Ballechin 11 year old 2007 van Wees The Ultimate, cask 166

The oldest (by ~2 months) of this week's three Ballechin (plural!) and the only sherry cask, today's peated Edradour whisky doesn't have to try too hard to pass the other two. Yes, I write this intro already knowing the outcome, since I tasted this whisky along with Wednesday's Ballechin and Port Charlotte 10 year old.

As mentioned on Wednesday, I haven't been impressed with single bourbon cask Ballechins and will likely never blindly buy a bottle of it again. How about this single sherry cask?

Distillery: Edradour
Malt: Ballechin
Ownership: Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co., Ltd.
Bottler: van Wees (The Ultimate series)

Region: Highlands (Central)
Age: 11 years (2007-2018)

Maturation: 2nd fill sherry butt
Cask #: 166
Outturn: 700

Alcohol by Volume: 59.6%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? No
(from a purchased sample)

NEAT
Mesquite smoke hangs over every note in the big, hot nose. There are flowers, dried cherries, dried apricots and yeast. Beef and caramel sauce. But mostly mesquite. The palate is very nutty: cashews, almond butter and roasted peanuts. Cherry compote with fresh ginger (is that a thing?). What starts out as a moderate level of peat smoke increases with time. Cherries, almonds, salty cashews and peat smoke in the finish.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or 1¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Now it's a peat bomb. Peat peat peat on the nose. Yeast, fudge, cinnamon and cloves. It's almost a peated rye. Compared to the nose, the peat is more vegetal and less smoky in the palate. Some of the nutty note remains, mostly as marzipan. Some dried oregano and a sooty moment. The finish feels like the dingiest part, all soot and smoked nuts.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This week's winner! It's also, possibly, the best single cask (out of six) of Ballechin I've tried. The active cask doesn't choke out the spirit, though the spirit sings louder when the whisky is diluted. Normally nutty whiskies aren't my thing, but the smoke and fruit make it work. And dilution also gives it a bit of the dirty edge I've been looking for in this week's trio.

Though the Port Charlotte 10 came out on top in the overall tasting, I still prefer this Ballechin over the official sherried/winey things Bowmore and Laphroaig are squeezing out. I'm not as sold on Ballechin as I'd hoped to be, but there's still hope for this stuff.

Availability - May still be available at some continental European retailers
Pricing - around €70 w/VAT
Rating - 86

Ballechin 10 year old 2005, cask 221 for K&L Wine Merchants

After the disappointing experience with Monday's Ballechin (of course that's the bottle I bought blindly), I decided to add some perspective to the next tastings, while also testing to make sure my palate was okay. I lined up the other two Ballechin single casks and set them against the current Port Charlotte 10yo. Happily my palate is awake, but does that mean happy times for Ballechin?

First up, a single ex-bourbon cask bottled by the distillery for K&L Wines in the US.

Distillery: Edradour
Malt: Ballechin
Ownership: Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co., Ltd.

Region: Highlands (Central)
Age: 10 years (2005-2016)

Maturation: bourbon cask
Cask #: 221
Outturn: 231
Bottled for: K&L Wine Merchants
Alcohol by Volume: 55.8%

Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? No
(Thank you to Florin for the sample!)

NEAT
Peated apple juice and paint VOCs in the nose. Burnt plastic, barley and heat. Quirky and more interesting notes pass briefly in the background: dirty hay, flowers, soap and watermelon candy. The palate is hotter than I expected, but it is fruitier than the nose (think pear and guava). A moderate level of peat smoke. A slight plasticky note gets heavier with time. The sweetness also increases with time, until it borders on cloying. The heat and wood smoke in the finish can't stand up to all the sugar.

DILTUED TO ~46%abv, or 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose is farmier and maltier, with some anise, vanilla and root beer. The palate's sweetness calms down, trending towards golden raisins. Pears and plastic. Less peat. The finish matches the palate, and adds a sprinkle of cinnamon.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
While this cask is an improvement over Monday's cask, especially when diluted, this 11yo feels very very young, perhaps half its age. The exception to this is the peat which, again, is lighter than I expected from a Ballechin. I found it all much too sweet when neat. Thankfully dilution makes some good corrections.

This is the fourth single bourbon cask Ballechin I've had, and they've all been kinda so-so. Thus I don't think Ballechin can compete with Ledaig and Port Charlotte in that category. Will Friday's sherry cask fare better?

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - $90
Rating - 82 (diluted only)

Ballechin 11 year old 2005 van Wees The Ultimate, cask 218

My Ballechin enthusiasm began with their "The Discovery Series", the world's introduction to Edradour's heavily-peated single malt. Recently I realized my Ballechin excitement peaked with that very good series as well. Though I've mentally grouped Ballechin with Ledaig and Port Charlotte, I've never been wowed by any successive bottlings of Pitlochry's peater. More age and higher ABV hasn't necessarily lifted the countless single casks above the original releases.

Let's see if there are any killers in this week's three 10-11 year old Ballechin single casks. The first is from a bottle of mine, 84% of which went to a Columbus Scotch Night event in early 2017.

Distillery: Edradour
Malt: Ballechin
Ownership: Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co., Ltd.
Bottler: van Wees (The Ultimate series)

Region: Highlands (Central)
Age: 11 years (2005-2016)

Maturation: bourbon barrel
Cask #: 218
Bottle: 19 of 220

Alcohol by Volume: 54.5%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? No

NEAT
The nose starts off with eau de vie, yeast and sugar. Then kettle corn and cinnamon. It has a simple ocean-y peat and hints of flower blossoms. An apple pie note shows up after some time. Lots of heat in the palate. Then salt water taffy, almonds, salt and brown sugar. It gets sweeter and spicier with time, especially when a cinnamon note arises. The peat remains oddly calm throughout, including in the finish, where it barely appears. The finish is tart, salty, sweet and tingly, mostly showing that cinnamon candy note.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or > 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose opens up a little bit. There's vanilla and sugary milk chocolate bars. Caramel, flowers, mint chip ice cream and mild wood smoke. The palate, on the other hand, seems to close up. It's sweet and plain. Lightly smoky with some vanilla and pound cake. The generic finish is warm and mild, more toasty than smoky.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This was a particularly disappointing Ballechin. After I added water, I almost dumped some of my pour due to boredom. The rawness of the neat nose has its limited charms, as does the sudden oak attack of the diluted version. The absence of peat is noticeable and unfortunate because it reveals that not much is going on, especially on the palate. Hopefully the next one is better...

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - ~€60
Rating - 79

Diageo's Game of Thrones single malts, part 2

I've divided Diageo's eight Game of Thrones single malts into two groups, sexy distilleries and not-sexy distilleries.

Sexy distilleries 
Oban
Talisker
Clynelish
Lagavulin

Not-sexy distilleries
Glendullan
Cardhu
Dalwhinnie
Royal Lochnagar

The not-sexy distilleries' whiskies got their reviews on Tuesday, and it was a pathetic showing, seemingly a bunch of whisky Diageo couldn't sell in another form, with the only exception being the 12yo Royal Lochnagar. I hope the sexy distilleries' GoT single malts are better.

Oban Bay Reserve (The Night's Watch), NAS, 43%abv

The nose has a (welcome) musty edge to it. There are apples, barley, grasses, sharp cheddar and a yeasty fermented note. Like Ben Nevis Lite Lite. The palate is......where is the palate? It's inoffensive at first. Then it takes on a milky/cheesy note. Then it turns sour. Bits of peppercorns, sugar, vanilla and apple float around. The finish is sour, peppery vanilla alcohol.

The quirky nose was fun, but it all descended steeply from there. One is left wishing they'd matched the whisky with the packaging's dark, brooding graphic design. Instead the whisky is weak and flawed, trending towards middle-shelf blend territory. Yes, it's worse than than Little Bay. The nose is the only that keeps it afloat.

Rating - 76

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Talisker Select Reserve (House of Greyjoy), NAS, 45.8%abv
(Oh no, "Select" and "Reserve" in one name?)

Ah, the first nose with character. Wet sheep, heck, wet sheepdogs too. Salty sea air, cinnamon, sugar and mint extract. More peppery smoke and white fruits with time. The palate has bolder peat than OB Talisker usually flaunts. And less oak than the rest of the Talisker NASes. Lemons, ginger powder, green peppercorns and a hint o' mint follow. It gets sweeter with time. A good finish. Sooty, salty, with a squeeze of lemon. A little bit of sugar and ginger powder.

Now we're talking. I had to get to whisky #6 before I enjoyed an entire sample. If you were let down with the entire crop of recent Talisker NASes, as I was, this may provide a little hope. There's less, I don't know, fuckery going on here. It's just young Talisker with the volume turned up. But unlike some of the indie baby Taliskers, this won't ruin your palate and your night's sleep.

Rating - 85

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Clynelish Reserve (House of Tyrell), NAS, 51.2%abv
(They've run out of names. How about Clynelish Batch Strength? It's doublespeak, but it's not "Reserve".)

Complex nose alert! Soot, hay and coriander right up front, then lime zest and roses. Then there's a waltz of milk chocolate, dulce de leche and molasses in the midground. A little more heat in the palate. There's a lot of veg, apple peels and cocoa powder up front. Some vanilla and sugar in the background. Everything seems just fine until the whisky shifts into another gear with lime zest, cumin and minerals, lifting the entire malt. Those limey limes stay into the finish. Then honey, chiles, salt, stones and a hint of brown sugar.

A good surprise, finally. Several unpleasant young Clynelish have previously passed my lips. And I had thought this Reserve was just the cheapo version of the odd superluxe Select Reserve, and maybe it is, but it's good. Very good. It's not going to unseat the 14yo, but as another take on one of Diageo's gems, it's a success.

Rating - 87

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Lagavulin 9 year old (House of Lannister), 46%abv

The nose is similar to the Talisker's but heavier and peatier. The peat is almost cruciferous, with a side of pepper-laden barbecue pork. Dirty chimneys and rauchbier. It picks up good cinnamon notes after some time in the glass. Smoked almond butter and crisp young peat smoke in the palate. Hell, it's industrial pre-Paris-Agreement climate-murdering black smoke. Also ginger candy, bitter chocolate and black peppercorns. It finishes with soot, bitter chocolate, ginger powder, heat and ocean water.

It's the large emotionally-warped older sibling of Talisker Select Reserve. And it's one note. But what a note. You know if you like this style or not. For those of you who embrace this spiritual preference, know that this 9yo ain't no 12yo CS, nor 16yo. But it's a good competitor for the more prevalent 8yo.

Rating - 85

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There's a lot of mediocre whisky in this collection, and we're all shocked (shocked!) to find this going on. I sincerely hope none of you bought this collection at anything other than MSRP. There isn't a single whisky in the GoT bunch that isn't topped by the regular age-stated range. Some of these whiskies are crap, to be frank. Three are worth a look, at their original price. But that's it, unless you're in the US and must have a Royal Lochnagar in your collection. Anyway, if you want 'em ranked, there they are:

1. Clynelish Reserve
2. (tie) Lagavulin 9 year old
2. (tie) Talisker Select Reserve
4. Royal Lochnagar 12 year old
5. (tie) Dalwhinnie Winter's Frost
5. (tie) Oban Bay Reserve
7. Cardhu Gold Reserve
8. The Singleton of Glendullan Select

Now, Distell International, get on that The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel set! I'll be first in line for the Susie Myerson Ledaig Select Reserve.

Diageo's Game of Thrones single malts, Part 1

Thanks to two Columbus Scotch Night events, I have samples of all eight of Diageo's Game of Thrones-branded single malts. Rather that going through all eight whiskies in one sitting, I split the collection into two tastings:

Sexy distilleries 
Oban
Talisker
Clynelish
Lagavulin

Not-sexy distilleries
Glendullan
Cardhu
Dalwhinnie
Royal Lochnagar

The not-sexy distilleries are first.

Singleton of Glendullan Select (House Tully), NAS, 40%abv

It noses like a blend. A cheap blend. Apples, VOC paint fumes, rice, oats, barley and cinnamon. After a while it smells like a park bathroom in summer, all urinal and soap. Like the nose, the palate is cheap blendy. Apples, vanilla, alcohol and American cheese. It trends towards vinegar the longer it sits in the glass. The finish matches the palate, with some extra bitterness.

This is has to be one of the weakest Diageo releases ever. It's as if they had a stash of (extra) limp Glendullan casks that they didn't throw into Johnnie Walker Red Label, because they knew they could make more money off of them this way. I think we're all learning to stay away from NAS single malts with "Select" in their name. This one is a mere one step above JW Red.

Rating - 68

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Cardhu Gold Reserve (House Targaryen), NAS, 40%abv

Again with the VOC paint fumes on the nose, but at least there are pineapples, pears, cinnamon and anise. Then a layer of vanilla, cotton and cardamom. A cardboard note comes and goes. The thin palate starts with vanilla, grass and something very buttery. Then lemons, grain whisky and a slight phenolic note. It get sourer and sourer with time. The shortest finish of the four. It's buttery, grassy and sour.

While nose provides some hope, the palate and finish dash it asunder. There was a previous, short lived Cardhu Gold Reserve unleashed during the NAS-heavy days of 2014. Why they chose to resurrect that flop here, I don't know. If you're forced to drink either the Cardhu or Glendullan for free, I'd say take the Cardhu. Give it some club soda to turn it into vanilla thing. Don't waste your liver with it neat. Diageo has a host of better blends.

Rating - 72

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Dalwhinnie Winter's Frost (House Stark), NAS, 43%abv

The nose starts off all cardboard, flowers and orange peel. It gets more sugary and vanilla-y with time, also picking up a horseradish note. The palate is grassy and sweet with hints of lime. There's also ginger, pepper, vanilla and a slight bitter edge. Its mildly sweet finish has tart limes, vanilla, grass and cloves.

Once again, whisky name seems to be recycled. Winter's Gold was (is?) Dalwhinnie's NAS release this decade, a whisky that was intended to be kept in the freezer like a vodka but at thrice the price. Brilliant. Anyway, the GoT version is called Winter's Frost. While the nose and palate are barely there, it tastes fine. The finish isn't ugly. Those extra three points of alcohol probably help in some way, but there's no need to pick this over the regular 15 year old.

Rating - 76

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Royal Lochnagar 12 year old (House Baratheon), 40%abv

A proper nose: apples, lemons, toasted oak (cloves), good cinnamon, vanilla bean and white grape juice. It gets fruitier as time passes. The palate has a simple balance of barley and oak. The vanilla stays in the background. It's lightly grassy. Lots of tangy citrus, especially limes. Mild sweetness and bitterness. The longest finish of the four. Ginger, limes, grass and toasted nuts.

The oldest(!) of the GoT malts, this Lochnagar is the best of these four by some distance. That's not to say it's better than decent. Had it been bottled at 46%abv, we might actually have something here, but you've heard this song before. And I guess it's nice to see a Royal Lochnagar in The States. If you do buy and *gasp* elect to drink it, I recommend letting it sit for a bit in the glass. It takes time for the fruits to appear.

Rating - 81

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While I didn't expect much from these four, this was an especially crappy tasting. The winner, Royal Lochnagar, may have gotten a generous score because I was excited that it didn't suck. And it doesn't. But it's also not a great whisky. A lot of effort was put into the graphic design on the tubes and labels. It doesn't seem like a fraction of that care was put into the liquid inside the bottles. In fact, this group does seem like a dumping ground. Hopefully the sexy distilleries' malts are better.

Mathilda Malt: Tobermory 32 year old 1972, red label

And now back to selfish reviews of impossible-to-find scotch.

Part of what makes this 32yo Tobermory impossible-to-find is its actual scarcity. The other thing that labels it impossible-to-find is (SPOILER ALERT) its quality. It's a dark rich old whisky that hasn't lost all of the original spirit's character nor grown tannic. It's also sulphur-free, for those concerned about that.

A little bit of history:

Tobermory/Ledaig distillery has a habit of closing. It was open from 1798-1837, then closed until 1878. It ran until 1930, when it closed. It reopened in 1972, then closed in 1975. It reopened in 1979, then stopped production three years later. It started up again in 1989, running until 2017 when the doors shut for two years of repairs. It reopened this year.

The 1972 reboot marked a year or two of whisky that is beloved by older generations of single malt geeks. I have no real opinion about the 1972 Tobermory (known then as Ledaig) malts. I had one previous to today's '72. It was very good, but I've found Tobermory/Ledaig's output to be very good during more recent years as well, and cheaper and available. Still, when Cobo sent me a treasure box of samples a while back, I was very very excited to see this whisky.

Thank you, Cobo!

Distillery name now: Tobermory
Distillery name then: Ledaig
Ownership now: Distell International
Ownership then: Ledaig Distillery Ltd.
Region: Isle of Mull
Age: 32 years (1972 - 2005)
Maturation: "finished in oloroso sherry casks"
Outturn: 1,710 bottles
Bottle number: 443
Alcohol by Volume: 49.5%

There are a few official 1972 Tobermories. This is the one with the red label.

The nose is calm, almost patient, revealing aspects gradually. Pipe tobacco, moss, coal smoke and dunnage. Cocoa powder, dried cherries, Carpano Antica. A hint of dried cheese. Mild medicinal notes drift through the background. The palate moves more boldly. Tar, cigars and coal smoke. Dried cherries and golden raisins floating in Underberg. In-season plums and blackberries. The walls of a moldy dunnage (You mean you haven't licked them? He asks.). The finish holds that balance of cigars / coal smoke / dunnage + dried berries / fresh berries / fresh plums. And "no tannin tongue?!?"

Yeah, I don't know how long this was "finished" in sherry casks, but there ain't no other sherry "finish" like this. Mercy. This is beautiful whisky. The 1990 Littlemill, though very good, did not stand a chance against it. I think the Tobermory goes for $800-$1000 on the secondary market and, though I won't comment on that price, I do agree it is luxurious. It made me close my MacBook, lean back in my chair, watch the rain fall softly against the window and think of absolutely nothing. Upstairs, Mathilda was having her quiet time. Downstairs, Papa was having his.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - $800-$1000
Rating - 93

Invitation to a Bourbon Taste Off!

***THE TASTE OFF HAS ITS 16 TASTERS!***

Damn, y'all are fast.

Mathilda is like her father in many ways. Like, too many ways. Moody? Check. Hypochondriac? Check. Obsessed with the potty? Check. One of the less terrifying similarities is the habit of collecting random things, and then forgetting about them. All her coat pockets are full of wood chips, twigs and smooth rocks.

Speaking of wood chips: Bourbon!

I have five versions of Elijah Craig Small Batch. Who knows why. Okay, there's a reason for the fifth bottle. This very occasion. And what occasion is this?

TASTE OFF!

And YOU are invited. Really.

Okay, up to 16 of yous.

Here are the ECs:

From left to right:
--12 year old, bottled ca. 2001, distilled at the old distillery, before the fire.
--12 year old Small Batch with the red 12 on the front label.
--12 year old Small Batch with the age statement moved to the back label.
--Small Batch, no age statement, previous bottle/label style
--Small Batch, no age statement, current bottle/label style

They're from all over the place: Shibuya, Tokyo; Buena Park; Long Beach; Newcastle, Indiana; and Westerville, Ohio.

Rather than blab about some showy bottle in honor of Mathilda's 5th birthday, I'd rather do something slightly more interactive this year. And I have these five bottles. I mean, I like Elijah Craig, but.

So, The Taste Off.

Email me at divingforpearlsblog at gmail dot com if you would like to partake. (For you, my friend, it's free.) Here are the important things:

--We're doing this blindly, including me.
--I will post the results in late June, with an engaging narrative that either springs forth organically from everyone's experience, or is awkwardly shoehorned in.
--Your name will not be used in the post, so no one has to enter a witness relocation program after he enjoys the current small batch more than the pre-fire 12yo. Except for me. (recycled joke!)

If you're among the first 16 confirmed for the experience, I'll email you additional information. So......are you in?