...where distraction is the main attraction.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Notes from a tasting: Peatin' Meetin' Whiskies at Home, Part 2

To recap, while I did attend Peatin' Meetin' this year, I did not drink during the event.  Instead I picked up a baker's dozen samples, all of which I will be tasting in the controlled environment of my home.


Most of these samples are 0.5oz (unless otherwise noted), so I probably won't be providing numerical grades.  Instead, I'll be giving each one a letter grade range.

Last week I tasted four of the samples, this week I did three.  Here's the list:

-- Balvenie 17 year old Islay Cask (OB, 43% ABV) - Grade Range: B-/B
-- Loch Lomond Peated, green label (OB, 46% ABV) - Grade Range: D+/C-
-- Bowmore 16 year old 1990 Sherry Cask (OB, 53.8% ABV) - Grade Range: B-
-- Laphroaig 13 year old 1994 (Cadenhead, 54.7% ABV) - Grade Range: B-/B
-- Bladnoch Lightly Peated 11 year old 2002 K&L exclusive (OB, 51.5%)
-- Longrow 10 year old Sherrywood (OB, 46% ABV)
-- Laphroaig 15 year old 1998 K&L exclusive (Signatory, 61% ABV)
-- ???
-- ???
-- ???
-- ???
-- ???
-- ???



Bladnoch Lightly Peated 11 year old 2002 K&L exclusive (OB, 51.5%)
K&L picked up three single barrels of Bladnoch directly from the distillery: this one, a 4yo, and a 23yo
Nose -- Oakier than it looks, with some wood pulp and butter going on, though that part isn't too strong. The peat reads as a recently snuffed bonfire. There's a larger note of lemon peel and a hint of fresh peach.
Palate -- Lots of citrus.  A very nice bitterness, light sweetness.  A rye-ish spice meets a gentle mossiness and a peep of tropical fruit.
Finish -- Mild spice, mild bitterness.  Hot cereal and caramel.

Grade Range: B
Even though it probably would get lost at Peatin' Meetin' amongst the heavy hitters, this is actually a very solid mild peater.  For me, it's one of the rare whiskys whose palate trumps its nose.  I liked it even more than the Cadenhead Laphroaig.  If the Armstrongs had figured out how to nail this as a 46% ABVer, it would've been very nice in a regular Bladnoch range.

Longrow 10 year old Sherrywood (OB, 46% ABV)
original part of the regular range, it was discontinued sometime around 2008
Nose -- The sherry note itself is subtle as everything has merged together lushly. Tropical fruit, toffeed peat, milk chocolate, faint smoke, orange peel, maple, and a hint of oats.
Palate -- A quirky start: mint and basil and caramel sauce meet a very farmy peat.  Then there's black licorice, a little salt, and a lotta malt.  Fresh cherries in simple syrup develop over time.
Finish -- Long. Loads of malt. Peppery spice and peat residue. Cherry candy and fresh oranges.

Grade Range: B+/A-
Good god.  Springbank, please bring this back.

Laphroaig 15 year old 1998 K&L exclusive (Signatory, 61% ABV) 
I grabbed almost a full ounce of this stuff, which had been aged in a refill sherry butt
Nose -- A summer meadow, then that same meadow burned down.  Wheat bread toast and aged dry cheese.  There's some meaty sherry in the background, along with a little bit of floral stuff, farmy notes, and orange peel.  With water, it develops dog fur, pepper, bacon, and hay notes; and becomes less smoky in the process.
Palate -- Intense char, menthol, and hops. Sherry and prunes at the very edges. Some earthy notes in there too.  With water it gets hoppier and sweeter; the smoke fades and the peat moss builds.
Finish -- Charred peat and a soft floral note. Next-day cigar mouth.  With water, the smoke returns along with a spicy bite.

Grade Range: B/B+
The nose gets the B+.  Overall, pretty good, quality-wise comparable to the better official 10 year old CS batches.  I could understand paying $100 for this, but $170?  Not I.



That was a happy trio. I liked all three better than any of the four from last week.  Longrow 10 year old Sherrywood is in first place, with Loch Lomond Peated (green label) safely in last.  I won't be able to post next weekend, but I'll get the next round of Peatin' samples in as soon as I can.

18 comments:

  1. Three Bladnoch single barrels. A 23 year old (pre-Armstrong), a 11 year old, and a very young 4 year old. I know because I somehow bought all three.

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    1. I haven't opened any of them but Sku liked the 23 (http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2014/03/liquidated-liquid-three-new-bladnochs.html). It does present a great spectrum of Bladnoch at different points in its history.

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    2. Wow, that 23yo must have gone quickly. I don't even remember that one. Actually, I kinda wish my sample of the 11yo had the weird funk that Sku had found in his.

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    3. I actually pre-ordered that one so I have no idea how long the 23 lasted on the shelves (it's likely all the bottles were snapped up in pre-sales). Normally I don't buy something unless I see some reviews or taste the whisky beforehand but it's not often an old regime Bladnoch pops up on the radar.

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  2. Well... you guys should buy Bladnoch as long as it's available... things will change soon :(

    Beside this i have to say that I prefer the unpeated version. I received half a bottle of the 9yo lightly peated (2011 bottling) some time ago. Somehow i had the feeling that the peat is adding some bitter notes to the fresh profile.

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    1. Hey Cobo! Yeah, it sounds like things were a little rocky there even before they went into liquidation. Do you know if anyone has bought them out?

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    2. A May BBC article mentioned that multiple bidders are interested. The one that looks most promising was from Arran Brewery (no relation to Arran Distillery). I believe Arran Brewery has been attempting to set up their own whisky distillery for a few years now. If they can buy Bladnoch, they wouldn't need to do much legwork.

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    3. In fact, Arran Brewery tried and failed to buy the old Rosebank site so Bladnoch going into liquidation appears to have come at the right time.

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  3. Some comments on the old bladnoch forum mention that companies from India are showing interest

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    1. It would be an excellent opportunity since the stills and warehouse are already built. And I was wondering when India was going to officially enter the Scotch business.

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    2. Wasn't Whyte and Mackay owned by an Indian company until the Diageo buyout.

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    3. For some reason my brain never connects United Spirits ownership of Whyte & Mackay with India. I always think of it as the playtoy of an international billionaire whose other businesses become unsuccessful so he then tries to use it as a cash machine, also unsuccessfully. But yeah, Vijay is Indian.

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  4. Right now chances are high that Bladnoch will be a lost distillery soon. Both indian Mittal Group and Vatika Group (the only left bidders) are not into whisky business :(

    Let's hope for the best... maybe it's just another rumor... i erally hope so.

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    1. Oy, 'cause what the industry needs is more owners who don't know anything about the product. :-P

      I like the idea someone had regarding starting up a Kickstarter campaign and if every whisky geek coughed up $100, we'd all own Bladnoch. Chaos would then ensue, but it would be fun.

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    2. The funny thing is that I started a discussion about that on our forum. The problem is that Kickstarter don't allow Alcohol related projects on their platform... but crowdfunding would be a nice option ;)

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    3. It's a shame Kickstarter doesn't allow alcohol projects. How difficult is it to age check? And if there's an entrepreneurial 17 year old out there who wants to buy a piece of Bladnoch, then let him have at it! There are worst whisky owners out there.

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  5. Some news here... Bladnoch was sold to Vatika Group. The good thing is that they want to keep the production up and running and also have plans to increase production. We will see how this will develop.

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    1. Thanks for the update. According to Google, Vatika Group seems to specialize in construction and real estate development. So, that's......interesting.

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