Bad Reputation: Blended Malts... Compass Box Eleuthera and Wemyss Peat Chimney

Scandalous

Myth’s and fabrications can make or break reputations. Many a celebrity has been thrown into the lion’s pit of paparazzi exposure and tabloid conjecture that has quashed their careers like the Resistance on Alderaan. It only takes a slight turn of phrase to turn an innocent comment into an insult that strikes the very core of human morality and creates a reputation feeding frenzy that keeps the tabloid beast sated for several months. As soon as a reputation is tarnished it becomes very difficult to scrub it clean - no amount of Brasso is going to help Matthew Kelly reclaim his former fame. The other approach of course is to revel in it, as the indomitable Russell Brand does, so that any misbehaviour can be turned into a ladder to the stars.

Reputation is central to the perception of a whisky; it can win a whisky great favour and allow them to charge increasingly high prices off the back of it. Or, conversely, it can lead to a long hard crawl back to recognition and acceptance. Beyond brand awareness reputation also affects the perception of types of whisky. No other type of whisky has received such a panning as Scottish blends and blended malt. Consistently, and I argue - wrongly, blends (and blended malts) are seen as an inferior product to the more expensive and purer single malts. This myth that blends are somehow a cop-out version of the ‘better’ single malts is in urgent need of reversal. Thankfully a small number of blending companies are trying to overturn the wash of apathy and demonstrate to the world that blended can be better.

When talking about modern blends and blended malts, one company always jumps to mind. That company is of course Compass Box, who I jump at any chance to review. Compass Box are beginning an enlightenment in the world of blended whisky. Their Spice Tree and Hedonism bottlings in particular are testament to the work they have done to show blended can mean better. Alongside Compass Box there is another company doing superb work. This company is that of Wemyss Malts. Their philosophy is that the world’s best wines are all blends so why shouldn’t this apply to whisky? It wasn’t until the other weekend when I finally got to try one of the Wemyss range (and I was very impressed, as you will see) that I have to agree with them. Why shouldn’t a whisky be better than the sum of its parts? The same weekend my dad and I visited a small beer and whisky shop in Ludlow (Shropshire) and, to our luck, we found a Compass Box bottling that as far as I am aware is no longer available. After purchasing a bottle and a fair few beers, we went home to try this elusive blended malt, as well as the Wemyss Malt my dad had purchased previously.

Compass Box Eleuthera
46% - Scotch Blended Malt
Nose: At first peppery reminding me instantly of Talisker. This leads to a soft blend of wood smoke and peat complimented with gooseberry and brine, with time pleasant banana notes introduce themselves subtlety.
Palate: There is a grainy texture I associate with the Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix with honey and red fruits (notably strawberry and raspberry) served on a smoky palette.
Finish: Peaty with salt and fennel concluding with a shot of coffee.
Overall: Why is this whisky no longer made? This for me was an instant go to whisky which unfortunately it can never be. There is peat present without being excessive, pepper without being hot, and green fruit balanced with red. Just excellent.

Wemyss Peat Chimney
40% - 8 Years Old – Scotch Blended Malt
Nose: A fantastic combination of iodine peat smoke and Christmas pudding, or maritime sherry if I can coin the term. This combination that often doesn’t work melds excellently in this blended malt.
Palate: Peat and pepper hold the ground here; the palate is beautifully light and is completely un-cloying.
Finish: A burst of spice topped with clean peat, fresh and to the point.
Overall: Exceptionally pleasant, clear but not overpowering peat, this dram has a bite but doesn’t shake. I have to try Wemyss’ Spice King and Hive soon!

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.

Lesson Learnt: Nikka All Malt

A quick lesson today: Don't judge a book by its cover. For months I have avoided Nikka's All Malt with a vengeance. The combination of plain packaging, low price and uninspiring name repulsed me, and then of course I tried it. No surprise here; it was actually very good. I'm still getting to grips with how it is made but as far as I understand it, it is made entirely of blended malt whisky from Yoichi and Miyagikyo except some has been distilled in a Coffey still (traditionally used for grain whisky) rather than the classic pot still. However it is made it is highly enjoyable and is a point-and-case example of why a whisky shouldn't be judged by it name, price or packaging.

All Malt
40% - 100% malt/blend - Bottled by Nikka
Nose: Mounds of toffee and fudge on top of a cinnamon bun with soft spices dusting this sugary mess.
Palate: Vanilla and mocha are imminently available but strawberry ice lolly commands the stage with highlights of fromage frais.
Finish: Espresso closes this full-flavoured dram with Demerara sugar lingering on.
Overall: I was very surprised by how delicious this whisky was. Lots of clearly defined flavours packed into one whisky. A bargain!

The Whisky Wire's Compass Box Twasting

A little while back I received a message from Steve Rush of The Whisky Wire asking if I would be at all interested in participating in a Twitter tasting or more concisely put, a ‘Twasting’. For me this was a no-brainer. All the more so because the whiskies that would be tantalizing our taste-buds would be the ever excellent Compass Box whiskies that I have enthused about before. I eagerly replied to accept my invitation and a few weeks later I received my three precious samples. The first, Compass Boxes new offering - the Great King Street Artist’s Blend, then the stylistic Spice Tree and finally the effervescent Peat Monster. I stored them away carefully for their grand opening on Wednesday 21st September. On Wednesday evening a minor disaster struck. My girlfriend’s laptop that I had been borrowing spectacularly crashed and left me without the internet access I required to participate. Thankfully not deterred I found a solution. With cunning, I strapped two Blackberry’s together, each with Twitter access and with these and my samples I was ready to roll. On one screen I had a feed running for the evening’s hashtag: #CBtwasting, and on the other my own live feed that I could update. As 8pm approached Steve began the countdown, I had my drams poured and my fingers itching to type. Then the clock struck eight and the tweets began to roll. At first I was worried that the sheer number of tweets would cause confusion and make it difficult to keep up, but my fears were quickly put to rest. It became a great game of tasting, writing a note, commenting on fellow Twasters’ own notes and retweeting everything I agreed with. The hour and a half it took passed quickly. Each whisky receiving what seemed short at the time thanks to my immersion in the Twitterverse approximately thirty minutes. So what can I say about them? Well, firstly it was hard to choose a favourite. I am a huge fan of all three, the GKS for me is an excellent aperitif whisky, the history of the original Spice Tree being banned appeals to me greatly, and the Peat Monster is a fantastic smoky blended malt. The second thing I would say is that all of them demonstrate brilliantly the potential of blended whisky. I would happily exchange a Compass Box offering for a single malt whisky any day, here’s to hoping other blenders catch the zeitgeist. As my fingers are still tired from bashing Blackberry buttons let’s jump to my notes, and do keep an eye on The Whisky Wire for any future events he runs, I can promise fun and dram related shenanigans will make for a very fun evening.

Great King Street Artist’s Blend
43% - No Age Statement – Blended Whisky
Nose: For me marshmallows and banana dominate or foam banana as was kindly suggested to me during the Twasting. I also got lemon and syrupy fruit.
Palate: Quite light but with substantial mouth-feel, bananas and cream and citrus fruits.
Finish: Butter icing lasting a surprisingly long time.
Overall: As mentioned a great aperitif and a great go to whisky if you want to settle back and relax with a dram.

Spice Tree
46% - No Age Statement – Blended Malt
Nose: Apples and mulling spices in a mulled cider kind of style with icing sugar on a second sniff.
Palate: SPICE! Is the active word here: Cardamon, cloves, cinnamon, cumin with a vanilla sweetness lurking behind.
Finish: Chewy and spicy clinging on for a long while after. Utterly satisfying.
Overall: Spice and sweetness complimenting each other perfectly, does what it says on the tin.

Peat Monster
46% - No Age Statement – Blended Malt
Nose: Warm embers, soft seaweed notes, gammon and grassy ashes.
Palate: A meaty maritime palate thanks to the presence of Laphroaig. Raspberry and tropical fruits in amidst a creamy quality swiftly follow.
Finish: Salty with a seaweed character but not at all overpowering, allowing the flavours to hold and intermingle pleasantly.
Overall: Excellent, smoky whisky, not harsh or abrupt a whisky to savour and a suitable end to my first Twasting!

Thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire, Compass Box and all involved for a fantastic evening. See my 'blogs I like' page to follow Steve.

Blogger to Blender...

A little while back I let my arrogance get the better of me. I foolishly thought that blending whisky must be easy and could be done in an afternoon. Buoyed up with thoughts of being the next Richard Paterson I set about my vain work. The concept was simple, make a blend combining the flavour profiles of three of my favourite (apologies for the f-word) distilleries: Talisker, Highland Park and Springbank. I set up my tools; an array of pipettes, Glencairns and some tongue stretches to get my palate loosened up. Having never attempted blending whisky before and caught up in the excitement of the moment I didn’t really think through the intricacies of making a blend, my foresight went as far as to record quantities used (that I later lost) and to include a grain whisky, as a blend would of course be a combination of both single malts and grain whisky. What I hadn’t considered was firstly that most bottles of whiskies are already an optimum blend of different casks, secondly that alcohol is a volatile substance and therefore some whiskies would not combine and thirdly that blends are usually allowed time to vat to become a whole. Okay, technically there was a fourth element I had completely forgotten in my fervour to become the next blending giant and that is that I don’t know what I’m doing. Having forgotten all of this I set about my task.

For all of my glaringly obvious mistakes I did have myself a very fun afternoon. I used Cameron Brig and another single grain whisky for the grain element of my blend then I went in heavy on the Talisker 10 year old. After tasting it later it became apparent that I should have held back on the Talisker as it clashed the most with the other flavours. I waded on adding equal quantities of the Springbank 15 year old and the Highland Park 12 year old. This is when it started to go wrong. In an effort to combat the increasingly bitter flavour the blend was taking on I began adding a variety of different malts to balance out the flavour, including Glenfarclas 30 year old and MacAllan 12 year old. The idea behind the Glenfarclas was to add some age and depth to the blend, whereas the MacAllan was supposed to soften out the bitterness; instead it overpowered the constituent parts. In a moment of inspiration I added Longrow C.V. that actually married quite nicely giving the blend a touch of smoke and I reckon complimented the Springbank quite well. After adding a few more bits and bobs and tinkering with the quantities I was forced to admit defeat. Dr. Jekyll had morphed into Mr. Hyde. So below I provide the tasting notes for my humbling blending attempt.

Peatreek Blend 1.0
Blend – No Age Statement
Nose: The nose was surprisingly wholesome and was the only part of the blend that actually worked. A lovely maltiness arrives first with waves of sea breeze and light fruits, with apple wood smoke drifting behind. Underneath is a touch of caramel and vanilla that plays quite nicely with the malty foreground. This blend has a nose of two parts: Coastal malt and sherried Speyside.
Palate: Bitter, Talisker dominated and fought a bloody battle with a squabbling opposing army. Truly horrid.
Finish: The bitterness now comes in waves, reminding me of my own idiocy. On the other hand a slight toffee-ness allows for a brief respite.
Overall: A sharp learning curve and a lot of fun. This is by no means my last attempt and next time I will bear in mind what I forgot this time. I will probably use single cask whiskies so that I am working with purer ingredients. I won’t be quite so selfish as to include all of my top whiskies and next time I will let it marry for a time to give the flavours a chance to settle in. Watch this space for future updates…

The Nimrod Sails Again - Shackleton Whisky

Snow casts itself about with lawless abandon, lodging itself in the beard, clinging to the eyelashes and surging up the nostrils. Feet scream in frostbitten pain and the huskies are all but drowned out by the roar of the Yeti. Sharp, icy, penetrating, gale force winds cut to the bone and the sleds are lost in the blanketing lonely whiteout.

There is something undeniably British about romanticising the trials and tribulations of great explorers such as Captain Scott, Sir Edmund Hilary and Ernest Shackleton. In films and books we seek out a taste of that adventure and foolhardy daring. So what if we could physically taste that in the comfort of our armchairs? Thanks to the efforts of the New Zealand Antarctic Trust and the good people at Whyte and Mackay, we can.

In 2006 several cases of 1907 Mackinlay Scotch whisky were found in Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic hut and in 2010 three bottles were carefully removed and thawed for master blender Robert Paterson to taste and then recreate as a blend. He produced a whisky that was as close as he could get to the original. So although we may not be able to throw ourselves to the mercy of the arctic wastes to follow in these great, snowshoe clad footsteps, we can at least taste what got him through that doomed Antarctic expedition.

Shackleton Whisky
47.3% - No Age Statement - Bottled by Whyte & Mackay
Nose: Strawberry and liquorish give way to toast and fragrant smoke and icing sugar.
Palate: Light body with lots of citrus fruit and strawberry.
Finish: Creamy and long.
Overall: A superb blend coupled with a fascinating story. Gimmicks aside this is a great whisky! To cap it off it comes in replica packaging to enhance the sense of adventure.

Get it here.