Taste Off: A pair of 5 year old Taliskers bottled by the Laings

Let's go down to Tiny Talisker Town.

What I have here are a pair of whiskies with the following aspects in common:

• Distillery: Talisker
• Indie Bottler: The Laing family (Langside Distillers / The Laing Whisky Company)
• Age: 5 years old
• Cask: refill hogshead
• Exclusive to: K&L Wine & Spirits

Long time readers may remember that I have reviewed The Speakeasy Talisker before. I've grumped a number of times about indie bottlers rushing to bottle immature whiskies, but I found the five year old Speakeasy to be quite good. So I decided to give another try, alongside the next baby Talisker cask selected by K&L, a 5yo 2009 from the Hepburn's Choice label.

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Distillery: Talisker

Independent Bottler: The Laing Whisky Company

Age: 5 years (April 2008 - November 2013)

Maturation: refill hogshead
Cask number: 8
Bottles:  345

Alcohol by Volume: 58.2%
Exclusive to: K&L Wines
Chillfiltered: No
Colored: No
(Sample taken from my bottle)

NEAT
Its color is a very light amber. The nose begins with mezcal, lemons, oranges and wood ash. With some time it transitions to mint leaves, burnt barley and lemon cake. The palate is peppery as heck. Chili powder. Smoky cocoa powder. Lemon candy and clover honey. It finishes with honey pepper hot sauce, lemons and mossy peat.

WITH WATER (~45.8%abv)
The nose gets very floral (blossoms, not perfume). There's a ham, honey, saltines and yeast. It fades pretty quickly though, leaving behind a single broad smoke note. The palate is sweet and spicy. Simple but balanced. Mezcal, barley and honey. The finish balances light sweetness, pepper and smoke, getting sweeter with time.

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Distillery: Talisker

Independent Bottler: Langside Distillers
Range: Hepburn's Choice

Age: 5 years (2009 - 2015)

Maturation: refill hogshead
Bottles: 281

Alcohol by Volume: 59.5%
Exclusive to: K&L Wines
Chillfiltered: No
Colored: No
(Sample taken from a whisky event bottle)

NEAT
It may have the lightest color I've ever seen on a whisky. It's almost clear. The nose is super vegetal with plastic and rubber band notes. But it also has molasses, mesquite chips, tequila and apricots. The palate has a spritely balance of veg, pepper and white fruit sweetness. Some mint and mossy smoke as well. Plenty of heat in the finish, along with peat smoke, black pepper, pretzels and charred veggies.

WITH WATER (~45.8%abv)
The nose picks up some grilled meat notes, more moss and more rubber. It gets coastal and farmy too. The palate is minty, salty, peppery, sweet and charred. The finish is very peppery with lighter smoke and sweetness. Cigarette smoke.

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WORDS WORDS WORDS

My opinion of The Speakeasy remains unchanged. It's a brash young whisky that will appeal to mezcal fans and peatheads. In addition to its fiery character, the whisky makes for a decent drink. It's one of the better low-oak super-young whiskies I've had. That being said, I'm glad I split this bottle with friends because I don't think I could have kept up the enthusiasm for an entire 750mL.

The 2009 Hepburn's Choice comes across even rawer and younger than The Speakeasy. In fact its color gives a pretty good hint as to what one should expect. It's probably as close to Talisker new make as a non-Diageo employee will be able to try. Even though it blitzes the palate, it's less abusive than the 46%abv 6yo Ardmore I reviewed two weeks ago. And it's more complex and enjoyable, compared to that Ardmore.

But, The Speakeasy wins the day here. It feels more like a mostly-complete product than immature spirit chosen for bottling because......well, I don't know why the 5yo cask was selected for a retailer by Langside. I don't understand why it couldn't have been left to cook for another 5-7 years. As referenced above, it's absolutely NOT bad whisky, but it still feels a bit like a stunt. Perhaps the hope was Speakeasy the Sequel. It's not, though it does provide a quick peek into Talisker's spirit.

Talisker 5yo 2008 The Speakeasy
Availability - sold out
Pricing - $60
Rating - 84

Talisker 5yo 2009 Hepburn's Choice
Availability - sold out
Pricing - $50
Rating - 78

Bourbon and Rye Day Friday: Forgotten Roses (Four Roses) Bourbon

BARD Friday returns with......a thing.

First, the story! I will protect the names of certain individuals and companies because I don't want to get anyone in trouble. Though one company's name is clearly in the post's title. And the anonymous's identities may be easily deduced with some research, but I'm going to roll with the secrecy because it's like midnight here and my brane is tyred.

My brother in-law's brother in-law (no not me, the other one) knows a girl who knows a guy who works at a well-regarded well-distributed independent brewery. Said brewery does the occasional barrel-aged stout. Sometimes they get their barrels fresh from Four Roses distillery. Recently, as per my source, "some of the barrels had some whiskey still in them which had secreted out of the wood after they were emptied." The fellas at the brewery siphoned out the leftovers and got at least a full bottle of whiskey out of it.

This resulting bourbon was 142 proof. Just a liiiiiiiiitle higher than 4R tends to go. I imagine that crazy levels of oxidation and absorption were the factors behind the super proof.

Anyway, my sources, let's call them Awdoo and The Money Man, sent me 2.5 ounces of this forgotten fire nectar for gits and shiggles. Thank you very much, Awdoo and The Money Man. Time to review the barrel juice.

"Forgotten Roses" 71.0% alcohol by volume

As you can see above, I separated this sample into two glasses. One remained at full strength, the other was reduced to 50% abv (BIB strength, 4R Single Barrel strength, etc.).

Full Power:

NOSE -- It smells like bourbon. Lots of charred oak and caramel. A little bit of corn and marzipan. A combination of cinnamon and orange candies. It can be on the perfumy side at times, but that note keeps transforming into honey. With a lot of air, sugar and leather are outted.

PALATE -- Minty with lots of spicy woodstuff. Brown sugar and barrel char. It's hot, but nowhere near as hot as anticipated. Here the perfumy side drifts into tangy fruit. Air brings out bitter oak.

FINISH -- Lots of barrel action. Think char and wet cardboard. Pinches of spice, bitterness and soap. It does have a good mild sweetness though.

And then:

Diluted to 50%abv:

NOSE -- Sherry and shoe polish. But mostly shoe polish. Butt sweat. I'll let you figure out if that's sherry shipping "butt" or not. Raspberries and vanilla.

PALATE -- Nutrasweet. Earthy, grassy, sooooooooooooooooooapy. Spicy burnt socks.

FINISH -- Fruity and sooooooooooooooooooapy. Carpet vomit.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

As with Mogwai, don't get this whiskey wet. Somehow in all its unusual oxidation, it may be at peak form as is. At 71%abv, it's perfectly recognizable, drinkable, enjoyable, a bourbon I'd be happy to consume again. Its finish is the trouble spot that keeps it earthbound. But because I had expected the finish be like the receiving end of Hacksaw Jim Duggan's 2x4, I'd say this was a reasonable success, overall.

And then I added water. And then I died. And then I was arisen. And then I drank it all. And then I didn't sleep because the air was bleeding.

Thanks again to Awdoo and The Money Man. And hopefully everyone is alive and well at the beer-making place after consuming the bottle's contents. Happy Friday!

RATING: Gone but definitely not forgotten

Single Malt Report: Talisker 2006 Distillers Edition (2016 bottling)

Yesterday I reviewed the 2009 chapter of Talisker's Distillers Edition and it was.....eh. Especially when compared to the current (2016) version. Which I did. Good sentences on this post.

See below for the second half of the Talisker DE Taste Off. The 2016 Edition doesn't have an age statement as usual, but this time it's entirely possible the whisky isn't a full ten years old. Nonetheless, it's not bad.

Distillery: Talisker

Ownership: Diageo

Type: Single Malt
Region: Isle of Skye

Age: 10 years or less (2006-2016)
Maturation: refill ex-bourbon casks for ??? years, then a brief finish in ex-Amoroso casks
Alcohol by Volume: 45.8%

Chill-filtration? Yep
Caramel colored? Also Yep
(Review from purchased sample)

Its color is DiageoGold™. The nose starts off with the same soap note as the 1998, but it fades quicker, thank goodness. There's more char and vegetal notes in this one. Burnt nuts, mesquite chips, BBQ ribs, tar and band-aids. It also has a sugary side to it, with caramel and buttery dough. In fact, one nostril picks up more sugar, the other gets more smoky stuff. After 30+ minutes there are some dry sherry cigarette notes as well. The palate is big on savory. Roast beef, Vegemite and smokiness that grows with time. There's also a bit of sweetness that stays in balance with the savoriness. Candied stone fruits, black licorice and a cherry + BBQ combo. Some zippy moments of fresh ginger and wood spice show up after some time. Its finish delivers a bigger bite than the '98. Wood smoke, fresh ginger and black licorice. Gumdrops, though at 1/10th the sweetness. A little bit of savory and salt.

Well, not everything used to be better than it is now. This current version of Talisker DE is more complex and well rounded, while delivering a bigger punch, than the 1998-2009 version. Though, to be honest the 1993-2007 Edition remains my favorite so far. One kinda forgets this one almost immediately after the finish fades. Anyway...

If you're standing at the whisky store, looking at the different blue Talisker boxes, I'd recommend this over Storm and Skye. It may even top some recent batches of the 10 year old. On the other hand, it's not worth $75+ IMHO. It's a B-grade whisky that's neither old or scarce. You can find it for a (comparable) song at some Netherlands retailers, though.

Availability - (this edition) Many speciality liquor retailers
Pricing - (this edition) $65-$95 in the US, $45-$80 in Europe
Rating - (this edition) 86

Single Malt Report: Talisker 1998 Distillers Edition (2009 bottling)

I'm starting off Taliskravaganza 2017 with a pair of Talisker DEs. Happily I was able to try the 2009 bottling alongside the current 2016 version and I'll be sharing my thoughts on them today and tomorrow.

Here's a quick recap for those unfamiliar with these whiskies: Diageo releases annual Distillers Editions for many of its Classic Malts, including Oban, Lagavulin, Talisker, Glenkinchie, Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Caol Ila and Royal Lochnagar. Each single malt has been finished in a specific type of fortified wine cask for an unspecified period of time. For instance, Lagavulin is finished in Pedro Ximenez casks, Caol Ila in Moscatel, Oban in Montilla Fino Sherry, and Talisker in Amoroso. Oh, and there's no apostrophe in "Distillers" for some reason.

To quote a post from Taliskravaganza 2014:

...the age of the Talisker Distillers Editions has lessened over the years.  From 2000 - 2007 (vintages 1987-1993), they were 13 years or older.  In 2008 (the 1996 vintage), it was 12 years old.  Then from 2009 until the current version, it's 11 years or younger.  I'm going to guess that age reduction is due to demand.  Or it's possibly due to a level of production efficiency; over the last four years they may just take the regular 10 year old casks and give them the sherry finish....

Indeed today's 2009 bottling is around 11 years old, while the 2016 edition (like the 2015) is at most 10 years old.

Distillery: Talisker

Ownership: Diageo

Type: Single Malt
Region: Isle of Skye

Age: between 10 and 11 years (1998-2009)
Maturation: refill ex-bourbon casks for 10-ish years, then a brief finish in ex-Amoroso casks
Alcohol by Volume: 45.8%

Chill-filtration? Yessiree
Caramel colored? Yes'm
(Review from purchased sample)

Its color is DiageoGold™. The nose starts out a little quirky, mixing tar, Dove soap and orange candy. After a few minutes it straightens out a bit, bringing smoke and butterscotch to the fore as the soap and tar fade back. It takes 20-30 minutes for it to really shine, at which point black raisins, dried cherries, plums and toffee take over. The palate is more savory than sweet, though it does start off with ginger ale, limes and toasted oak spice. Then almonds, salt and fresh ginger leap forward. It's a simple thing, though it does have a good mouthfeel, making one wonder how much better it would have been without chill filtration. The finish is quiet for the first few sips, gradually taking on the palate's almonds, salt and fresh ginger, along with a nice inky bitterness.

This one takes a long time to wake up. Once it airs out, the nose is the best part, showcasing the some of the better characteristics from the spirit and wine cask. The palate and finish are both fine. Nothing offends (except perhaps that early soap note), but there's little in the way of highlights. This is certainly a full step down in quality compared to the Talisker 10 that was being produced at the time.

Availability - (this edition) Happy Hunting!
Pricing - (current edition) $65-$95 in the US, $45-$80 in Europe
Rating - (this edition) 82

Single Malt Report: anCnoc 18 year old (2016)

There are a pair of Scottish distilleries called Knockando and Knockdhu. Both were built in the 1890s. Both have been owned by the companies that later became Diageo. Both have Gaelic names that refer to 'the dark hillock'. Though I've reviewed a number of Knockandos, today's review marks my first for a single malt from Knockdhu.

Knockdhu was built by DCL in 1893, a century before the company became part of Diageo. After 89 years of production, the distillery was amongst those closed in 1983. In 1988 the distillery became one of the very few to be sold off, rather than destroyed, by DCL. The new owners, Inver House Distillers restarted production in 1989. In 1990 they released a Knockdhu single malt that had been distilled by DCL. In 1993, they changed the name of their single malt brand to anCnoc "following a gentleman's agreement ... in order to avoid any possible confusion with Knockando," as per Charlie MacLean's Whiskypedia.

anCnoc ('a hill', pronounced a-nock) has been putting out well-received (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, etc.) whiskies for a number of years now, but really hasn't garnered any sexy cachet amongst whisky fans in the process. And I can be counted amongst that number. As of four weeks ago, I had never tried one of their US bottlings.

[DISCLOSURE: Today's bottle was sent to me by Amy from Ten27 Communications, a PR firm for InterBev, AnCnoc's parent company. Thank you, Amy.]

Distillery: Knockdhu

Owner: Inver House Distillers (via Thai Beverages plc via International Beverage Holdings Ltd.)
Type: Single Malt
Region: border of Speyside and Western Highlands

Age: minimum 18 years
Maturation: "Spanish oak ex-sherry casks and American oak ex-bourbon barrels"
Bottling year: 2016
Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Chill-filtration? No
Caramel colored? No
Review taken from just above mid-bottle.

NEAT
Its color is a medium gold. The nose begins with a toasty, spicy fruitiness that I imagine comes from the Spanish oak. There are orange peels and honeydew. Toffee and fudge. Candied ginger and cherry lollipops. A hint of vanilla gives it a little bit of shortbread note too. A dusty maltiness lingers in the back. More straight up sherry in the palate, though never prune-y or raisin-ed. Toffee, citrus peels and mint. It has a mineral edge to it and solid herbal presence that almost feels peaty. A spicy white pepper note mingles with some thick malt. It finishes sweetly and full of citrus. Woody spices, candy corn and Nutella.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
Thought the liquid doesn't cloud, it does get very oily. The nose is minty and chocolatey. Cherry candy, caramel and some musty cask notes. The palate gets creamier, fragrant. It's simple, but sturdy and spicy. Citrus and nuts. The finish picks up some pepper and earth, and quite a bit of tannins.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This is a very solid, textured malt, with a more interesting European oak angle than most sherried (and much more expensive) 18 year olds. It won't knock (hee) you off your seat, but it's very reliable and tasty. As a totally random comparison, it reminds me more of Arran 14 than Arran 18, which is a good thing because the 14 is my favorite of Arran's range.

The first few pours from the bottle were a bit tight, as I've found with most whiskies. But right here at the bottle's midpoint, it has opened up well. The finish gets too sugary for me at times, but I don't have much of a sweet tooth. On the other hand the whisky swims pretty well, which may be partly due to its good presentation. And that good presentation (46%abv, no chill filtration nor added colorant) demonstrates a company's respect of its products and its customers. I'm glad InterBev understands that. It's too bad that most of the other conglomerates do not.

Availability - Many spirits specialists in the US and Europe
Pricing - $90-$120, can also be had for less than $100 in a European shipment
Rating - 87

This February: Taliskravaganza 2017 and the return of BARD Friday!

Taliskravaganza 2014 was a delight to write, so I've been threatening to do a sequel ever since. And like any proper sequel, Taliskravaganza 2017 is going to be bigger and louder and more bloated than the original. It's going on ALL MONTH LONG. That's right. You're just lucky February is the shortest month of the year.

"Will there be relevant Talisker reviews?" you ask. "Ha!" I reply.

If you could not care less about Taliskravaganza (for shame), be comforted knowing that Bourbon and Rye Day Friday returns for perpetuity (or until I run out of samples) starting this coming......Friday. There will be old stuff, new stuff. Red stuff, blue stuff. Odds and ends. Dusties and musties.

Technically tomorrow isn't February, so I'll begin the week with a review of a current(!) whisky. And not from a sample, but from my own bottle. Amazing!

A Brief History of Ardmore Distillery (Part 3), plus a review of Ardmore 16 year old 1996 Old Malt Cask, cask 8020

History

(part 1)

(part 2)

When Allied Distillers bought William Teacher & Sons in 1976, they shut down Ardmore's on site Saladin malting box, preferring to use sourced malted barley instead. In 2002, Ardmore was the second to last distillery to move away from coal-fueled direct fired stills, transitioning to modern steam coil heating.

Allied split up in 2005, with Jim Beam Brands picking up more than 20 Scotch whisky brands, including Teacher's and Ardmore. In 2014, Beam merged with Suntory to create the massive Beam Suntory conglomerate.

Despite all these changes, Ardmore continues to produce peated Highland whisky. As of several years ago, the sourced malt had peat specs of 12-14ppm, which is almost twice that of Springbank's current levels. The malt's peat comes from St. Fergus in the Northeast Highlands, so it produces different characteristics than Islay, Northern or Western peat.

Only within the past decade has the distillery put out a steady supply of official single malt, though enthusiasts are still better served by exploring Ardmore's potential through independent bottlings.

Sources:
MacLean, Charles. Whiskypedia. A Compendium of Scotch Whisky. New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing, 2010.
MacLean, Charles. Scotch Whisky, A Liquid History. London, UK: Cassell Illustrated, 2005.
Ronde, Ingvar (Ed.). Malt Whisky Yearbook 2016. Shropshire, UK: MagDig Media. 2015.
Roskrow, Dominic (Ed.). 1001 Whiskies You Must Taste Before You Die. New York, NY: Universe Publishing. 2012.

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Whisky

Distillery: Ardmore
Region: Highlands (Eastern)

Independent Bottler: Douglas Laing
Range: Old Malt Cask

Age: 16 years (February 1996 - February 2012)

Maturation: refill hogshead
Cask number: 8020
Bottle: 315

Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfiltered? No
Colored? No
(A purchased sample)

NEAT
Its color is almost the same as Wednesday's immature 6yo Ardmore. Perhaps un-oaked chardonnay rather than pinot grigio? The nose presents an amusing duality. First there are the industrial note: new carpet, new sneakers and glossy magazine print. Then there's the fruit: peaches and pears, raspberry jam and orange marmalade. After 20 minutes or so, a wet sand note arises. Its palate's challenging quality comes not from peat but from the raw ultra-young spirit. Very spicy cinnamon notes. Hay, dried basil, white fruits and vanilla. The finish is similar to the palate. Cinnamon Red Hots candies, bran flakes, dried herbs and hay.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
The nose has barely changed. If anything, the fruit has lessened and a bit of mossy peat has joined the rougher synthetic notes. There's a better bitterness to the now leaner palate. Less sweetness, less spice. It's herbal and mineral. Savory and salty with a tiny bit of sneaker peat. It finishes salty, savory and earthy.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Another raw Ardmore. I tried this one alongside the 6yo and by the time I finished my palate was wrecked. Like the 6, the 16 reads like less than half its age statement. The 16's good nose shows some level of maturation and puts it ahead of the 6 quality-wise. It's admirably naked stuff, but even as a fan of low-oak whisky, I don't mind if I never drink this again. Which means, as enjoyable as the nose may be, I can't grade the whisky over 80.

Though I've been singing this distillery's praises for years, I've reviewed only one Ardmore that approached excellence. I guess I'm going to have to start opening up more bottles from my stash.

Availability - Still around at a few European retailers, five years later
Pricing - around €75
Rating - 78