Birthday Malt Report: Balblair 1978 (2008 Release)

Distillery: Balblair
Ownership: Inver House Distillers Limited
Age: minimum 30 years (1978-2008)
Maturation: American oak ex-bourbon barrels
Region: The Highlands (North)
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chill filtered? No.
Caramel Coloring? No.

On New Years' Day, I placed an order with Royal Mile Whiskies for my birthday whisky.  It was significantly more expensive than any other liquor I've purchased, so I decided that it would only be enjoyed on August Twenty-fourths.

Of course, that's before I really understood the challenges of whiskies falling apart when they sit in a bottle for years and years and years.  But as I learned more about whisky, and as the bottle was torching a hole in the back of the Whisky Closet, I figured out a way to avoid the bottle aging issue.  I would drink the entire bottle in one sitting.

Just kidding.

Or am I?

Much research went into this purchase, as with all of my purchases in general.  Somehow both Jim Murray and Serge Valentin agreed on the high quality of the Balblair 1978 vintage.  How often do those guys agree?  I haven't quantified it, but I'll guess the answer is......not often?

It wasn't until this month that I realized they were talking about the 2010 bottling and not the 2008 bottling that I had bought.

But I have no regrets.  This whisky is one big glass of honey, just like its owner.

The color is of a late harvest sauvignon blanc or moscatel.  The nose starts with big candied American oak notes, later moving into the spirit's character.  Vanilla beans and vanilla pudding.  Coconut cream.  Fresh apricot?  Fruit cocktail juice.  There's something in the delicious blurry zone between dusty black pepper and wood smoke.  Citrus (but not lemon nor sweet orange).  White pepper.  After an hour in the glass, vanilla and spices take over.  The palate is very very very smooth; pain-in-the-ass smooth for a reviewer trying to suss out separate notes.  It did indeed require a second pour.  It's a glass of molasses and honey.  Then tart orange, pepper, lots of vanilla sugar, and a tiny note of mild cheese.  It finishes sweet and sturdy.  There's citrus, molasses, ground black pepper, and a moment of lychee.

Kristen, aside from documenting the event, gave it a few tastes.  I think she had a similar challenge as I do in divining individual elements within silky smooth whisky: she said, "It tastes like whisky."  Yes, yes it does.  The perfect palate note for a birthday beverage.  It tastes like whisky.

Availability - UK only
Pricing - the 2010 edition is a little more pricey at $200-$220 (w/shipping, w/o VAT)
Rating - 93

Los Angeles Love, perfected

A city symphony in a three-minute digestible bite (of course) with triumphant electronic music (of course)!

The music is necessary so turn up the volume or put on headphones.  Press play.  Make sure HD is selected.  And click the full screen button next to the "HD".

You won't see a single human face, instead behold the results of the labor of millions who came here to find something better.  Did they actually find something better?  I don't know, but they built Los Angeles.

NightFall from Colin Rich on Vimeo.

My god, it's full of stars.

Birthday Recap!

A tangentially-related prelude:

This morning, our paraplegic military veteran neighbor, who is perpetually mad at his neighbors and probably the rest of the world, was sitting inside his car within our closed garage, playing the hell out of a harmonica.  The man has The Blues.

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THURSDAY EVENING

I sampled a number of new whiskies at an OC Scotch Club event in Fullerton.  I hope to report on some of these in the near future, especially since I'm probably going to do a 180-degree reversal on a previously reviewed single malt.  Which one could it be????

More importantly than all the booze stuff, it was great to spend some time with good people on a lovely evening.

I'll be talking this club up from time to time, if you're in the OC and like the amber spirits, you should stop by an event.  It's very laid back and President Bob is a very swell dude.

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FRIDAY AFTERNOON

I went to see Cosmopolis at its opening 2:30pm showing at a theatre one mile from my front door.  I smuggled in a couple ounces of Powers Gold Label, because.

I'd just read DeLillo's novel a few months ago, so the whole thing was still fresh in my mind.  Surprisingly, Cosmopolis fits easily into Cronenberg's oeuvre -- detached characters struggling within an alternate reality, compressed space, and portals portals portals everywhere.  I'm not saying that the film was great (it was all telling, no showing; and DeLillo's dense dialogue can be burdensome to a film's actors and audience) but the subject matter is timely and I'm game for any Cronenberg flick.  Plus the final scene actually achieved some level of emotion amongst the verbal histrionics.

FRIDAY EVENING

Back home, at 5pm, I brought out the birthday whisky.  A bottle of a 1978.  As well as a 34-year-old dram.  It was a grand two-hour slow whisky experience.

After the year I'd had, there was nothing quite like pouring myself a second helping of 30+ year old whisky straight from the bottle.  I will be reporting on the whiskys this week (Weds and Thurs, I think).

Kristen roasted a big chicken and baked a flourless chocolate cake.  Yes.  My wife.

I received many great gifts from my families.  And, yes, there was a whiskey gift that damn near blew my mind.  I didn't officially open it on Friday night because had I started it, I wouldn't remember a bloody thing the following day.  It will be opened soon, though...

I put on a DVD of Orson's F for Fake.  Kristen fell asleep.

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SATURDAY EVENING

To Hollywood!

We met my buddy Geoff near our old drinking grounds.  We went to Stout, where I had a good burger with an Old Rasputin from the tap.  Then we went to The Blue Boar Pub where I had glass of Highland Park 12, which keeps getting better every time I try it.

The main event was at Piano Bar.  I've thrice previously mentioned Piano Bar on this blog.  I'll say it again.  IT'S AWESOME.  Go there on Saturday or Sunday night to experience Brother Sal & The Devil May Care.  I often make the fifty-minute drive to do it and I feel the loss during the months when I don't.

So we went, meeting up with my buddy Sean.

Sean and I are twins

And Brother Sal seriously hooked us up.  He is a saint.

I had some great reliable glasses of whiskey (Blanton's, Redbreast 12, and Buffalo Trace), but it's the blues-rock-honky-tonk-saloon-soul dynamite issuing forth from the stage that always alters the air and space around me.

Aww yeah.

We left when the music stopped, around last call.  I can't remember the last time I stayed out until last call.

We're still catching up on sleep and I'll be drying out for a couple of days, but it was grand.  I have many great people, great experiences, and great things in my life.  And I am thankful for all of them.

Single Malt Report Taste Off! - GlenDronach 18 year "Allardice"

Tuesday, I started with a little explanation behind my intent for this Taste Off, as well as a few bits about the distillery's history.

Wednesday, I reported on the GlenDronach 12 year.

Thursday, I reported on the GlenDronach 15 year.

Today, I'm reporting on the GlenDronach 18 year.

Distillery: GlenDronach
Ownership: BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd
Age: minimum 18 years
Maturation: Oloroso sherry casks
Region: Speyside
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chill filtered? No.
Caramel Coloring? No.
Bottle Code: 09/05026 21.05.09

So here it is, the oldest of the three whiskys from this Taste Off.  It is named "Allardice" after James Allardice (though I've seen his last name spelled differently) who led the group of investors that founded Glendronach distillery 125 years ago.

The amber stuff within is made up of oloroso-sherry-cask-matured whiskys that are at least eighteen years old.  It was all casked by previous owner Allied Domecq using lightly peated malt from their own  on-site floor maltings.  The peat (in this whisky as well as the 15yr) isn't immediately apparent.  All those years in rich sherry casks calms the phenolic effect to a hushed smoke.

Let us have a sip.

First tasting - 1 ounce, 60 minutes in the glass before nosing, neat

The color is almost identical to the 15yr, but maybe a touch lighter.  That could be due to batch-to-batch cask-to-cask differences.  It still has that great blushing maple syrup tone.  The nose has a strong sherry front.  Digging behind it one may find apple juice, maple syrup (yeah, pour this over your french toast), smoky cocoa, salted caramels, Frosties, and fried plantains.  The palate smacks of BIG SHERRY.  It's a little musty, maybe a tiny bit of smoke too.  There are stone fruits in caramel sauce, chocolate cherry cordials, and sherry-soaked angel food cake.  The sherry goes on forever in the finish.  Then more of the cherry cordials and stone fruits in caramel.  One may find some raisins as well as a heaping helping of cherry liqueur.

Second tasting - remaining 0.5 ounce from the bottle two hours later, a few drops of water

Similar to its younger brethren the curious sulphuric(?) notes in the nose unveil themselves with water.  To be more specific, there are spent matches, salt, corn chips, yeast, and bread elements.  But unlike the 12yr, this one doesn't allow those elements to win out, as grape juice and cherry Kool Aid lead the way.  The sherry doesn't even flinch in the palate.  It's sherry sherry sherry.  Then there's some cocoa, raisins, and a nuttiness.  The finish?  MOAR SHERRY!  Just lengthy singular sherry, very reminiscent of Macallan 18.

Thoughts, conclusions, questions
I gave this one a lot of time in the glass to try to crack through the sherry.  Sherry itself is a fortified wine, boosted by grape spirit that ups its strength.  This whisky, though, is like a fortified sherry.  In that way, it reminds me a lot of Macallan 18.  Had I the means, a comparison of the two would be a very educational Taste Off, but I leave that to bigger sherried-whisky fans.

Ultimately, these GlenDronachs shine best without added water.  It feels as if Billy Walker and company have already toned down the strength of the cask whiskys to reach the desired nose and palate, so diluting it further shatters the well-tuned structure.  Not all whiskys are like that, many can take water.  Some need water.  But, to me, these three GlenDs smell and taste best when served neat.  They're thick rich malts that probably serve best as a dessert......breakfast dessert that is.

To conclude:
GlenDronach 12yr Original - The easiest drinking of the three, and likely much older than 12 years.
GlenDronach 15yr Revival - The star of the bunch.  A reasonable alternative to any of Macallan's Sherry Oaks.
GlenDronach 18yr Allardice - Fortified sherry!  Would make any Macallan 18 drinker happy, at a lower price.
And remember, try 'em first neatly!

Availability - Many liquor specialists
Pricing - $120-$130 in the US, but with some creative purchasing this can be picked up from Europe/UK for $85-$95
Rating - 83

Single Malt Report Taste Off! - GlenDronach 15 year "Revival"

Time for a "Revival"

Tuesday, I started with a little explanation behind my intent for this Taste Off, as well as a few bits about the distillery's history.

Wednesday, I reported on the GlenDronach 12 year.

Today, I'll report on the GlenDronach 15 year.

Tomorrow, I'll report on the GlenDronach 18 year.

Distillery: GlenDronach
Ownership: BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd
Age: minimum 15 years
Maturation: Oloroso sherry casks
Region: Speyside
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chill filtered? No.
Caramel Coloring? No.
Bottle Code: 10/04110 25.06.10

Usually I enter my whisky tastings having avoided others' reviews and tasting notes on the malt at hand so that I can appreciate without preconceptions.  In this case though, I was unable to avoid the raves for the GlenDronach 15 "Revival".  I didn't read the reviews, but I did know the high scores.  Serge, David Wankel, Oliver Klimek, and the rest of the Malt Maniacs adored it.  John Hansell was very impressed with it.  The LA Whisky Society were big fans.  Even Mr. Jackson's book gave it a great grade.  Thus the whisky made its way to my Dram Quest list.

The GlenDronach 15 year "Revival" arrived in the whisky market in 2009 as part of the new ownership's brand revamp.  It's 46% ABV, not chill filtered, and not dyed.  The entirety of the whisky was matured in Oloroso sherry casks.

I was very thankful to find The Whisky Exchange selling it in mini format because I was beginning to ponder buying a whole bottle blindly.

First tasting - 1 ounce, 40 minutes in the glass before nosing, neat

Its color looks like maple syrup with a little blush.  The nose has the same cream-in-sweet-tea note that the 12yr had.  There's a brawnier sherry element in this one.  A large presence of thick syrupy sugary treats.  Chocolate cherry cordials, caramel sauce, and maple syrup.  And a hint of rubber.  The palate is thick and desserty.  There's some alcohol heat and maybe even a whisper of smoke.  Big strong sherry again.  Apple cider with dried fruit shows up in both the beginning of the palate as well as in the finish.  Then there's brown sugar and warmed sherry with a touch of salt.  A big strong closer.

Second tasting - remaining 0.5 ounce from the bottle two hours later, a few drops of water

The nose holds together better with water than the 12yr.  There's still some sulphuric flatulence but much quieter.  Maybe some corn chips too.  But mostly grape and cherry juice with sherry and caramel sauce.  The palate has the grape and cherry juice notes too, along with sherry and aromatic overripe fruit sugars.  It still stays rich and desserty.  Its finish remains relatively strong, mostly holding a salted sherry.

Thoughts, conclusions, questions
While heavily-sherried whiskys tend not to deliver my favorite palate profiles, I liked this one the best of the three GlenDs.  Of these three, I also think this one would hold its own with any of Macallan's Sherry Oak releases.  (I've gone on record saying that I like Mac 12 more than Mac 18, so you'll need to take that into consideration.)  Also to note, other reviewers find notes of plums, oranges, coffee, and tobacco.

Altogether a job well done by the GlenDronach folks!  If you love sherry-matured whiskies, then this whisky may be of interest to you.  I'd recommend sampling it through Whisky Exchange or Master of Malt though before diving into a 750mL bottle.

Availability - Most liquor specialists
Pricing - $75-$85 in the US, but with some creative purchasing this can be picked up from Europe/UK for $60-$65
Rating - 87

Single Malt Report Taste Off! - GlenDronach 12 year old "Original"

Here are the big three from this Taste Off! 

Yesterday, I started with a little explanation behind my intent for this Taste Off, as well as a few bits about the distillery's history.

Today, I'll report on the GlenDronach 12 year.

Tomorrow, I'll report on the GlenDronach 15 year.

Friday, I'll report on the GlenDronach 18 year.

(I just realized that I hadn't reported on a regular official bottling of single malt scotch in five weeks.  That streak is history.  I'd say 90% of the reports for the rest of the year will be single malts.  Anyway, back to the Taste Off!)

Distillery: GlenDronach
Ownership: BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd
Age: minimum 12 years
Maturation: Pedro Ximenez sherry and Oloroso sherry casks
Region: Speyside
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chill filtered? No.
Caramel Coloring? No.
Bottle Code: 2011/06/29 11:47 LD60475

In response to yesterday's post, commenter Eric pointed out something interesting that I hadn't considered.  Some quick math to illustrate:

This whisky was bottled in 2011.
It is, at minimum, 12 years old.
2011 minus 12 years takes us to 1999.
The GlenDronach distillery was closed from 1996 to 2002.

That means the whisky in the bottle is likely almost 15 years old, as the latest production before the closure was in 1996.  A whisky company can quote any age statement on their bottle as long it holds no whisky younger than that age quote.  So in this case, the whisky within IS at least 12 years old.

So why wouldn't they just call it a 14-year or something older so that they could boost the price?

I think it's a brand and range decision.  They likely want to establish a standard familiar bottling age, like 12 years, even though the new 12 year old juice isn't ready for a few more years.  If their youngest and cheapest bottling was a 15 year old in the $75-85 dollar range it would appear to consumers as if GlenDronach was establishing itself as an ultra-luxury-only brand.  By putting a "12 year" whisky on the shelf now (at what goes for normal 12-year prices nowadays) they get themselves planted into the standard 12-year-old whisky market.  And, as Eric pointed out, it will allow for a smooth transition when the real 12-year-old whisky is ready to bottle.

This current "12-year" Original is different from its two older brothers.  While Revival and Allardice were matured in Oloroso sherry casks, Original has some whisky that was matured in casks that held the thicker, sweeter Pedro Ximenez sherry, as well as some from Oloroso casks.

Let's see the result of all these elements:

First tasting - 1 ounce, 20 minutes in the glass before nosing, neat

The color is a lovely copper, like the coating on new pennies.  The nose is of rich grape juice, then a little cocoa.  Then there's honey-soaked warm tropical fruit, cream in sweet tea, and something that might be leather.  The palate is one solid strong piece and took a few moments to deconstruct.  There's sherry but the maltiness is still plentiful.  There's some brown sugar, cognac, and sweet almond cookies.  Somewhere in there a mystery fruit (plum?) keeps showing up.  The sherry shows up stronger in the finish.  And it gets sweeter too.  A little bit of mint lingers on.

Second tasting - remaining 0.5 ounce from the bottle two hours later, a few drops of water

Sulfur sneaks out in the nose.  It's bready, yeasty, salty, and meaty.  The palate doesn't fray as noticeably.  Instead it gets maltier and grainier.  The sherry notes fade.  It finishes just as strongly as when neat.  The sherry shows up more here: sweet, and a little sour.

Thoughts, conclusions, questions
Much more enjoyable and complex when served neatly.  Sulfur characteristics don't scare me off, but here they seem to pound down most of the other elements in the nose.  When neat, the Original makes for the easiest drinking experience of the 3 whiskys, though that may have something to do with the lower ABV.

Is it better than Macallan 12?  Not necessarily.  But it is a good option for folks who want to try a different brand's sherried whisky.  And it will make for a legitimate option when Mac 12 is replaced in the new lineup.

I'm curious to find out what happens to this whisky once the new actual 12-year-old whisky from the new ownership starts entering the mix.

Availability - Most liquor specialists
Pricing - At $48-$58, this appears to be the going rate for non-dyed filtration-free single malts in its age-range 
Rating - 82

GlenDronach, a little history before the Taste Off

After twice referencing in April that I was going to do this in May, I am now conducting my GlenDronach Taste Off in August.  I ordered the minis through The Whisky Exchange back in May and they have since been keeping company with other future blog post subjects.  Not anymore, though, as I'm setting them free.

The sherriest bunch of minis

I've been telling folks that I've been looking for a Macallan Killer this year, and I should probably qualify that remark.  I enjoy Macallan considerably.  They do an excellent job with their products and when their whisky is affordable I often recommend it.  But with their well-oiled worldwide distribution machine and luxury marketing team, they are giants.  They have the third largest share of the single malt market (behind the Two Big Glens) and the fourth largest distillery capacity.  And with all of that weight they have taken major shelf space away from smaller whiskys.  Consuming bar and store shelf space equals broadening brand awareness.

Just because they're bigger and have a larger presence in the whisky world, doesn't necessarily mean they're better.  They do have the financial means to get the lion's share of good oloroso casks from Spain.  They do have good stills and great staffers.  This all results in a very good consistent product.  In order to be consistent there's great cask management, but there's also chillfiltering and caramel color (and low ABVs).

And also, I like supporting small(er) businesses.  Aside from my favorite baseball team, I always like to root for the little guy.  Heck, my family is full of little guys.  <--- That's a stature joke.

Anyway, all of these aspects combined have me on the search for other great sherried whiskies.  That search has been a little passive of late with my peated spirit obsession.  But I really would like to find a go-to sherry-cask-matured whisky that isn't Macallan.  Especially since no one knows what's going to become of their upcoming non-age statement bottlings.

So I'd like to give GlenDronach a try.  As I write this, I haven't started the Taste Off; in fact I've never even tried their whisky.  But in every whisky corner, they've been getting raves.  So let's take a look at their goodies this week.  (And perhaps this Autumn, we'll snoop around other sherried whisky brands.)

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In 1826, the Glendronach Distillery Company was founded in Aberdeenshire by a group of investors headed by James Allardice.  A decade later, most of the distillery was destroyed in a fire.  With the help of executives from Teaninich Distillery and Glenfiddich, the distillery was rebuilt and production restarted.  Walter Scott of Teaninich owned the distillery until 1887, after which ownership bounced around a few times:

1887 - 1920 - A consortium from Leitth
1920 - 1960 - Charles Grant of the Glenfiddich Grants
1960 - 1976 - William Teacher & Sons (known for their blends)
1976 - 2005 - Allied Breweries (later Allied Domecq)
2005 - 2008 - Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard)
2008 - current - BenRiach Distillery Company

(Source)

The distillery underwent a number of changes over those 120+ years.  Under Teacher's ownership they doubled their stills from two to four, thus doubling their potential output.  They did their own floor malting up until the distillery was mothballed in 1996.  Upon reopening in 2002, they began buying their malt (now unpeated).  They were one of the last three distilleries to heat their stills via coal firing, but when Pernod temporarily closed the distillery in 2005 the heating system was switch to steam.  Pernod soon reopened the distillery and produced whisky for a short while before selling it all to Billy Walker of BenRiach Distillery.

Walker and company capitalized the 'D' in the name and relaunched the entire range in 2009.  With a healthier wood-management budget, the distillery's new bottlings were now unchillfiltered, caramel additive free, and with higher ABVs.  GlenDronach has had massive success with their single cask releases (some of the most critically acclaimed whisky in the world), and also tinker around with special wood finishes every year or so.

GlenDronach's capacity is 1.4 million liters, though they're up to 1.1 million right now (1/8th the size of Macallan's production).  Half of that booze goes to Pernod Ricard's blends.

But I'm interested in the stuff that's going into their single malts.  So stay tuned for the 12 year "Original", 15 year "Revival", and 18 year "Allardice" this week!

Please the bottom half of my Whisky Notes page for sources.