Speyside 13 year old 2001 Blended Malt, Archives

Aiming for my week with the few pageviews as I report on another blended malt. This time, this one has been sold out for two years! On Monday I reviewed a Islay-only vatting, today I'm reviewing a Speyside-only vatting.

According to Whiskybase Shop's description, this whisky was blended, or left to marry, in a sherry butt in 2001. From what I gather from the description, two of the single malts were distilled well before 2001, while the third malt had been distilled in 2001. Thus the 2001 vintage. That makes sense so far. What's curious is the butt's final bottle outturn (of 180) is about 1/3rd of what one would expect after 13 years. And the abv is all of 44.7%. One answer to the second quandary is that the older malts, or rather "leftovers", were sub-40%abv malt spirit at the time of the marriage, and the new make lifted the % up into the legal category. As for the outturn, I dunno, unless it's a shared cask. If you have any ideas, please share in the comment section below.

We selected this whisky for an OCSC event once upon a time. This sample was pulled from this bottle.

Company: Whiskybase
Brand: Archives

Type: Blended (or Vatted) Malt

Distilleries: Three Speyside-only distilleries (perhaps Glenfarclas, Glenrothes and Tamdhu?)

Age: at least 13 years old (October 2001 - March 2015)
Maturation: sherry butt
Cask: 117
Bottles: 180
Alcohol by Volume: 44.7%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? No

NEAT
Its color is copper. The nose starts with a simple nutty oloroso, then apples and pears. Hints of leather and plastic toys. Buttery. Watermelon rind. The palate has some broad American oak-style vanilla and more heat than I'd expected. Walnuts, tart berries and a hint of funky old cask. Slightly grassy. Slightly flat. It does have a curious finish though. It's slightly meaty, perfumy, inky and tannic.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
Heavier sherry in the nose, with dried plums and figs. Walnuts, polyester and a hint of eucalyptus. The palate is perfectly fine to consume and ignore. Lightly bitter, lightly creamy. Some tannins, some florals. A wee bit of sherry. The mild finish finishes quickly, tannic and briefly stone fruity.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I'm a little puzzled by Archives' choice here. Those fellows usually pick very good casks. This was their first, and (as of this post) only, blended malt selection. And it's not "very good" nor very good. The nose is decent, quirky, though not entirely of one piece. The neat finish is weird in a good way. The palate underwhelms when neat, then goes sub-Glenfiddich-12yo (and sub-Glenfarclas-12yo) when reduced to 40%abv.

My opinion sits at the low end of the scale for this whisky. Serge liked this better than I, though his notes don't seem to be leading to his score. Whiskynotes liked it a lot—though that doesn't surprise me since our palates are dissimilar—but his tasting notes make it look like he consumed something quite different than Serge and I.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - £70
Rating - 79

The Big Smoke 60 Blended Malt, Duncan Taylor

Duncan Taylor has released a pair of The Big Smoke blended malts, one is bottled at 46%abv, the other is 60%abv. I have been told by a reputable source that the two vattings have different recipes, and the 60%abv one has a lot of Ardbeg in it. But both are made up of nothing but Islay malts.

I eyed the 60 many times in the past, especially when it was priced at $50. Couldn't think of too many super high strength peated whiskies at that price range. Alas, I never bought it. BUT, I was gifted a sample of the 60 by Brett of Riverside last year. Let's see how it do.

Company: Duncan Taylor
Brand: The Big Smoke

Type: Blended (or Vatted) Malt

Distilleries: Islay-only

Age: NAS
Maturation: probably American oak
Alcohol by Volume: 60%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? Probably not

NEAT
The nose actually isn't that smoky. It's definitely peaty though. A stacking of seaweedy, salty, ocean smells. Butter and boat fumes. With time it picks up hints of vanilla, ginger powder and pears. The simple palate is hot, but young-60%abv hot. Peat, salt, barley, and ground pepper. Hints of fresh mint and dried oregano. A little bit of brown sugar. The finish has heat, peat and sweet(ness). Vanilla and peppercorns.

Gonna douse this one.

WITH WATER (~43%abv)
What an improvement! The nose is boldly fruity with more pungent peat. Also molasses, cocoa and figs. The palate has a silkier texture. Tart lemons and limes. Gritty peat and a horseradish bitterness. Some maltiness too. The finish holds tart candy, smokey reside and an effervescent bitterness.

How about a touch more dihydrogen monoxide?

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
The nose gets a little more candied and minty. Still plenty peaty. And the palate stays vibrant. Seaweed, salt, peat and a good herbal bitterness. The finish is leaner, with less sweetness. More focus on the peat and bitter.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I've experienced very few whiskies that improved with dilution to the extent The Big Smoke 60 did. It becomes an entirely different whisky at 43%, and it still feels richer at 40% than it did at 60%. In fact, if I bought a bottle I'd dilute the whole damn thing to 43%abv, thus getting 1050mL of Big Smoke in the process!

So if you have a bottle of this open and you've grown bored of it, add water to see what it does. Gonna guess there's young Caol Ila, Bowmore and Ardbeg in the blend. I read somewhere that there's Bruichladdich in it; maybe baby PC then? I don't exactly know why the average US price has gone up 60% (Big 60!) in the past three years. But at $65, it's probably not the worst deal in the current market.

Availability - A few dozen specialty retailers around the world
Pricing - $65-$90 in the US, cheaper in Europe
Rating - 87 (with water only!)

Bourbon and Rye Day Friday: Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year old (2016)

Baller. That's right. That's me. I'm here to strengthen my reputation for reviewing whiskies that neither you or I can find or afford. This time I'm reviewing Old Rip Van Winkle ("Don't Call Me Pappy 10") 10 year old.

So about that "afford" issue. There's no actual defunct-distillery Stitzel-Weller juice berben in ORVW anymore. It's just wheated stuff from Buffalo Trace. And it's released every year. And Buffalo Trace never announces the actual bottle count. Thus the secondary market's price is based almost solely on demand.

But why is it in demand? There are other wheated bourbons, other 10 year old bourbons, other 107 proof bourbons, some of which are made very similarly to ORVW. But ORVW is part of the annual Pappiez release. In fact, it's sorta like cheap Pappy. One can proudly add the bottle to the Conspicuous Consumption Display dick pics one airs out on social media, I suppose.

There are still some people who actually open the bottle and drink Ol' Rip, good people like Ryan from New Jersey, from whom I recently received this sample in a swap. Thank you, Ryan.

Owner: Buffalo Trace (via Sazerac)
Brand: Old Rip Van Winkle
Distillery: Buffalo Trance Distillery
Location: Franklin, Kentucky
Mash Bill: BT's mystery wheated mash bill
Age: at least 10 years
Release year: 2016
ABV: 53.5% ABV

NEAT
The nose begins with a rich round mature corn whisky note. Aromatic oak (as opposed to generic char), marshmallows and toffee pudding. Hints of cherry candy, pine sap, salty meat and Old Spice. The palate has caramel sauce, dark cherries and black cherry soda. Very minerally. Jalapeño oil and a whisper of ginger beer. The finish has the essence of candy without too much of the sweetness. Fresh cherries and cherry popsicles. Mineral. Lots of heat.

Dare I add water to Van Winkle? Sure. I'll drop it to Buffalo Trace levels.

WITH WATER (~45%abv)
The nose shows cloves, caramel, cherry candy and almond extract. The palate is mintier, sweeter. Similar cherries, less caramel. The finish is shorter, simpler. Cherries and candy.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Without fail, the Van Winkle bourbons smell fabulous. Also without fail, the palates never reach the noses' heights. This edition of ORVW has an excellent nose. While I appreciate the palate's reserved nature, it's missing the sort of depth that rye may bring. Yes, I'm a rye and high-rye bourbon fan, so I'm partial. Whatever the culprit may be, the palate hits a wall it cannot ascend. Thankfully though, it's not an oakfest. And I liked it a little better than Weller 12. Old Rip Van Winkle's suggested retail price is probably representative of its quality. The secondary market prices are not.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - $60 suggested retail price, $350-$375 actual price
Rating - 84

Bruichladdich The Laddie Eight

After going 2-3 years without an official age-stated whisky, Bruichladdich released this 8 year old single malt to the Travel Retail market in early 2016. Less than six months later they dropped a 10 year old into the world market at about the same price as the 8. That should give you a hint as to how the whisky industry feels about Travel Retail customers.

Both the eight and the new ten are made up of similar casks and are bottled at the same ABV, and have similar packaging. And now they can be found on the same shelves at dozens of European retailers.

After the new 10yo was announced, I bought a 60mL sample of the 8, partly for gits and shiggles, partly because I was hoping to find a successful single-digit age-stated whisky.

Distillery: Bruichladdich
Ownership: Remy Cointreau
Region: Western Islay
Age: minimum of 8 years
Bottling year: 2016
First Maturation: American and European oak casks
Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No

NEAT
Its color is of yellowed straw. The nose starts off farmy and slightly pukey. Lots of grains: cream of wheat, oatmeal and new carpet (not a grain product, yet). Burnt leaves. Cereal milk and mild cheddar. The palate is similar to the nose, grainy and milky. Necco wafers, Ceylon cinnamon and pencil lead. Moderate sweetness and something kinda peaty. With time in the glass, it gets hotter. It finishes tangy, milky, pukey. Burnt grains, lead and soil.

Maybe some water?

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
Hints of apples, pears and cinnamon in the nose. Less barf, same cheese and grains. A whiff of wood pulp. Apple juice shows up in the palate. Sweet-ish and lightly bitter. Milky and malty. Very very acidic. The sweet and tangy finish still has the milk and lead notes, as well as a hint of buttery pound cake.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I've picked up on modern Bruichladdich's milky note before, but never like this. That note doesn't usually bother me much, but while that character sets this whisky apart as eccentric, it also verges on foul. Things get slightly better when the whisky is diluted, but then the violent acidity crashes in.

I like when the fruit shows up, and the forwardness of the grains is refreshing. But with or without water, Laddie Eight feels American Craft Whiskey-esque. And that's not a compliment. In fact, now I'm going to avoid the new 10yo. Perhaps if they let the spirit go 12-15 years in oak, then I'll give it another try.

Availability - Travel retail and many European specialist retailers
Pricing - $50-$70 (w/o shipping)
Rating - 71 (with water only, at least 5 points lower when neat)

Laphroaig 10 year old, bottled late 1980s

Long time friend and whiskyman, Bernardo, came into possession of this Duty Free Liter of Laphroaig 10yo:

Turns out, it was bottled at the end of the '80s. The top thin label appears to have fallen off due to old dried glue. We opened it up not too long ago—crumbly cork, of course—and gave it a substantial drink or two. When I visited Bernardo two weeks ago, he allowed me another substantial pour for review. Thank you, sir.

Distillery: Laphroaig

Owner at the time: Whitbread & Co.
Region: Islay
Maturation: ex-bourbon barrels

Age: minimum 10 years
Bottled: late 1980s

Chill-filtration? ???
Caramel colored? Maybe

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Its color is a brassy gold. The nose begins with chocolate and malty drinks like Ovaltine and Yoo-hoo. There's vegetal peat (not smoky) and a gentle salty seaweed note. Apricots and limes show up early. With some air there's an acidic stone fruit note, like yellow plums. And a hint of fig too. Smoky, salty, savo(u)ry peat in the palate. A little bit of fudge and a nice leafy (young Kilkerran) note. There's a fat, almost rich, bitterness to it. Very little sweetness. A gentle tingly heat. It has a long warm finish of mild cigars, leaves, sea salt and toasted barley.

What a gorgeous nuanced thing Laphroaig once was. (See Serge waxing poetic about the 10s from that era.) It's rich without being oaky (attention: Beam Suntory), and challenging without being brutal. Though it's so very different than the Laphroaigs from this decade, and the previous, there are still matching DNA markers between those and this. Apologies for the ExhaustedWriterMetaphor™.

Perhaps there's older malt in the mix since the scotch market was still limping about at that time. Or maybe the folks at the distillery knew how to produce a stunning whisky at 10 years of age back then. I can only dream that someone—likely not under corporate ownership—cracks that code at a distillery somewhere in the world in my lifetime.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - ???
Rating - 91

The Japanese Reboot

To my great readers in Tokyo and the Kansai region who are available to waste some good hours with this crazy person in the near future, please email me at divingforpearlsblog at gmail.com. Or if you have some suggestions for off-the-path ramen spots or awamori (and, er, whisky) bars, my furry ears are open. Thank you for your time and help!

Bourbon and Rye Day Friday: Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon, HW-15-5U

If you've been following my B.A.R.D.F. series this year, you may have noticed that I haven't been particularly impressed by the bourbons and ryes I've tried. The three I've recommended—Heaven Hill 6yo BIB, Lot No. 40 and Bulleit Bourbon—are (or were) pretty easy to come by in many states, and many of you are already familiar with at least two of them. Though I have some American oddities, dusties and crafties awaiting review, I'm going to try to make sure there's a few regular comfies in the mix.

With that in mind, I've decided to review old reliable Four Roses Single Barrel for Mathilda Rose's birthday week. It's one of the few whiskies (of any sort) to be priced lower in this part of the country than in California. It's below $40 in Ohio and I saw it at $32(!) in Kentucky last weekend. I know it's hipper to talk up the cask strength private barrels, but I'm comfortably cool with the 50%abv version that can still be found without much struggle.

Am I ashamed to not have had a classier photo?
Actually, yeah, a little.
But it's late here.

Distillery: Four Roses
Ownership: Kirin
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Region: Lawrenceberg, Kentucky

Age: ???
Recipe: OBSV (high rye, fruity yeast)

Maturation: charred white oak barrels
Warehouse: HW
Barrel #: 15-5U

Alcohol by Volume: 50%
(review sample taken from midpoint of the bottle)

NEAT
Its color is rosy brown. The nose has a mix of fresh apples and cherries with brown sugar and cinnamon. And some cantaloupe. Some earthy molasses and brine to give it a slight edge. The vanilla stays subtle throughout. The palate has a comforting warm. A spicy rye rumble balances with the moderate sweetness. Cherry Squishees. Salt and unsweetened cocoa. Some orange roll up late. The sweetness grows with time, though so does the spice. It finishes with cherries and rye. Toasted grains and brief citrus. The spice picks up in later sips.

MANHATTAN
The nose is very fruity. Cherries and oranges. Still some peppery spice in the palate, with raspberries and caramel. The finish is full of pepper and berries.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Man, this is just right. The nose has great balance, while the palate never gets too oaky, and the finish lingers well. It won't knock you out of your chair—unless you have five pours—but it works like I wish more bourbons worked, neat and in cocktails.

I enjoyed it more than I'd expected, but then again, this release is a bunch of single barrels. Still there's a decent consistency between each batch/barrel. I think this particular one was in East Coast shops last year. If you find it, I doubt you'll be disappointed. If you find a different barrel, odds are it ain't bad either.

Availability - East Coast USA, I think, way back in 2016
Pricing - This series: $35-$50
Rating - 86