Grape and Grain... Innis & Gunn Whisky Cask

I may have mentioned this previously, but I have been in a massive chardonnay phase since Christmas and I have been exploring the delights of this most versatile of grapes ever since then. I particularly like big creamy wines that have been left on their lees, and I'm even quite partial to oaked chardonnays. Where I didn't expect this exploration into this grape to lead was to beer and to an extent whisky. I recently tried a bottling from one of my most loved breweries. This Scottish brewery is that of Innis & Gunn, who specialise in oak aged beer. Their rum cask bottling is sublime, and their standard bottling is very versatile when it comes to food pairing. So when I was sent a bottle of a whisky-cask aged Innis & Gunn beer I was very excited. When I got round to trying this beer I was overwhelmed by one very distinct, creamy, flavour profile, particularly on the palate - chardonnay, albeit malty. Since then I've been excited to get this tasting note out, enjoy!

Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer
7.1% - 18 Year Old Scotch Barrels
Nose: Malty, with a zesty cocktail of lemon, lime and orange peel, leading to sweet toffee notes.
Palate: A malty yet creamy chardonnay of a palate. Later toffee and fruity malt arrive with a coastal whisky rush sweetened with whisky fudge.
Finish: Elegant, citric and immensely creamy.
Overall: Innis & Gunn has done it again. Truly great, the creamy chardonnay notes lend this beer something above and beyond the norm. Highly recommended!

Glenfiddich: A Masterclass

Glenfiddich Distillery

I am a huge fan of Glenfiddich. Yes, they are the world's best selling single malt whisky. Yes, they are available in pretty much every pub, supermarket and off-licence from Scunthorpe through to Kensington. And yes, they are available worldwide. BUT! I argue. They are vastly misrepresented because of this proliferation. After being introduced to whisky by drinking Talisker and Laphroaig with my Dad, I drank Glenfiddich with mates in a variety of pubs. My point? I drink such a wide range of whiskies now, but it wouldn't be without the Glenfiddich 12 year old that I could have begun to afford to do this.

Stage One. Glenfiddich 12 year old with friends in rural pubs in sleepy but largely drunk Shropshire. Stage Two. I'm nineteen in a whisky bar in Edinburgh with limited funds and I try my first highly aged whisky. It's the Glenfiddich 30 year old; I begin to appreciate 'fine' whisky. Stage Three. I work in the whisky trade I sample the Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix... life is perfect. Glenfiddich for all its availability remains for me a motorway to whisky appreciation. So, yes, I will continue to drink whiskies from small, exciting distilleries. Yes, I will continue to drink obscure cask-strength bottlings. And, yes, I will continue to drink Glenfiddich because it represents two important facets of whiskies. One, it is accessible and affordable which invites new acolytes into our glorious world. Two, as demonstrated with bottlings like the Age of Discovery and the Snow Phoenix, it's rather damn good.

A selection of the stills
at Glenfiddich

Glenfiddich is a rather large distillery, boasting twenty-eight stills of three different shapes. It is still family owned which is something of a triumph for the world's number one single malt. To cap it off the family's blend, the renowned Grant's, is the third largest blend in the world. Despite all of this there is ingenuity within the company, demonstrated with the superb Solera Vat and Rich Oak bottlings. The first using the Spanish/Portugese system that means the vat is always left at least half full (potentially some whisky from the first dosage is still in there; fast forward fifteen years...); the latter uses virgin American and Spanish oak for excellent results. So yes we've all tried an array of delights from casks from Islay to Japan but where would we be without that Glenfiddich 12 year old in that pub smelling discreetly of cabbage and pumping power ballads out of the jukebox; I'd argue not here. Not in a world of singe casks and a whsky boom. So here's to Glenfiddich - the beginning!

I was lucky... quite a while back. Steve Rush of that there Whisky Wire invited me to a Twitter Twasting to try not one.. not two.. not even three.. but four Glenfiddich whiskies. I was happy to join, but curse my luck I had to host another tasting elsewhere and could not participate. Still, I am armed with the whiskies so a tasting is well in order! To top off my good luck, Jamie Milne of that there Glenfiddich kindly invited me to my Almer Mater's big brother, Boisdale of Canary Wharf, to taste a few more of this Speyside distillery's delights. So here follows a lot of tasting notes...

Firstly the Twitter Tasting samples:

Glenfiddich 12 Year Old
40% - Distillery Bottled
Nose: Nutty caramel at first, becoming vinous with stewed pears to compliment. With time a gooseberry element appears.
Palate: Soft and sweet with a slight bite. Biscuit and spice pleasantly massage the palate.
Finish: Malty with oaky vanilla and spice.
Overall: This is a whisky that has so much going for it, and is as great a Scotch for beginners as it is for the veteran wanting a relaxing dram.

Glenfiddich Solera Vat
40% - 15 Years Old - Distillery Bottled
Nose: Orange rind, raisins and currants, vanilla pods, mixed spice. After this Christmas cake fanfare there are pleasing notes of cider.
Palate: A burst of spice and fruitcake, very sweet, very rich. Then I get a suggestion of smoke?
Finish: Gentle oak, Christmas cake dough, stewed apples and dark brown sugar. A long finish becoming creamy and spicier with time.
Overall: I think this long tasting note says it all, a great whisky. Plus the use of the Solera system promises plenty for the future!

Glenfiddich 18 Year Old
40% - Distillery Bottled
Nose: Chocolate cake topped with fudge, on a bed of stewed pears scattered with mincemeat.
Palate: Rich Christmas pudding notes followed with plain chocolate and ground coffee. Finally some of that pear from the nose spins in.
Finish: Very gentle but lengthy with light spice, cinnamon maybe.
Overall: This whisky is more elegant than the above and arguably more refined. A pleasing dram that presents its age nicely but not as exciting as the Solera Vat.

Glenfiddich Age of Discovery
40% - 19 Years Old - Madeira Casks
Nose: In the nicest possible way; cheap dark chocolate. Then there is a storm of nutmeg, stewing Bramley apples metamorphing into Granny Smith's, and a dusting of cinnamon.
Palate: Intense rich stewed fruits with a fair dollop of wood spice. On top of this there is orange zest and essence of a sweet shop.
Finish: Chocolatey, with light fleshy fruit and in time sour sweets provide a fantastic encore.
Overall: A really interesting whisky here, I don't usually appreciate Madeira finishes, but the Age of Discovery demonstrates their use excellently. If I was nitpicking I'd argue for a higher ABV to give this great whisky more weight, but I quite like that Glenfiddich flys the bottle-strength flag proudly!

And the ones Jamie Milne kindly allowed me to try:

Glenfiddich Rich Oak
40% - 14 Years Old - Virgin American and Spanish Oak
Nose: Clear new oak influence, fresh orange juice and peel, leading to dominant vanilla and dried apple. With time - oat cake notes develop.
Palate: Very creamy, focussing on vanilla and lime zest flavours; with the oak perpetuating throughout.
Finish: Masses of oak here, with tempting hazelnut nuances on top.
Overall: The new make spirit really comes through. This dram is evidently oaky but the virgin wood influence never destroys the balance of the palate.

Glenfiddich Distillery Edition
51% - 15 Years Old
Nose: Grapes and gooseberries join a floral nose with strong yet clean vanilla notes.
Palate: Ginger and black pepper immersed in blackberries.
Finish: Ashy at first but followed by blackcurrant jelly and dried berry fruits.
Overall: The unusually high ABV is excellently disguised. This whisky tastes very different from the distillery norm but is very good for it.

Glenfiddich Gran Reserva
40% - 21 Years Old - Rum Cask
Nose: Banana with light heathery floral notes doused in brown sugar and heaps of figs and dates.
Palate: Fruity and peppery; with lime highlights and hints of anise and spearmint.
Finish: Citrus limes notes dominate with cardamon spice and a distinct fruitiness.
Overall: Intriguing; this Glenfiddich offers something different again, like the Distillery Edition. This whisky adds something once again to the Glenfiidich range.

Merry Christmas! (and a Dalmore Cigar Malt)

Merry Christmas from me and Mrs Peatreek!

Well it’s finally Christmas, marking the end of the busiest two weeks of my working life. So I was well in the need for some Compass Box Hedonism chased with a glass of Last Vatted Grain and some Port in front of the film epic that is Matilda to put me in the festive spirit. This morning Buck’s Fizz was the order of the day with a bottle of 2000 Chateau Lanessan with venison Christmas lunch. The drink will continue to flow with Blackwood’s 60% Gin, 2009 Meursault from Frederic Magnien, then Port and an angelic host of Christmas whiskies.

Choosing a whisky for Christmas is always a challenge but this year there is a clear winner. After years of scepticism of the Dalmore range I am finally discovering their grandiose charms. The 15 Year Old revealed a fantastic finish to me, the 18 Year Old a chocolate smothered palate and the King Alexander the most sensuous nose. However it is the latest release that has topped them all (and it contains no E150a!) this is the Dalmore Cigar Malt, the replacement to the Gran Reserva and an eye-opening dram.

Dalmore Cigar Malt
44% - No Age Statement – Distillery Bottled
Nose: Hoyo de Monterrey cedar cigar box notes with classic Dalmore toffee, rich red fruits, port, leather and a mustiness I associate with old attics.
Palate: Fairly light body with toast and tobacco spice notes.
Finish: Tobacco leaf, rich but with a soft sherried conclusion.
Overall: An aptly named whisky, apparently the ideal cigar pairing is with a Partagas Series P No. 2 although I’d argue a cigar of that calibre would overwhelm the lighter notes of this whisky, but then I don’t smoke, so the allure of cigars is somewhat lost on me. Merry Christmas everyone, Slainte!

One To Calm The Nerves... Caol Ila 18 Year Old

There was a panic in my girlfriend's eyes like I had never seen before, I could understand her manic frustration perfectly. We had been pounding the cold dark streets of the Isle of the Dogs on a desperate mission to find a most important temporal artefact. As we muscled our way into every shop we passed, we tore down the aisles not hesitating to put back the items we had thrown off the shelves in our frantic search. As each shop became a venue of disappointment, as the shadows grew longer and as the wind became more piercing, we began to take on the hunched dribbling shapes of incensed maniacs. Our search was becoming a forlorn hope, a quest without its Holy Grail, a maze without an exit. Then, without warning, a beam of light struck us, and as we shielded our eyes from its brilliance we could just make out a name... Tesco. Inside this humble bazaar we would find our goal amongst its trinkets and delectables. Here we found our salvation. Here we found the last available Advent Calenders on the Isle of the Dogs on the third of December. Three days into the month and every calender this side of Poplar had sold out. We were left with a Mars calender for myself and a Pixar Cars 2 calender for Ellen (she's never seen the film). We could return home clinging to our wares exhausted, happy - adventurous.

After all that stress it was time for a whisky and what better whisky to settle back and crack three windows of Mars chocolate with than a Caol Ila 18 year old?

Caol Ila 18 Year Old
43% - Distillery Bottling
Nose: Gusty Highland sea shore with smoking ship's beams cut with kiwi and passion fruit and a splash of cream. Finished with a wallop of peat.
Palate: Sizeable peat influence with a light but sea salty body powdered with white pepper.
Finish: Peat and pepper with parma violets and some herbal action, good length.
Overall: A well made peated whisky, if a little uninspiring. Tasty but not eye-opening.

Bad Things Come In T's... Tullibardine 1992

Bad things by all accounts come in threes, or so I am reliably informed. Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini were knocking around at the same time. There's the evil green threesome that is broccoli, courgettes and Brussels sprouts (forgive my childishness); and there were three members of the band Busted. Not that I'm implying that Busted were in any way as bad as the aforementioned dictators - the vegetables, however, definitely are. I contest superstitious sayings such as bad things come in threes and the toast always lands butter side down as conjecture and a willingness to substantiate superstition with coincidence and ignorance of all conflicting evidence. Despite my dislike of such sayings I am as much a victim of their baseless assumptions as anyone else. I don't like the number 13, I will dive towards anything that remotely resembles wood the moment someone screams, 'touch wood' and I have some time for the archaic view in the whisky world that whiskies beginning with the letter T (with the exception of Talisker) tend to be pretty awful. I have tried to steer clear of negative reviews as I don't find them constructive and as a rule I detest pessimism. However, when I sampled a Tullibardine recently, I had to pass some comment, although I will remain open to other bottlings.

Tullibardine 1992
53.8% - 18 Years Old - Cask 15022 - John Black 5 Bottling - Sherry Cask
Nose: A heady nose with fresh orange, vanilla and light red fruits with a very distinct and pungent smell of Bourbon that I would not associate with an aged sherried whisky.
Palate: A creamy sour mash palate that was sickly and a little too bitter, with no overall complexity.
Finish: Caramel, that's it, thankfully short.
Overall: I could have sworn I was drinking Bourbon, this was not what I was expecting from a sherried whisky at all, not a pleasant surprise. I'd have been better off opening a bottle of Four Roses, at least I wouldn't have poured the glass down the sink. Woefully inadequate.

Grant's Twitter Tasting

Last Wednesday evening I was in a hurry. My heart was pounding and my adrenaline soaring as I crashed down the escalators at Tottenham Court Road, knocking tourists and business people to the floor in my mental haste. I tore through the ticket barriers, sidestepped a police officer and leaped onto my train. As soon as the train pulled into my home station I threw myself out of the doors almost bludgeoning an innocent bystander with my bag and I scattered down the stairs executing a combat roll at the bottom purely for style. You may ask why I was making this Jason Bourne-eske effort to get home. The reason for this mad-dash rush was that I was meant to be participating in a Twitter Tasting courtesy of The Whisky Wire and Grant’s Whisky but thanks to an emergency I was leaving work an hour later than planned. While I was on the train I stewed in silence as I realised the world was against me taking part in Twitter Tastings. Last time my computer wouldn’t play cricket so I had to strap two Blackberry’s together and this time I was running late, I think next time I will be staying at home, rigging a Moon Mission array of computers up in my flat and won’t answer the phone until every whisky has been tasted and tweeted. Anyway… Thankfully my girlfriend had Twitter up and running as soon as I got in and had my whisky poured ready so I only missed the first half and was able to jump straight in and taste the eighteen and twenty-five year old Grant’s blends. I was in for quite a treat as these whiskies were well worth a sprint home. For the sake of continuity I will write my notes in the order I should have tasted them starting with the Ale Cask then moving from the twelve to the eighteen to the twenty-five year old. Thanks to everyone who took part and to Steve at The Whisky Wire and Ludo of Grant’s Whisky!

Grant’s Ale Cask Finish 
40% - No Age Statement – Scotch Blend 
Nose: There is the instant suggestion of the influence of hops creating a cereal forward nose with sponge cake and honeyed cream. With time a grassy quality emerges becoming more and more gorse like.
Palate: Creamy with malt biscuit flavours with a bitterness I would associate with beer. Usually this would put me off a whisky but I thought it played nicely with its cask finish.
Finish: A little sharp but refreshing and malty.
Overall: This is the first ale cask finish I have ever tried and I like new approaches. The whisky didn’t have much depth but compensated with it’s beery character.

Grant’s 12 Year Old 
40% - Scotch Blend 
Nose: Heavy on the cinnamon with plenty of vanilla and a hint of lemon curd. Most interestingly there is a charcoal element that is quite intriguing.
Palate: Very light and delicate with wood spice and an earthy quality that draws on the charcoal notes from the nose.
Finish: Brief with notes of spice and vanilla pods.
Overall: Great nose with lots going on, this blend really requires a longer finish to gain the favour it should deserve.

Grant’s 18 Year Old 
40% - Scotch Blend – Port Cask Finish 
Nose: Port leaps out of the glass first with rich cake notes smothered in marzipan and candied orange peel. With time conifer forest notes appear with a hint of peat.
Palate: Very earthy, with rich fruitcake and warming peat adding depth and a satisfying aftertaste.
Finish: Spice and jam go hand in hand here in what I like to call a chutney finish.
Overall: So much more going on here than in the previous two whiskies. The port finish gives the nose delicious fortified wine notes, and the palate is beautifully rich and luxurious. A blend done good!

Grant’s 25 Year Old 
40% - Scotch Blend – Rare malts and early Girvan in the mix. 
Nose: Peaches and ginger in a soft but spicy tango followed by rich brandy sauce and Christmas pudding. The Whisky Review noted cola sweets and I have to heartily agree here.
Palate: A creamy palate once again here but with plain chocolate stirred through. This leads to pulpy dried fruits, notably dates and prunes with an alcoholic cherry flavour following.
Finish: Long and spicy with almonds sprinkled over. Beyond this there is coffee and an essence of wood smoke.
Overall: Packed with interesting flavours that compliment and enhance one another, complexity is the word here. I couldn’t decide between this and the eighteen year old… although in hindsight it had to be the twenty-five, it makes me want to pour another glass.

Fall Into Autumn with the Longrow 18 Year Old

After a brief dalliance with an Indian Summer, where ice cream and shorts became the rage for a week, finally autumn is upon us. Autumn is my favourite season. This is because the mixture of low light and cooler temperatures make autumn a great pub season, scratch that, drinking season. Cider is well suited to the heady browns and oranges that surround us, dark ales are ideal for the falling temperatures and gin is perfect for relaxing on long Sunday afternoons in front of the telly. What I am struggling to find this year is a whisky that best compliments the season. It can't be too heavy as it isn't winter yet, when a powerful dram is needed to warm the belly. It can't be too light as we are no longer in the glorious heights of summer. It shouldn't be a smoky fireside dram or a heavily sherried malt for after a Christmas dinner. What it needs is a careful balance of everything. It has taken me some time but I think I have found it...

Longrow 18 Year Old
46% - Bottled by Springbank
Nose: Oak smoke is immediately identifiable but not so heavy as previous Longrows, ideal for balmy evenings. Next comes the rhubarb I always get from Longrow and Springbank followed by refreshing mint and mild herbs, finished with a sprinkling of sea salt.
Palate: I can only describe this as musky grape, there is an evident fruitiness coupled with light wood smoke that creates a pleasant soothing muskiness.
Finish: A mixture of tropical and berry fruits floating on a layer of earthy smoke. Strong, long and salty.
Overall: Utterly top notch, the fruit gives this dram a vibrancy, the light peatiness gives it structure and its age gives it a long crisp finish. I am a huge fan of Longrow, and I think this is the first to match the incredible C.V. expression. Perfect autumn drinking, a winner!