...where distraction is the main attraction.

Friday, October 3, 2014

NOT Single Malt Report: Usquaebach Old-Rare blended whisky

First off I'd like to thank JLR for this sample.  We did a sample swap in May of 2013 when we were both experiencing very difficult personal circumstances.  But since then, between our two families, we've had three tremendous little blessings.  As I write this Mathilda rolls around in her crib, trying to swallow her feet.

Until today, I had no idea that this Usquaebach Old-Rare was a $130+ whisky.  Yeah, it has a curious flagon and all that, but what the crap?


The scarce amount of online information about this whisky and its company is odd in the current whisky climate.  Partially it's a good thing because most whisky producers are larding up the whisky internets with marketing, marketing, and marketing.  But it's also not a great thing because this is a $130+ blend with no official description or explanation.  Only large well established brands can sell mystery malarkey for three figures.  So why would someone want to buy this whisky?  For its flagon?  You can get a handmade flagon for less at Etsy or Flagonland (not a thing).

Go ahead, google "Cobalt brands" and/or "Usquaebach Old Rare". Cobalt Brands is a New Jersey importer who may (or may not) be getting help from Douglas Laing with the blending part of things.  The whisky had somewhat of cult-ish following back in the '70s and '80s but that was when it was owned by a different now-defunct company.  Cobalt, who bought the brand not too long ago, sent John Hansell a press release in 2009 full of weird errors which they appear to have never addressed.  Overall, the company and whisky information is all kind of jumbled and I'm still not sure why the whisky is so expensive.  Because it's "Old-Rare" and 225yearsoldohmygod!  Sorry, I'm reaching.

Brand: Usquaebach
Ownership: Cobalt Brands
Type: Scotch Blended Whisky
Age: not stated (no, it isn't 225 years old)
Blend: malt and grain whiskies (there might be 41 Highland malts involved)
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chill-filtered? ???
Caramel Coloring? ???

HIGHBALL ...... nah, I'm not going to make a highball out of a triple digit (price, not age, dude) whisky.

NEAT
The color is yellow gold.  The nose starts with anise and mothballs, then limes and lemons.  The oak seems more toasted than charred, likely American by birth.  There's an herbal twist, maybe coriander/cilantro and mint.  Cassia "cinnamon" sticks.  After some time in the glass, the whisky develops floral perfume notes and hints of papaya.  Overall it's maltier than any of the non-Green Johnnie Walkers and the caramel note is mostly under control.  But there's also a substantial chlorine note that then carries over into the palate, where it expands further.  There's some alcohol bite that follows.  A brief stone fruit sweetness gradually becomes orange candy, then there's a bit of bitterness and some spearmint.  Vanilla ice cream from the big clear plastic buckets.  But the biggest note I keep finding is a dusty moldy mothball waft reminiscent of an old lady's closet.  The medium length finish stays in the old lady's closet -- a peeping tom of a whisky?  The chlorine returns.  Vanilla and caramel emerges.

Hmm.  Again, the nose wins.  It shows off the possibility of the presence of mature Highland malt, though not that old unless the casks were eighth-fill.  But at the same time, there's a lot of super young stuff floating around (thus the lack of age statement), especially the chlorine and cinnamon.  So, while there may be old whisky in the blend there's also a definite quantity of young whisky which tosses the blend out of balance.

So why the high price?  The vessel must be the excuse.  The whisky inside is as completely unknown as the company who put it in there.  The drink isn't a complete mess; as already mentioned, the nose is good, almost great.  And there definitely seems to be a high malt content.  If they could sort out the chlorine and naphthaline issues this could be a successful mid-level blend.  But at a luxury price, I don't see it flying off the shelf.  And after someone purchases one novelty flagon, is he or she ever really going to go back for a second?  Unless Usqueabach starts releasing flagons of different colors......

Availability - Some specialty retailers
Pricing - $100-$140
Rating - 76

18 comments:

  1. The comment thread on the "What Does John Know?" post is utterly fascinating.

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    1. Yeah, that's a trip! Including a comment from one 'mongo', who later changed his moniker to MyAnnoyingOpinions.

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    2. I was going to mention the comment thread. It's really kind of odd and (potentially) informative at the same time. But I did miss the Mongo sightings! Now I see them.

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    3. Stalkers.

      As for the price: you can never pay too much for a whisky whose container can hold your ashes after you're gone.

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    4. Well, everyone knows I cyberstalk all of my readers. Thank you, Google Analytics! MAO, put your pants back on......no not those, the black ones.

      You're right, I'm sorry I've have failed to take into account Urn Value. This holds a high UV, while the Glen Scotia purple disco cow vessel is more moderate.

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  2. The comment thread actually has bits and pieces of the company's history from people familiar with the brand.
    Like this one from Richard D. Rosen:
    I formed Twelve Stone Flagons, Ltd. with Stanley Stankiwicz in the late 60″s. I was a minority shareholder and handled the legal and regulatory matters while Stanley handled the marketing and distribution. We purchased the trademark from Douglas Laing & Co. Neither Douglas Laing & Co. nor Twelve Stone Flagons, Ltd. owned a distillery. We subcontracted out the blending and aging of the scotch as well as the manufacture of the flagons (and crystal commemorative bottles) and bottling of the scotch. I sold my stock in the company back to the company in the late 80’s when I became too busy with my legal practice to dedicate the necessary time to Twelve Stone Flagons. I’m glad to see that Usquaebach is still being sold.

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    1. Based on other comments, the Stankiwicz family (Stanley Stankiwicz passed away in 2001) owned the company until 2010 when the Cobalt Brands acquired the brand. Since there's a mention of Douglas Laing, I wonder if they were the ones that made the blend for the company?

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    2. Yeah, the thread contained more info about Usqueabach than the rest of the internets put together. But I'm hesitant to judge the truthiness of some of it. Plus there's little to no information about the current whisky and Cobalt.

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  3. I doubt I ever would have tasted this scotch had M's grandparents not given it to me as a gift. Grandma went into her local liquor store and said, "My grandson really likes scotch. What would you recommend?" The owner (who probably deserves a stiff punch in the nose) said, "I bet he's never had this one!" Truer words...

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    1. Ain't nothing like talking a nice grandma into buying a grossly overpriced whisky that one can't seem to sell to anyone else. I'm truly sorry she got fleeced but you have an awesome flagon now! What did you think of the whisky?

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    2. It IS a pretty sweet flagon, and I hadn't even thought of it's potential Urn Value! All is forgiven, unscrupulous liquor retailer!

      Overall, I actually enjoyed the whisky. In a strange twist of fate, I found that the top third of the bottle was my favorite, and it seemed to degrade a fair amount as I progressed further. I didn't seem to think it was quite as mind-blowingly amazing as The Malt Imposters (http://www.maltimpostor.com/2011/07/usquaebach-old-rare-50-ml-custom-u.html), but I also didn't mind the flavors you described as "napthaline" quite as much, either. However, that might be due to the fact that I used to like to hide in my grandmother's cedar chest that housed quilts and mothballs when I was quite a bit smaller.

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    3. I like the smell of mothballs a lot, since it reminds me of both of my grandmas' houses 30+ years ago. On the palate, not as much. I actually had more of an issue with the chlorine notes I was finding. That's like cockeyed new make. Thanks so much for sharing the whisky with me. I seriously had no idea that flagon whisky was baller whisky.

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  4. Flagons will soon be the newest hip-hop star craze. Forget Hennessy. Step aside, diamond-plated grills. Out of the way, over-sized clock necklace. Do you even flagon, bro?

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    1. You earn respect by baggin' the flagon. But you do not earn respect by shaggin' the flagon.

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    2. The real question, I believe, is whether or not one's flagon brings all the boys to the yard.

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    3. Waggin' your flagon brings all the boys to the yard.

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  5. After doing a search, I just noticed you haven't reviewed Big Peat. I spotted the cask strength edition (55.7% ABV) going for $66.99 at K&L. That's an amazing value for a cask strength blend.

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    1. That is a very good price price for a CS peated whisky and it's rare to see a high strength blend in the US. But my whisky budget has been shutdown for a few months. Plus every year we're getting less and less in the way of peated whisky weather in SoCal.

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