Can you figure it out? ...As We Get It 8 Year Old

I've always liked the idea of detective work, not in a News of the World tap-your-phone-kinda-way, but in a Sherlock Holmesian deductive style. I quite like how logic and attention to detail can unearth a story hidden behind finger prints, mysterious notes and a mad dog on a moor. There is an inherent romance in the power of mind and reason over seemingly disparate evidence that when pieced together solves a heinous mystery. In the same way I've always enjoyed reading studies relating to the evolution of man. How with a few bones and a couple of rocks paleontogolists and anthropologists can discern where we came from, when we came from and how we came from being apes picking each others scalps to being literate beasts capable of making fine oak-aged spirits that in large quantities send us back so many thousands of years to being chimps in the mud again.

There has been a fun development in Scottish whisky in recent years. This is the bottling of single malt whiskies under brand rather than distillery names, Smokehead jumps to mind here. The idea is that the distillery remains a mystery to the consumer, this of course invites speculation as to which distillery produced which mystery bottling. Recently I tried one of Ian Macleod's 8 year old Islay As We Get It bottlings, and had a shot at identifying the distillery behind the mystery. My guess was Ardbeg, although with only a small glass to taste from I could easily be wrong. It wasn't as maritime as Laphroaig, Bowmore or Caol Ila, and too old to be Kilchoman. Bunnahabhain and Bruichladdich were definitely not the distilleries and Lagavulin just seemed unlikely. So with its densely peaty character and lack of maritime seaweed, my guess is Ardbeg, but I am happy to be corrected!

As We Get It
58.4% ABV - 8 Years Old - Bottled by Ian Macleod
Nose: Cloves crash into the sinuses first followed by the gentle caress of toffee which in turn is followed by a sweet peatness that warns of the storm to come.
Palate: Spicy with strong peat, there is a touch of medicinal orange that is needed to cure a hot palate.
Finish: Coal smoke at first, if a tad bitter, with a long nutty conclusion.
Overall: I quite enjoyed this dram, it had some flavours that intrigued, others that battered and ones that soothed. Great stuff indeed!

Youth has no age: Kilkerran Release 3

The new and exciting is a phrase that offers more hype and hyperbole than a story about Katie Price's silicon-to-flesh ratio in the, ever meaningful tabloid, the Sun. It is easy to jump on a bandwagon of exuberant journalism and Internet ecstasy whenever anything new is unleashed upon a world chomping at the bit for something fresher than yesterday's news to derive entertainment and short-term satisfaction from. The consequence is a world motivated by the imminent and short-term. Conversely, the backlash is the cynicism and borderline eroticism of the past. Too often are the good old days referenced, when men were men, women were women and horses were cars. We tend to find comfort in the past and excitement in the future, and for me this leads to an aggravating paradox. I love the idea of rolling fields and old man's pubs but I simultaneously love busy cities and high concept bars.

In the whisky world it is a dilemma I face virtually daily. On the one hand I have ancient whiskies often from distilleries long gone and on the other I have a host of new distilleries and distilling practices offering a step into the future. The balance is hard to maintain, I've had my fair share of over-aged drudge and I've had enough "experimental" drams to turn me into a new-age Michael Jackson (pop-star not critic). So it gives me great pleasure when I find something new that reflects what has gone before. This dram is the latest release from Glengyle, the Kilkerran Release 3. A young whisky that offers something fresh and rewarding with flashbacks to a regional style - the new and old mashed perfectly together.

Kilkerran Release 3
46% - No Age Statement - Bottled at Glengyle
Nose: Gorse puncturing a heathery landscape. Hot cross buns, cardemon and a particular honeyed sweetness follow with salty popcorn and seafood keeping pace behind. Finally gooseberries provide a refreshing vibrancy to a packed nose.
Palate: Spicy, smooth, silky, creamy. A buttery sweetness coats the mouth lightly begging for the next sip.
Finish: A biscuity finish with a coastal quality. A touch of oak is present that doesn't appeal to me greatly but then I never take to oak easilly.
Overall: Spot on, a saltiness and lightness brings me back to the regional style, but its outdoorsy vibrancy keeps me intrigued. A whisky for drinking readily.