; some brand new offerings from indie distillers, others being released from major distillery names as range extensions.

One distillery who is undertaking a re-jig of their more niche offerings, is The Balvenie who have recently launched a couple of new single barrel expressions. It was a year ago when we reviewed their ‘new’ 12 Year Old First Fill American Oak Single Barrel, and the time has come again for another release from them, this time a 15 Year Old Oloroso Sherry cask.

The Balvenie – 15 Year Old Sherry Cask – Single Barrel – Cask Number 4440 – 47.8% avb – each batch has no more than 650 bottles – RRP £79.99

NOTE: These tasting notes are for one specific cask release, no. 4440. Other casks may differ.

Nose: Certainly a sherry cask whisky, this gives ginger and honey up front, some dusty oak and golden syrup, this isn’t hiding its roots. There is a slight Piri-Piri sauce element which develops over time. Returning to the nose after a while, the key elements have died a little and the spirit remains, giving a punchy youthfulness to the dram, but always with that Oloroso backbone of sweet spices.

Palate: Fresh apricots drizzled in honey sit atop cinnamon spices, some over ripe banana and rum and raisin milk chocolate. It is powerful with a hint of complexity, and some spiritus elements. Mouthfilling, the wood influence shines through towards the back of the palate giving plum chutney and more raisins.

Finish: Lots of ginger, runny honey and spices, which develop into nutmeg and cardamom.

Overall: This is a very tasty dram, which packs in big flavours with a good ABV balace, too. My preference is with a splash of water, which opens up the dram to reveal red cherries and heather honey, giving a better example of the smooth Balvenie spirit for which it is famed.

Another giant of the Speyside distillery world, who is also expanding a diffusion range (if you will) with an Oloroso matured edition, is The Glenlivet who welcome the ‘Oloroso Matured’ batch to the already popular Nadurra line. This will be the first ever 100% sherry matured offering from the distillery, under their own label. At the moment this is only available in Global Travel Retail, is a No Age Statement and is bottled at 48% abv but, as with other Nadurra releases, will see a ‘full strength’ edition hit local markets in the future.

The Glenlivet – Nadurra Oloroso Matured (batch OLO314) – NAS - 48% abv RRP TBC

Nose: More tropical fruits than the Balveinie, which is focuses more on ginger and honey. This is a fresher dram (I’d wager a touch younger, but not by a lot) and gives peach melba, fruit cake, cardamom and mango on the nose. A hint more summery than the Balvenie.

Palate: Cinnamon and Cardamom come through with a sprinkling of nutmeg. Blood Orange and fresh mint are backed with cigar box and a distinctly meaty tone of well aged rare steak, slightly peppered. It sits well on the palate, with the pepper and sweet sherry partnering well together.

Finish: Bloody orange meets vanilla macaroons to give a hearty, sweet finish which is mouth watering with a back drop of gala melon.

Overall: Again, this really opens up with a drop of water, smoothing it out reflect the distillery character and would be my preference to serve with a splash of H2O. It is going to be interesting to see how this works at an even higher abv. Bring it on!

These two new expressions are both excellent and with a splash of water both reveal their true distillery characters, which is pleasing as it is easy to lose track of the true DNA of the base spirit once sherry casks are involved. Both are perfect examples of ‘sipping whiskies’ which make themselves available for team selection in your drinks cabinet. Now it is up to you to decide which you want to be part of your team...

Before becoming professional whisky writers, Neil and I both worked in the music industry at different major record labels, doing A&R.

A&R is the department within a record company that is responsible for discovering new music, signing artists, making records and managing the artist as a product, through the record company system.

In my time as an A&R Manager at Island Records, I worked with some very inspiring people, from incredibly talented artists, songwriters, record producers, photographers and other creatives. But also people who taught me a lot about the industry of fashion, of tastes, and how to market creativity and artistry, to turn it from an etherial ideal into a tradable commodity, and to build brands which emotionally engage with consumers and take people on a journey.

Occasionally, very occasionally, this involved trying to hoodwink the general public with some artist or another whose talent maybe didn't match the size of the marketing budget allocated to them, and the phrase 'you can't shine a $hite' was a mantra for avoiding those types of deals. But mostly, it was the job of a record company to take the acorn of talent and help grow the oak tree of success from it; to be a magnifying glass over the artists' works.

I remember well a discussion with a very experienced Senior A&R Executive, Ferdy Unger-Hamilton, about the debut album from Keane. The record had been a huge success off the back of three fantastic singles,Everybody's Changing, This Is The Last Time and Somewhere Only We Know and a fourth single was due to be released, with the obvious choice being the Keane-sounding Bend and Break.

By this time, the band were enormous, with a huge amount of radio play, sell out shows and a record which had sold well into the multiple of millions and Unger-Hamilton's choice for single release number four was the slightly left-field 'Bedshaped'. I remember well his reasoning:

"Millions of people know what Keane sound like, so we should put out something from the album that is a little different; it might attract a new fan to the band."

And it did, with the album going on to be awarded 9x Platinum status in the UK.

There has been a lot of digital noise in the last few weeks about the new Laphroaig Select, the latest release from the iconic Islay distillery. The noise has not been all positive, it has to be said. Partly due to the copy attributed to this release (spelling Oloroso, 'Olorosso', Hogshead 'Hogs Head' and describing first fill as 'First Filled') and partly due to the liquid, with Serge over at the consistently excellent whiskyfun.comdescribing the liquid as "...totally un-Laphroaig I’m afraid, the coastal/medicinal/smoky side is there but it’s just whispering".

But here's the thing: maybe that's the point. Maybe, if you like Laphroaig 10, you've already got a bottle of Laphroaig in your cabinet. Or, like us, more than one expression of this peated beast.

Laphroaig - Select - NAS - 40% abv - RRP £34.99

Nose: Lemon grass, citracal, white peaches, pear drops, icing and a hit of cherry drops. The smoke sits behind all of these, and doesn't give the classic Laphroaig TCP that we are used to, but a more subtle smoky tone which you'd expect to find somewhere in the North of the Island. The whole lot is wrapped in sweet vanilla.

Palate: This is a sweet and subtle dram (not something you'd often say about a Laphroaig), with very light smoke on the palate, gooseberry fool, green tea, dream toppig and fresh lemon juice. Think about eating a lemon and sugar pancake with the dying embers of a summer bonfire in distance.

Finish: A slight bitterness and more of that lemon juice and delicate smoke. Chamois leather.

Overall: Indeed, this is not a 'Laphroaig' as we know it. If it has a distant relative, perhaps Caol Ila Moch (which is almost £10 more expensive) would be the closest thing to it. In its price bracket sits the No Age Statement offering Laphroaig Quarter Cask (a touch more expensive) and the big and bold famous brother, the 10 Years Old (almost exactly the same price), both of which appeal to a certain type of palate; the classic Laphroaig drinker. But this offers up something very different to either of those, something more akin to a Bunnahabhain, Highland Park 12 yo or, moving away from Scotland, the Hakushu Distiller's Reserve giving a different side of smoky whisky making which might appeal to those whose nose and palate don't agree with so much medicinal peat smoke.

If you are one of those whisky drinkers who bought a bottle of Laphroaig 10 five years ago and still haven't got past the first sip, yet you are on your fourth bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label already this year, then this might just be the Laphroaig for you... it might just be the bottle that widens the appeal of Laphroaig to a different drinker. And that can only be a good thing, so welcome to the (lightly) peated party.

However, if you're looking for the classic Laphroaig DNA, you might want to look elsewhere.

Bling comes to Paradise Island

For the better part of a decade now, Caskstrength has been trekking up to Scotland on an annual pilgrimage to Islay, for the annual Festival of Music and Malt, the Feis Ile. It is a thoroughly enjoyable event and one of the warmest whisky welcomes you can receive anywhere in the world, with outstanding whiskies and tasting sessions, the likes of which are rarely seen outside of festival time. Put it this way, when else would you see Micky Heads, dressed as a Gangsta Rap star?

This year however, our diaries did not allow for a trip up to the whisky isle during festival time, due to other presenting and writing commitments. Fortunately we had already popped in to say a quick hello to the good people of Islay with a visit a few weeks beforehand. With the most recent Caskstrength post being on the latest Laphroaig offering, the next two will feature other Islay distilleries and some of their more unusual output, as a tribute to the great festival.

One of the big draws for visitors to the festival is the annual batch of special releases which the distilleries roll out and there has been no change at the 2014 festival, with the island's eight distilleries (and not forgetting Jura, too) creating something unusual and limited to reward those making the long journey to the Inner Hebrides. The outturns have changed significantly since the distilleries got behind the festival began back in 2000 - and considerably since 2007, when Caskstrength began its Islay voyages.

Alas, gone are the single cask offerings, replaced by bottling runs much larger in number. A shame, as we feel that the travellers making the (not inconsiderable) effort to get to Islay should be rewarded for their efforts. But with the huge success of the week-long event and vastly increased visitor numbers, the small outturns left a lot of visitors extremely disappointed when they couldn't pick up a special bottling from their favourite distillery, only to see said bottles arrive on popular auction sites for super-inflated prices a week later.

It's simply a case of dammed if they do, dammed if they don't for the distillers. One option could be to explore the possibility of customising the releases for the bottles purchased at the distillery. Perhaps a special necker/ hand applied shoulder label, or a different capsule colour - or a simple space on the back label for the distillery manager to add a signature if you can track the busy folks down... food for thought, marketing folks out there.

Anyway, a sample from each of Diageo's Islay-owned distilleries (Caol Ila and Lagavulin) turned up earlier this week, which we were eager to explore. Regular readers will be aware that we usually keep a daily diary of our adventures at Feis Ile and the seven previous Lagavulin releases have been superb, so this gives us a good opportunity to look back at those releases, while trying the 2014 edition. Click on the dates below if you want to see our tasting notes from the previous bottles: Alas, 2007's tasting notes seem to be lost somewhere in the darkest archives of the website, but trust us, it was a fabulous release.

2008/2009/2010/2011/2012/2013

Lagavulin - Feis Ile 2014 - Distilled 1995 - Bottled 2014 - 54.7% - 3,500 bottles

Nose: A dry, medicinal/carbolic note opens up the proceedings, followed by classic Laga smoky bacon/charred meat, Star Wars figures (apologies, as we've used this ref. before, but take a whiff of a vintage Princess Leia or Chewy action figure and you'll see what we mean... sad but true) some earthy, moist leaves and darker sherry wood notes. The charred notes are dominant, as is the dryness. It's not the most sizzling and vibrant of Lagas, but let's not forget that this is nearly 20 years old now and maturity has taken this beast in a much more sublime direction.

Palate: Sweet off the bat, into a swathe of drying woody notes, some sweetened black Lapsang tea, more smoked meat, with a surge of peat, zesty lemons and a dusting of both coal and icing sugar. It's rich, powerful and dry, but hangs onto the right side of woody, before the rot begins to set in.

Finish: Very lengthy, with the smoke subsiding and the resonant sherry sweetness coating the tongue.

Overall: A tricky toss up here: The recent Jazz Festival bottlings perhaps edge this for sheer brilliance, but without doubt, it still claims a premier spot when it comes to limited edition peated gems. Given the pedigree of Lagavulin - and its staple core whisky with the 16 year old, which pretty much redefines peated whisky, there will always be high expectations placed on the shoulders of those involved in the choosing the releases. Again, they have played a blinder, as this one will absolutely delight the enthusiasts who can get hold of one.

Our 'mini-journey-from-our-desk' takes us up and onwards to the north of the island, to Lagavulin's sister distillery, Caol Ila. It always amazes us just what a consistent dram Caol Ila is, from the excellent core rage offerings through to independent single casks, rarely do we find a bottling from this distillery that is not exceptionally drinkable.

When it comes to festival bottles, Caol Ila has also been releasing a series which started off as single casks and developed into longer run offerings, kicking off in 2008.

Caol Ila - Feis Ile 2014 - distilled 2002 - Bottled 2014 -55.5% - 1,500 bottles

Nose: Tremendously spicy on the first sniff, with cloves, cassia bark and a sprinkling of nutmeg, all vying for your attention with black pepper and of course some sweet peat smoke. It's incredibly aromatic, light in character and also in possession of a little fruitiness too: think soft ripened bananas and some freshly picked raspberries too.

Palate: Very sweet, into the classic lingering Caol Ila sootiness, but backdropped by sweet black coffee, some oaky smoke, a touch of orange zest and nutty breakfast cereal. On the back there's a slight menthol which, all in all, gives this a sublime balance.

Finish: Lingering sweetness and a fresh zesty orange note nestles against the slightly sooty/dry peat.

Overall: An outstanding release. Not too woody (somewhat ironic, given the nickname of the current distillery manager, David Woods) and well balanced, this is a whisky with swagger strength and balance. A great bottling indeed.

It is clear to see how there has been a shift in strategy of the Feis Ile bottlings released by the Diageo-owned Islay distilleries in the last two years with the runs increasing dramatically to meet the demand. But this is an issue faced by every distillery on the island and with the continued fascination that Islay holds for new whisky enthusiasts, it is only going to get more tricky to cater for everyone wanting something special. When it comes to the Lagavulin, £99 for a limited release 19 year old is is a valiant attempt to 'keep things real' with the pricing strategy, which has, in recent years become a little absurd.

Fair play guys and see you bright and early next year.

I love a bargain. More so, I love hunting around in charity shops, thrift shops and flea markets. In fact, before Christmas I even went on a special trip, driving to Brussels from London to look for interest artefacts in their legendary flea markets.

Taking a car was essential and proved to be a good decision when a real find was made: a lovely, but seriously heavy, antique wall mounted cabinet for just 30 Euro, the sort of thing that would be sourced by a dealer, cleaned up and put on sale in a North London ‘vintage’ shop for £300. It now takes pride of place in my living room; I’m sure it has a wonderful back story, but I don’t know it. However, as with so many drams, this now has an immediate and very real narrative and hangs proudly in my home as a 3D postcard to a wonderful European weekend break.

It is these discoveries, and my house is full of them (from Ercol chairs to G Plan sideboards) which have popped up in a backwater shop somewhere, discarded and unloved, until they find a home which re-loves, re-uses and re-appreciates, that make me smile so.

However, these items are hard to find; they don’t come around every day and persistence is the key to digging out real gold. It really isn’t a case of wandering into a charity shop and walking out, Lovejoy-style, every time with something amazing. Nope, the gold-digging is the key and the moment, that wonderful moment, of finding something special is oh, so rare. As Arcade Fire sing, it is the place between the ‘click of the light and the start of the dream’; a place so rare, you often forget it exists.

In this day-and-age of extreme whisky prices, the click of the light is often when you hear about a product for sale that seems to have retained its price from a previous era when Scotch particularly, was much more innocent. The start of the dream is exactly that; realising if you’d been quicker, you could have picked it up at an amazing price, but now it is merely a dream.

However, every-so-often something comes along where you find yourself in exactly in the right place at the right time, something which happened to me recently in my local Laithwaites wine merchants... while browsing for a nice bottle of wine for dinner, my gaze was interrupted by some non-standard bottles of whisky. Investigating further, I found that one was a single sherry cask offering; a 21 year old Mortlach by Signatory (under their First Cask banner) for just £50.

Mortlach was the first distillery to be built in Dufftown, the beacon of whisky distilling in the Speyside region. Now owned by drinks giant Diageo, they have recently revealed plans to... well... ‘invest’ quite heavily in the brand, actually having a go at the premium market which brands such as The Macallan currently occupy. Having already announced that the current 16 year old Flora & Fauna bottling will slowly disappear from the shelves to make way for a new range of aged whiskies, as well as an expansion and rejuvenation of the distillery itself, the future for Mortlach is bright.

Any single cask for £50 these days is going to be a bargain, but a Mortlach (even before Diageo’s announcement) is a real bargain.

Mortlach – First Cask – 21 Years Old – 1991 / 2012 – 1^stOctober 1991 - #7715 – bottle no 209 – 46% abv - £50.00

Nose: Rich velvety honey, crunchie bar, milk chocolate and suede jackets combine to give a nose that really is older than the sum of its parts. This is a meaty nose that reacts well to sherry, without a hint of sulphur, but with real body and structure.

Palate: Sweet, oak spices with pulled pork, rich cherry cordial, a surprising amount of buttery vanilla, some banana pancakes and bags of maple syrup. A heady mix of hazelnut praline and strawberry jam finish off a deep and well rounded palate.

Finish: Fruits come to the fore, before oak spices, patchouli and cardamom finish off the dram.

Overall: A well balanced single sherry cask with excellent tones of oak, fruits and vanilla.

As the world goes mad for whisky and the residual market pushes prices up and up, it is refreshing to know that there are still bargains out there if you look hard.

And if you find them... drop us a line!

Blimey, that was a swift three weeks! Our recent inactivity over the aforementioned period was largely down to travelling, spiritual enlightenment and a mixture of other interferences, but we return to our desks a little more well travelled, a little more enlightened and a little more interfer.... whoops... that didn't work did it....

Anyway, with the current clutch of whisky releases (Highland ParkDark Origins, Tomatin Cu Bocan 1989 and Kininvie 23 year old - which will all be reviewed in due course) we turn ourselves to another tasty titbit, which follows on nicely from our previous Islay-based post.

Mention the word Ardbeg in certain circles and you'll usually be confronted by a frothing mess of superlatives delivered by a dribbling, stammering whisky obsessive - usually from Western Europe or Scandinavia. In short, we can think of very few distilleries that have some how managed to capture the hearts of such an obsessive and tight-knit clique. Since the Ardbeg Committee sprung up in the year 2000, quickly gaining over 3,000 international followers, the reputation of the brand for being one of Islay's real treasures has truly unfolded. Today there are over 50,000 members of the committee, making it one of the most popular brand affiliation programmes (to use the formal tongue of marketing speak) within the whisky business.

The committee release bottlings have historically been a way to gauge the progress of the development of the whisky released by Ardbeg: From Very Young For Discussion (the first taste of Ardbeg since it reopened) to the 'Oogling' (a work in progress version of Uigeadail) and latter day releases (Supernova, Rollercoaster, Alligator and Ardbeg Day etc) the committee members could get their mits on limited release bottles before anyone else.

This however created a problem: Such exponential growth meant that, rather like concert tickets for a one-off Led Zeppelin (or One Direction, if you are that way inclined) concert you effectively had to be sitting at your computer at 8.59am, ready, logged in and poised to enter your Visa details before anyone else. The releases went from 100's of bottles, to a few thousand to 10's of thousands, simply to cater for the mass disappointment felt when those not quick enough missed out.

It's a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't.

But with Ardbeg's newest release (ok not a Committee release, but a limited edition) the theme has changed somewhat.

Kildalton is an important name in the world of the Ileach - and the whisky connoisseur. Head to Islay and take the short drive down along the south shore road, past Laphroaig, Lagavulin and the Ardbeg distillery and eventually you will end up at a weather beaten, ruinous parish church. The Cross of Kildalton stands proudly on this hallowed spot and anyone who has visited will tell you that it is a very special place indeed. The cross itself is over 1,200 years old and acts as a symbol of of Hebridean life; it is a haven of tranquility and spiritual enlightenment.

Ardbeg released an expression back in 2004 under the Kildalton banner. It was effectively a very lowly peated whisky at cask strength distilled in 1980, which was rated so positively by connoisseurs around the world, that any bottles still in existence are now becoming increasingly difficult to find. A Kildalton from 1981 was also released as part of a special pack celebrating Ardbeg peat, which you can pick up at auction and is well worth hunting down. It also contains a miniature of the legendary Ardbeg 17 year old.

However, the name Kildalton has been resurrected once again - and this time comes with a charitable connection.

Sales of the new limited edition Ardbeg Kildalton bottling will generate funds for the North Highland Initiative, a charity that was set up by HRH Prince Charles to support fragile rural communities across the North Highlands. As part of this, the partnership will directly benefit charities and community organisations on Islay.

So what of the whisky itself?

Well the new Kildalton expression is bottled at 46% and carries no age statement. Drawing on peated whiskies from both bourbon and sherry casks, it is quite different to the original Kildalton release, but is distinctly different from some of the more robust smoky expressions in the range.

Perhaps the most important part of the story is that until later this autumn, the whisky is only available to buy at the distillery itself, after such time it will be available online. The outturn remains unknown, but we suspect it will be enough to cater for the many thousands of die-hard Ardbeg fans out there. Worth taking a trip out to Islay especially? Let's find out...

Ardbeg - Kildalton - 2014 Release - No Age Statement - 46% - RRP £120

Nose: Light and very creamy at first, with a mixture of soft toffee, dried flowers and a hint of floral style smoke, alongside some sweet Earl Grey tea. It is fairly gentle, with a graceful approach to smokiness, as opposed to kicking you in the nose with big bonfire or medicinal notes. Similarities to the original Kildalton? Yes, for sure. Perhaps not quite as refined, but anyone finding the full blown notes from the distillery too overpowering will fall for this quite easily.

Palate: Wow, there's the smoke. Incredibly dry, with a wood-influenced peatiness, some coal tar soap, caramel and an earthiness all begin to develop. It's certainly a whisky of two minds, this one. Given time, the wood reveals a slight sweetness - possibly a little sherry influence too, but it is well packaged and balanced all in all.

Finish: A dry, lingering smoky residue is left on the tongue, with a touch of the medicinal side of smoke developing and some orchard fruit.

Overall: Here we find Ardbeg in playful territory. It is smoky enough to give peat heads their fix (who wants the stupidly overly peated expressions these days? Not us, that's for sure...) and has a delicious lingering freshness alongside. Yes it is expensive for a no age statement Ardbeg, but factor in the charitable connection and it's hard not to feel some affection for the new Kildalton.

Worth taking a trip for? It's Islay we're talking about here. Of course it bloody well is.

To Dream, The Impossible Dream...

America: land of dreams and opportunity. Visiting is always a joy (despite ever increasing security checks at Heathrow- yawn) and it highlights one of the great things about being UK based- our closeness to the US and to Europe. We really do occupy a funny middle ground between our friends on the other side of the Atlantic, and those just across the Channel.

Having recently returned from another trip to the States, it is easy to draw on the similarities (language, popular culture, most foods, sense of humour, etc) to feel very much at home, but to look at the 'differences' (currency, costs, weather, architecture, style, accent, a lack of social responsibility to look after the poor and sick...) to realise you are elsewhere.

And these differences do not stop at currency, politics and tastes, for America also makes whisky, but an entirely different style of whisky that we make here in the UK and these differences, along with some striking similarities, were highlighted to me on a recent trip to Heaven Hill distillery in Kentucky.

Heaven Hill is composed of two main sites, both huge in scale; the result is a company whose fingerprints are seen across the whole whisky category, in Scotch, Irish and Japanese whisky bottles because most of ex-Heaven Hill barrels end up being used to mature spirit from producers in these countries. To put it simply, the ripples of distilling here spread far and wide, on a truly global scale and all this under the influence of the owners, the Shaprio family.

It is unusual to find a place with such influence, such standing and such fame that is still ‘family owned’and it is in this fact where we see, in all the differences between Scotch and American whisky production, another small similarity, another mirror of authenticity, as Scotland is home to William Grant & Sons, producers of Glenfiddich, The Balvenie and Grantsblended Scotch, and also still family-owned and operated. In both you see a friendship and a working relationship between the two dynasties, with much of the William Grant Scotch distillate matured in ex-Heaven Hill casks.

As is the way with Kentucky bourbon production, one distillery can accommodate the production of many brands, and the Heaven Hill distillery is no exception. Spread over two sites, one for spirit production (the Bernheim distillery in Louisville), and one now specifically for the maturation of spirit (just on the edge of Bardstown, Kentucky), the former contains column stills producing various base spirits with differing mash bills, which will go on to mature, at their second site, into individual, unique expressions such as Elijah Craig, Fighting Cock, and Parkers.

At this juncture, we could get bogged down in the differing spirit profiles and make-up, looking at Heaven Hill’s portfolio and drawing comparisons between their different brands. But seeing as this task could encompass a blog in its own right (and not just a blog post), I want to look at something more fundamental: maturation.

The one thing we can be sure of is that prohobition had a huge impact upon spirit production in the USA. Not only did it create a vacuum of quality spirit (often filled by Scotch smuggled into the country), it provided a fertile ground for the cocktail to thrive and stuck the nail in the coffin of several distilleries around the world, as well as in the States itself. But for all the negatives, what it did do was create almost a clean slate for the distillers of America to embrace new technology.

As a regular visitor to Scotland and someone who writes a lot about Scotch, there are certain touchstones which can nearly always be relied on: ancient distilleries, copper pot stills, small dunnage warehouses, pagoda roofs... these are the 'shortbread tin' stereotypes which don't just nod in the direction of heritage and history, but positively support it. But let’s not forget that the original distillers who first came to the newly discovered land of America would have been Welsh, English, Scottish, Irish and European distillers, arriving to farm the land which would have included running the occasional still, as they would have done back home.

However, prohibition served to wipe these small pot still artisans from the landscape and, once the Great Experiment ended, it was time to rebuild the distilling business to quench the thirst of a nation.

Now, if you’re starting a new business today, you don’t head out to buy a typewriter, headed note paper and stamps. You go and purchase a laptop, register a domain and set up an email address. In the same way, the distillers of America didn’t opt for pot stills (yesterday’s technology) but for the new, efficient column still. They didn’t build small dunnage warehouses, only three barrels high because that is the height a man can lift a cask to. Nope, they built enormous cathedrals of casks, because items like forklift trucks existed, to lift barrels into place. And thus the slow drift from the similarities of the Celtic settlers and their relatives in Scotland, and the modern distilling and maturation techniques seen in the bourbon business today, commenced.

Column stills can also be found in Scotland and it is the production of grain which keeps the industry alive through blends (and now a growing category in its own right thanks to single grain whisky from the likes of Girvan), and of course there are huge technical differences in the base production of bourbon and Scottish grain whisky (the basic grain make up, sour mashing, etc) but it is the maturation which really is striking.

As with all Kentucky bourbon whiskey, brand new American oak casks are used, imparting a strong, robust and sweet flavour to the maturing spirit inside. But unlike those hobbit-esque warehouses to be found on the distillery doorstep in Scotland, the warehouses at Heaven Hill are, quite frankly, enormous. Seeing their sheer size put me in mind of the first time I saw an Airbus A380 descending over London for its arrival at Heathrow. Massive and a little bit scary.

Entering one of these huge, white spaces (which look they might have been designed by someone with a fetish for Soviet-era prisons) you are simply hit with a staircase, leading to a series of floors and doors: The Maturation Zone in the Crystal Maze, perhaps. Perfectly constructed, each level (of which there were thirteen!) houses an intricate system of barrels, all holding a different style of spirit, designed to mature for different lengths of time, becoming different brands of bourbon.

There was no musty smell of earth and bung cloth as there would be in Scotland. But a sweet aroma of spirit, oak and freshly cut pine. The temperature was warmer than outside (something you don’t get in Scotland) and the barrels, all uniform, were organised by row. Walking around them, up and down between the floors, was like flying around in the 3D grid system in Blade Runner. Sadly, without an iconic glass of whisky in my hand, as these casks were very much sealed.

Climbing the stairs to the very top and peering down thirteen floors to the ground level, taking in the scale of maturation, surrounded by other enormous warehouses, this couldn’t have been anywhere else but America. This was maturation, supersized.

Back inside the safety of Heaven Hill’s visitor centre, I was finally able to experience some of the magic of a single barrel bourbon when I was handed a glass of whiskey, and one which represents some of the best value for money of any bourbon on the market today:

Evan Williams Single Barrel - 2003/2013 - 43.3% abv - 75cl

Nose: Rich vanilla, red summer berry compot, a big splash of new oak, builders tea with about 15 sugars and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Rich with a big attitude, but not over-oaked.

Palate: This is where this badboy really delivers. The palate is seriously easy going, yet there is a foundation of big flavour with more vanilla, aprcot jam, some smoky BBQ sauce (without this being smoky, oddly) and rasberry travel sweets.

Finish: Robust, rounded and very well balanced with more vanilla and a hint of oak spice.

Overall: If you want a great example of a single cask bourbon, at ten years of age, this is a real corker. I paid about $25 for this bottle (well under £20) and I'm note sure I could have spent $25 better, really. An absolute corker of a dram which is still only about £35 over here in the UK.

I had the chance to pop into the new Evan Williams experience in Lousville and the plans there are fantastic. They’ve just built a small pot still operation which fills a barrel a day (when it is running) to bring a craft, pot still element to Evan Williams, so look out for stocks from that in the future. This scaled down visitor experience, in a former shop in the heart of Louisville is, quite simply, one of the best whiskey-based attractions I have ever visited, so if you find yourself out there, make sure you go.

In visiting Kentucky to discover the joys of bourbon, you get to see the legacy of The Great Experiment and how it has forever changed the landscape of distilling in America. With the craft distilling revolution bringing back the pot still, and the stalwarts of the business such as Heaven Hill offering seriously good liquid at such great value, the future for American whiskey looks incredibly positive.

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