Single Malt Report: Kilkerran Work in Progress 5th Release Sherry Wood

Tuesday: Work in Progress 3rd Release (green label)
Wednesday: Work in Progress 4th Release (beige label)
Thursday: Work in Progress 5th Release Bourbon Wood (light blue label)

Onto the last of the foursome: Work in Progress 5th Release Sherry Wood.  Like yesterday's WIP, it also has a light blue label.  You can tell the two WIP5s apart via the bold stamp reading "Bourbon Wood" or "Sherry Wood".

As I wrote yesterday, the Kilkerran brand (Glengyle Distillery) decided to shake things up in 2013 by releasing two WIPs rather than the usual one.  Each was nine years old.  One was aged in ex-bourbon casks, the other in ex-sherry casks.  This would allow consumers to experience how maturation is proceeding into two type of casks, and it also allows them/us to buy more bottles of Kilkerran.

Whisky Advocate gave Sherry Wood the Lowland/Campbeltown Single Malt of 2013 award, but I'm not going to give you the link because WA's award selections last year were often unintentionally hilarious.  With an independent palate and opinion I trust more, Jordan of Chemistry of the Cocktail liked the Sherry Wood a lot.  His palate takes to sherry better than mine, but I still respect his thoughts on booze of all sorts.

The Sherry Wood is the odd one out in this week's group, with the other three having been matured either exclusively or mostly in ex-bourbon barrels.  But at the same time, Kilkerran's producers had kept the oak element to a minimum thus far, so I hoped they'd do so with this one as well.

KILKERRAN WORK IN PROGRESS 5th RELEASE SHERRY WOOD

Distillery: Glengyle

Owner: Mitchell's Glengyle Limited

Brand: Kilkerran

Age: 9 years (2004 - 2013)

Maturation: ex-sherry casks

Region: Campbeltown

Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Label color: Blue
Limited release: 9000

NEAT
The color is medium gold.  Light for a sherried whisky.  The nose still has that piney forest floor element I keep mentioning, which is comforting!  It is matched with a nutty oloroso-type sherry, probably refill?  There's rubber bands, dried cherries, pastry crust, and new car off-gassing.  There are both grassy moments and chocolatey moments.  Soft peat rumbles underneath.  As for the palate, imagine Macallan 12 with much more barley and hay.  It's creamy with nuts (almond paste and hazelnuts), brine, bitter peat moss, or is that moss-meets-baking-chocolate?  Lots of almonds and hazelnuts in the finish.  Salted nutty toffee, a dry sherry, and almond skins.

A COUPLE DROPS OF WATER
The nose gets more herbal and farmy, along with anise and creamy sherry.  It grows more candied with air exposure.  The palate holds sticky sherry, black coffee, and sea salt.  The finish is aromatic: flower blossoms and stewed fruits.  Some salt too.

A COUPLE MORE DROPS OF WATER
A change of pace on the nose.  Now there's moss, tar, and menthol to go with the oloroso.  The palate also changes a bit.  Caramel, toffee, sweet wine, and something slightly medicinal.  The sherry shows up most in the finish.  Sugared raisins and toffee.

Like the other WIP5, this one swims well.  Actually that helped this one gain a few extra points, as it opened in several different directions as I added more water, all of those turns proving enjoyable.  I'll go a step further and recommend this with water as opposed to without.

The Kilkerran character is still present in the nose and the sherry isn't too intrusive there.  To me, the integration works better here than it does in some of the recent Springbank 10s.  I reference Macallan 12 in the palate notes because I think this would be a fun alternative to the big Mac.  When I've gone back to Mac12 recently, I keep finding it getting less rich and more narrow.  While I don't know if this Kilkerran is "better" than Mac12, it does bring with it more dimensions and more strength.

This WIP5 does have me wondering how it will continue to develop, because the optimist in me thinks this could get exceptionally rich even by age 12.  Kilkerran has a great thing going with their single malts.  For me, the point has come where they've passed Talisker (old stuff not included), as the Skye distillery descends and Glengyle ascends.  What a great moment, wherein one can support a small business over a huge one, not just for philosophical purposes but also in terms of pure quality.

Availability - Many specialty liquor retailers.
Pricing - $60-$70
Rating - 87

Single Malt Report: Kilkerran Work in Progress 5th Release Bourbon Wood

Tuesday was Work in Progress 3, Wednesday was Work in Progress 4, Today is Work in Progress 5 (Bourbon Wood).

WIP1: White label
WIP2: Gray label
WIP3: Light green label
WIP4: Beige label
WIP5: Blue Label

In each of its first four years, Kilkerran's "Work in Progress" malts had a single annual release.  For the fifth edition, Glengyle Distillery chose to change things up by putting out two simultaneous bottlings, possibly as a way to demonstrate how the whisky was developing in two separate types of casks: Former bourbon barrels and former sherry casks.  And, with any luck, the whisky would be well received and they'd sell twice as many bottles.  Well, they're in luck.  The fifth WIPs have been very well received.

And I'll make it very easy on you, here are a few links:
Serge Valentin gives the Bourbon Wood a very positive review.
Later, he posts that it was his personal favorite whisky of 2013.
Then Sku of Recent Eats and LAWS was very enthusiastic about it, here and here.

Before I even started this week's tastings, I was a very big fan of all things Kilkerran, so you probably know which direction my review is going.  Thus if you so desire, you can skip to the score then click away.  But if you stick around for more words, I'll try my best to give you my perspective.

KILKERRAN WORK IN PROGRESS 5th RELEASE BOURBON WOOD

Distillery: Glengyle

Owner: Mitchell's Glengyle Limited

Brand: Kilkerran

Age: 9 years (2004 - 2013)

Maturation: ex-bourbon American Oak barrels

Region: Campbeltown

Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Label color: Blue
Limited release: 9000

NEAT
The color is still a nice amber shade.  And the nose still has the piney forest floor notes!  In fact, the nose is somehow even more potent in this edition than the previous two.  There are toasted grains, anise, sharp cheddar, a savory sort of peat moss, and a pinch of chili powder.  Citrus fruits are starting to show now at this age: lemon zest, sharp grapefruit, and some cardamom spice.  The oak doesn't show much except as the occasional whiff of pencils.  It all gets spicier with time.  The palate starts off doing the reverse of WIP4, going creme brûlée --> peppery spice --> hot cereal.  Then sometimes it goes custardy --> savory --> briny.  There's some apples and brown sugar on oatmeal.  And here's the peat, showing up a little smoky.  Citric sugars start developing over time.  It finishes peppery, grassy, barley juicy, and salty.  Limes and peppercorns.  Candy cane mint and taffy.  An extensive length for something of its age and ABV.

A COUPLE DROPS OF WATER
The nose holds moss, yeast, apples, cracked pepper, cheddar, lemon, and a hint of peat.  The palate is light on the sugar.  Some salt and an amber lager.  Toffee pudding with a cigarette.  The finish grows saltier, maltier, and savorier, with hints of smoke and oranges.

A COUPLE MORE DROPS OF WATER
The nose gets musky and earthier.  Then, toasted grains along with something savory.  The palate gets sweeter and the beer becomes more of a Belgian ale.  Floral notes start showing up, along with butterscotch.  The finish is all barley and sugar.

Let me sum everything up.  The whisky swims very well.  The oak remains reserved, while the peat does not shy away.  While I love WIP2's bold "outdoorsy" quality, WIP5 Bourbon Wood is the first Work in Progress wherein the quality of the palate and finish can stand proudly next to the nose's.

I do not like encouraging the whisky buying/hoarding craze -- it's a bug that has bitten me much too often -- yet I know how I feel about this "Work in Progress", so let me choose my words here...

As I nosed and sipped this whisky last night, I began to wonder if maybe we should all tone down the talking and dreaming about the potential quality of the future Kilkerran releases.  Instead, perhaps we should see the present clearly and appreciate what we have here right now.

Availability - Many specialty liquor retailers.
Pricing - $60-$70
Rating - 91 (dropped to 90 points in a subsequent review)

Single Malt Report: Kilkerran Work in Progress 4th Release (2012)

So, the next step in Kilkerran Week is......Work in Progress 4, or the WIP with the beige label.

WIP1: White label
WIP2: Gray label
WIP3: Light green label
WIP4: Beige label
WIP5: Blue Label

This release is much easier to find in the LA area.  Off the top of my head, I can think of at least four spots that sell it, compared to zero that sell #2 and #3.  It was with this release that I saw local Kilkerran prices move from $50 to $60.  That's actually not a complaint (if you can believe that), just an observation.  The WIP releases were in fact getting older and a little more popular.  It'll be interesting to see how their pricing structure evolves with WIP6.  It will be a 10 year old, and Springbank 10 tends to be around $60 here.  My guess is that it will be $70.  But this 8 year old will tend to be in the $60 range.  If you can find it for less count yourself lucky.

I really overpaid for a sizable glass of WIP4 last year.  It was very drinkable, though getting a nose on it was difficult using a wide tumbler in a fancy restaurant.  Let me see if I can sort things out better utilizing a Glencairn glass in my whisky corner.

KILKERRAN WORK IN PROGRESS 4th RELEASE

Distillery: Glengyle

Owner: Mitchell's Glengyle Limited

Brand: Kilkerran

Age: 8 years (2004 - 2012)

Maturation: ex-bourbon American Oak barrels, possibly some ex-sherry casks?

Region: Campbeltown

Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Label color: Beige
Limited release: 9000

NEAT
The color is amber.  If it's darker than WIP3, it's barely noticeable.  The nose is the star of the show again: Pine, mint, eucalyptus, aloe?, moss, dried leaves; the forest floor.  There's also some burnt paper and sugary barley.  With some air, the whisky grows more floral, but not soapy.  Some caramel sneaks in, along with whole grain toast, and a slight farmy note.  The palate goes from hot cereal to creme brûlée.  From breakfast to dessert.  A slight IPA-like bitterness.  Sweet barley stuff.  Musky melon and maybe a little toffee pudding.  Very mild overall.  Watch out, oxidation silences it.  Vanilla ice cream in the finish.  And maybe a vanilla stout as it's kinda beer-ish.  Toffee and barley.

WITH WATER
At first the nose is all barley.  Maybe a caramel puff and a peat squeak.  The floral and farm notes are still there, along with candle wax.  The palate is quiet which may be due to oxidation comment above.  There's yeast and vanilla.  It's a little earthy and bitter.  Maybe some lead?  There's vanilla and fresh apricot in the finish, along with toffee.  It's more tart than bitter.

Firstly, the palate didn't swim or air out well.  It's best right after the pour.  Secondly, it was a little plainer than WIP3.  But I'm not terribly worried about it since that might be due to oxidation in the sample itself.  And also, WIP4 is still quite good.  The nose is excellent, again.  I've noticed that as Kilkerran progresses from #2 to #3 to #4, the peat notes recede with age.  The earthy forest notes are still around as is the bold barley.  And, depending on how one feels about this, more maturation has made it easier to drink.  Now, I'm totally fascinated by how the WIP5s will turn out...

Availability - Some specialty liquor retailers, should be easier to find than WIP3
Pricing - $60-$70
Rating - 87

Single Malt Report: Kilkerran Work in Progress 3rd Release (2011)

"Michael, since I am also boycotting Diageo, what other distillery's single malt should I try since I no longer purchase bottles of Talisker?"

-- No one ever

Good question, No one ever.  There are many non-Islay moderately peated high quality single malts on the market.  Highland Park, Ardmore, and Longrow are the first brands/distilleries that to come to mind.  They each peat their whisky differently, but most of the time their malts' peating expresses itself at medium levels.  Last May, one of my readers, Mantisking, recommended Kilkerran as a good alternative to Talisker.  Brilliant idea.

I am a BIG fan of Kilkerran's single malts (here's my rave review about WIP #2).  They come from the Glengyle distillery in Campeltown and are owned by the same company that runs Springbank.  (I recommend Chemistry of the Cocktail's envy-inducing distillery writeup for more information.)  They reopened and started distilling again in 2004.  Each year's release is still being called "Work in Progress" as Kilkerran progresses towards a 12 year old single malt in 2016.  Work in Progress #1 was a five year-old bottled in 2009, Work in Progress #2 was 6 years old in 2010, etc.  Like Kilchoman, these young malts from a small distillery are very impressive, easily kicking the teeth out of their older competitors when it comes to quality.

So, since I just bombarded you with a bunch of Talisker reviews.  How about a few Kilkerrans?

I'll start with Work in Progress (WIP) #3 and then, each day, work my way over to their newest releases.  Keep in mind, each bottle has similar packaging, but are color-coded per release:

WIP1: White label
WIP2: Gray label
WIP3: Light green label
WIP4: Beige label
WIP5: Blue Label

KILKERRAN WORK IN PROGRESS 3rd RELEASE

Distillery: Glengyle

Owner: Mitchell's Glengyle Limited

Brand: Kilkerran

Age: 7 years (2004 - 2011)

Maturation: ex-bourbon American Oak barrels, possibly some ex-sherry casks?

Region: Campbeltown

Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Label color: Light green
Limited release: 9000

The color is light amber......good start.  The nose is piney and minty, with new sneakers and baseball card 9-pocket plastic pages.  Then peat moss, dirt, and unripened stone fruit.  Barley, actual barley.  A whiff of sugary candy, very subtle vanilla, denim, and moldy books.  The palate starts with dense toffee and butterscotch with some lemon zest around the edges.  Some pleasantly sharp spirit, with a little bit of smoke and menthol.  Then in the middle, it's as if one just dropped one's Werther's Original into the dirt but picked it up and ate it anyway.  With time, maybe there's hint of an old moldy sherry cask?  A burst of orange and lime skins in the finish.  Then brown sugar, menthol, a smoky toffee, and a caramel-covered prune.

I actually got so involved with this one that I was too far down the glass when it came time to add water.  I'm infatuated with the nose.  The other parts are good too, but the nose was undecorated dirty malt.  Love it.  WIP2 was a little more gritty (in a good way) as there was less oak influence.  But the oak isn't aggressive here (maybe due to refill casks?) as it plays well with the other elements.  That hint of sherry is entertaining, sort of a slight seasoning.  The peat also remains in the background rather than the foreground, peeking out when the time is right.

So, like the second WIP, Work in Progress #3 is for someone who likes some barley and earth and zip in his whisky.  It is still youthful, but the spirit is so good that it's a pleasure when it sings out.  I would happily choose this 7yo over almost every OB 12yo out there.  So I can't imagine what this single malt is going to be like on its twelfth birthday.

Availability - WIP 3 is getting tough to find, some specialty retailers may have it
Pricing - $50-$70
Rating - 89

NOT Single Malt Report: Jameson Gold Reserve Irish Blended Whiskey

Happy Irish Whiskey Day!

Two whiskey observations before I do the review.

1.  Green Spot single pot still Irish whiskey -- Yes, it made it to the US in time for St. Pat's Day.  But despite what one retailer says, it is not the Pappy of Irish Whiskey.  More like the Paddy's of Irish Whiskey, perhaps.  As someone who knows Mitchell & Sons' history and as someone who has long since retired his own bottle of Green Spot, I fail to see any connection whatsoever to Pappy Van Winkle.  I am happy that the whiskey has come to The States and pleased that said retailer has sold a lot of bottles.

Green Spot is good stuff; mellow, honeyed, even malty.  And a $40-$45 price point is not bad.  Once upon a time Green Spot was very limited.  But now it is being produced at one of the largest (if not the largest) whiskey factories in the world and Green Spot's production has expanded so that it can be sold in many countries rather than just one.  I've seen conflicting reports about how many cases are actually produced, so I recommend you take those reports with a grain of barley unless Midleton itself gives a figure.  There are at least 80 US online retailers (including Total Wine) selling it.  But if you miss out on Green Spot, it's all good.  It's just whiskey.  Plus there's plenty of Redbreast 12 to be had.

2.  Powers Gold Label blended Irish whiskey -- Price change alert.  If you don't already know, I'm CRAZY about Powers.  It was the perfect $20 Irish whiskey, in my opinion.  It was $20, sometimes $18 if you looked in the right places.  But in 2013, the price suddenly jumped 50%.  Powers is now selling for $27-$30.  Yes, they are rolling out a new version with a slightly higher ABV, but most stores are selling the old version at the new price.  As someone who has been known to shout the praises of Powers, I'm going to cease doing so at this new price level.  I don't see, read, or hear of any big demand for Powers in America.  Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one buying it in Los Angeles.  All of the bottles I have bought have been sitting on shelves for three or four years.  If I buy the new version, I'll review it.  But if your retailer only has the old version and is selling it at $30, I can't recommend it.  Do some snooping.  The old price is still out there, for now.

---

Now, onto today's whiskey: Jameson Gold Reserve.

Like most of Midleton distillery's blends, Gold Reserve is a mix of pot still and grain whiskeys.  Like many of the Jameson blends, Gold Reserve has a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks whiskeys.  Where the Gold sets itself apart is by the addition of some virgin oak cask-aged whiskey.  Because virgin oak maturation seems to be a craze at the moment, one could say that Jameson was ahead of the curve when Gold Reserve was first released 18 years ago.  They didn't even need to change the label, always listing that (featuring!) virgin oak factoid right on the front.

But the Gold Reserve doesn't have an age statement, so a consumer is left to wonder why it costs three to four times the price of the regular Jameson blend.  In fact, I was that very consumer.  I like Irish blends, I can stomach Jameson, but I wasn't going to by this thing blind.  Luckily I found a bar that served it up for a reasonable price.  I was sold on its quality right on the spot.  But the bottle price remained a problem, as it tends to be in the $65-$75 range.  I was more interested when Costco sold it for $55.  Then when I found a shop clearing it out for $44.99, I grabbed a bottle.

Distillery: Midleton

Brand: Jameson

Type: Irish Blended Whiskey (pot still and grain whiskey)

Current Owner: Pernod Ricard

Age: NAS

Maturation: a mix of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and virgin oak casks
Bottle code: L133631382 11:11

Alcohol by Volume: 40%

From my own bottle, sampled neatly from a Glencairn glass

The color is, um, gold.  The nose is clean and creamy.  Very Redbreast-ish, though with more honey and vanilla beans.  Clean laundry (without smelly detergent), apple skins, and pear juice.  Flower blossoms (roses?), hints of black pepper, white bread, and chicken stock.  I tend to dislike banana notes in whiskies, but here it works as it appears as fresh, not-too-ripe fruit.  With some time in the glass, the whiskey releases notes of fresh peaches and cinnamon buns.  The palate... take the basic Jameson's, then sand down the youthful sharp edges, and replace them with Boston creme-filled donuts and eclairs.  Then pears, white grapes, lime juice, brown sugar, and orange pixie stix.  Tons of vanilla and caramel in the finish.  Some confectioner's sugar and a slight tartness.  Much more pleasant than its cheaper brethren, and with a better length.

This is what some of us wish regular Jameson's tasted like.  Or from another perspective, it's Jameson Dessert Reserve.  The new oak is there, but mostly shows up as all of those vanilla notes.  All hints of spirity turpentine, varnish, or cheap vodka stuff are gone, replaced by creamy pot still character.

Whether it's worth $70+ depends on how much one is willing to spend to get a tasty Jameson.  It's my favorite Jameson US-release so far, but it doesn't have much competition.  Jameson Black Barrel is hideous; time, air, water, ice, earth, wind, and fire could not save my bottle of it.  In fact, it got worse as it went along until I had to abandon it altogether.  Jameson 12 is drinkable at best, but sells for more than Redbreast 12 (which really doesn't make any sense).  And while you may not care too much for regular Jameson's, it can still be found for $20.  Are you willing to pay a 250% premium for a sweeter, softer, more drinkable version?  I like Gold Reserve, but not enough to recommend it at that price.  I'm going to have some Powers tonight instead.

Availability - Most liquor specialty retailers

Pricing - $65-$85  (If you can find it for less than $50, it's a good deal.)

Rating - 86

Taliskravaganza! Day 6: Talisker "The Speakeasy" 5 year old 2008 (K&L exclusive)

Day 1: Talisker 10 year old
Day 2: Talisker 57º North
Day 3: Talisker 1993 Distillers Edition
Day 4: Talisker 23 year old 1982 MacLeod's Vintage
Day 5: Talisker 18 year old 1986 MacLeod's Vintage
Day 6: Talisker "The Speakeasy" 5 year old 2008 (K&L exclusive)

Something young.  Something current.  Something you might be interested in?

On this sixth and final day of Taliskravaganza 2014, My Annoying Opinions and I are posting simultaneous reviews of the K&L exclusive Talisker "The Speakeasy" 5 year old single cask single malt.  And of course, we picked a whisky that leaves me a bit stumped on how to rank/rate/grade it.

Yesterday, I mentioned that independent bottlings of Talisker almost always have to go by another name due to Diageo restrictions.  But apparently, The Laing Whisky Company was free of that restriction this year, bottling both a 5 year old under their own Premier Barrel label and this 5 year old single-retailer exclusive.

When I spotted this swanky label and the "Talisker" appellation in the TTB/COLA database several months ago, I was very intrigued.  An indie baby Talisker?!  So I was happy to split a bottle with two friends of mine when it hit the shelves.

Very young peated whiskies have been hitting the market at an increasing rate over the past two years.  That's partially borne of financial necessity; it means less of a warehousing expense and less of an Angel's Share, meanwhile it gets a product out on the market sooner.  But I also think these young peaters were inspired by all the success that Kilchoman has experienced with their 3-6 year old single malts.  But there's a difference.  Kilchoman's malt was produced/designed (by Jim Swan) to be ready for the market as an ultra-young malt.  And whatever the secret is (the heart of the cut?), many Kilchomans seem more rounded and mature than their age.  Meanwhile, the ultra-young indie bottlings of other peated malts often come across as very young and very brash as one would expect them to be.  That was one of my hesitations when it came to buying this whisky.  Was it ready?

This is a fun bottling from a design perspective, with a very informative and text-heavy front label and a keyhole cutout that reveals a speakeasy scene on the sticky side of the back label.

I'm not mentioning the bottle's sack (really) because I like these labels a lot.  Gimmicky without being too gimmicky.  So kudos there, because I'm usually ornery about that sorta crap.

Okay, enough with that "crap", you're saying.  Let's get to the whisky.  Okay, let's.  I have two different sets of tasting notes: one of The Speakeasy neat, the other with it reduced to as close to the official bottlings' 45.8% ABV as I could without better instrumentation.

Distillery: Talisker

Independent Bottler: The Laing Whisky Company
Retailer: K&L Wines

Age: April 2008 - November 2013 (5 years)

Maturation: ex-refill hogshead
Cask number: 8
Bottle #:  ??? of 345

Region: Isle of Skye, Scotland

Alcohol by Volume: 58.2%
Chillfiltered: No
Colored: Probably not

NEAT
The color is a very light amber with a greenish tint.  The nose begins with an intensely vegetal peat.  It's very pungent.  Beneath it is anise, nutmeg, juniper, almond paste, and a dark leafy something-or-other (kale?).  Celery, maybe bok choy?  There's some hot rubber and coal smoke in there too.  After the whisky is aired out for 15 minutes, caramel sauce and shortbread cookie notes lend depth.  The palate is hot and spicy.  Cinnamon Red Hot candies, cayenne pepper, and ethyl connect with a very woody peat smoke.  Plenty of barley.  One can picture the wort.  There's also a Laphroaigy iodine and an earthy molasses.  Despite what the label says, it ain't sweet.  It's very dry.  The tongue numbing finish is almost all heat, but there's also plenty of moss, salt, and iodine.  Maybe some vanilla in background too.

REDUCED TO ALMOST 45.8% ABV
The nose becomes very Ledaig-like, with a funky rubbery fishy peat.  Almonds, digestive biscuits (w/o chocolate), and lots of brine.  Some grilled meat, or maybe that's just grilled nasal passages.  Notes of jasmine and lavender perk things up a bit.  The palate is still very large.  All sorts of peppers (serrano, jalapeño, white peppercorns).  Bitter lettuce, horseradish, burnt tree bark, and a specific root-like note I've only experienced in a whisky once before.  Dried herbs and salt.  It's not sweet, though it's sweeter than when neat.  A peppery buzz in the finish, along with soil, peat embers, and maybe some rubber reentering the experience.  A hint of sweetness at the very end.

This is a masochist's malt.  And that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Many of us like a little bruising before we leave a whisky love session.  It comes down to the questions, How much? and How often?

I think the palate and finish show better with added water.  The nose is the nose no matter what you do to it.  It is very dense, very challenging, sometimes weird, usually entertaining.  I like the Ledaig-esque craziness.  I like the full pepper power.  It's intense stuff from start to finish.  It makes me feel like I'm drinking Talisker new make, which brings me to the question...

...why bottle it now?  Do they have other Talisker casks that they're letting age for 8, 12, 23 years?  Because, seriously, how often does someone get his hands on a Talisker cask?  Wouldn't one want to see how much the palate and finish would improve with some more maturation?  While I like young and crazy, I prefer something I'm going to come back to over and over again.  Of all things, K&L's "Island Distillery" baby Ledaig is more more-ish.  Perhaps in frozen realms like Minnesota, a burner like this works better than in Candyland Southern California.

All of that being said, an independently bottled Talisker is like hen's teeth in the US.  It's admirable that the Davids went with this whisky.  If you wanted to get Laing's Premier Barrel 5yo Talisker, it'll be twice the price of this one.  So, technically, The Speakeasy is a steal.  And it is never boring.  If you like Ledaig, then you'll probably enjoy this whisky.  If you're expecting a cuddly yet smoldering Kilchoman, then go for a (more expensive) Kilchoman.

Availability - K&L Wines only

Pricing - $59.99

Rating - 84

Taliskravaganza! Day 5: Talisker 18 year old 1986 MacLeod's Vintage

Day 1: Talisker 10 year old
Day 2: Talisker 57º North
Day 3: Talisker 1993 Distillers Edition
Day 4: Talisker 23 year old 1982 MacLeod's Vintage
Day 5: Talisker 18 year old 1986 MacLeod's Vintage

Independent single malts from many of Diageo's well-known distilleries (think Talisker, Lagavulin, Oban, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie) can be difficult to find.  And when they are released, the bottler often does not have permission to use the distillery's name on their own label.  That's why you'll see names like Lagarubin, Lagamill, or Springnavulin for Lagavulin; and Talimburg, Tactical, and Talistill for Talisker.

As I mentioned yesterday, indie bottler Ian MacLeod Distillers were once able to get their hands on several casks of Talisker.  Though unable to use the word "Talisker" on their labels, they were able to utilize a bit of family pride to market the whisky.  The MacLeod clan was from the Isle of Skye (also Talisker's home) and big picture of the Dunvegan Castle, home of the MacLeod chieftains, sits it in the center of the whisky's front label.  (Click here for whiskybase's bottle shot.)

Today, I'm taking a taste of another bottling in MacLeod's Vintage range.  Like yesterday's whisky, it was taken from an ex-bourbon cask and reduced to a lower ABV.  Yet, despite their technical similarities (spirit origin, cask, and possible warehouse), these turned out to be very different whiskies.  Fun with single casks!

Distillery: Talisker

Independent Bottler: Ian MacLeod
Series: MacLeod's Vintage

Age: May 1986 - June 2004 (18 years)

Maturation: ex-bourbon cask
Cask number: 1483
Bottles: 264

Region: Isle of Skye, Scotland

Alcohol by Volume: 44%

Sampled neatly in a Glencairn glass, sample purchased from Whiskysamples.eu

The color is amber, a little lighter than the 23yo.  The nose is fresher, with apricots and tangerines. Quite a bit of vanilla coming from the oak, mixing with mossy peat.  A hint of plaster and generic hand lotion. Whole grain bread, walnuts, and Frangelico.  Definitely Frangelico, regular hazelnuts too. The palate is actually peatier than the nose, but it still remains the background.  Vanilla and caramel from the oak.  Lots of lime juice swirls around a malty sweetness.  Tart-sweet-tart-sweet.  A little milk chocolate.  Almost no salt.  The finish is a little nutty (as in hazels not crazies).  Brown sugar and peat moss.  Some toasted seaweed and salt.  Lemon candy, occasional puffs of smoke.  Restrained overall.

Yesterday's MacLeod's spoke with a lean, mean, classic Talisker voice.  But aside from the finish, I wouldn't have known today's whisky was from the same distillery.  In fact, the generous burp that followed this tasting hinted more towards Talisker than the whisky itself.

It's simple stuff, seeming neither old nor young.  But it's still good, the palate being the highlight.  Once I found the Frangelico in the nose that's all I could smell, which is a good thing because the plaster/lotion/walnuts/tangerines combination was not terribly enticing.  I would have liked to have known what this was like at barrel strength and why 44% was chosen as the ABV.  Maybe the off notes were stronger right out of the cask?  Or maybe MacLeod wanted more bottles to sell.

According to whiskybase's page, this was priced around 53euros at its release.  I'm pretty certain you won't be able to find it now for less than three times that price, if you can find it at all.  But it does represent one of the rare independently bottled Taliskers, and one that veers slightly away from the distillery's style.

Availability - None?

Pricing - ???

Rating - 82

23 years old to 18 years old to.........?  For Day 6, we'll go a little younger.