NOT Single Malt Report: Slane Castle Irish Blended Whiskey

Sometimes one's senses don't cooperate during a tasting.  Sometimes one gets a bad sample.  Sometimes the whisk(e)y was stored improperly or has been sitting at the bottom of a mostly empty bottle for years.

These variables often result in a less than optimal set of tasting notes.  There have been times that I've tasted something and went "What?"  Then I compare my notes to those of others who have tried the same drink......and it's as if we've tasted completely different whiskies.

Though the tasting experience is subjective, if I try a dram of Glen Garbage and discover notes of rotten milk and mercury while everyone else finds characteristics of dried fruits, chocolate, and mint, it's fair to say that I've experienced some level of a whiskey fail.

I feel like I'm mostly alone in my judgement of Hakushu 12yr.  I really wanted to love it, almost bought a bottle of it blind.  All the tasting notes I'd read online sounded quite nice.  But instead of nosing and tasting hints of citrus, lemongrass, licorice, vanilla, pepper, and flowers, what did I find?  Salty-beefy-cheesy farts.  And per my notes: "a watered-down Laphroaig 10 meets Glenfiddich 12 infused with a kitchen gas leak."

So there was a fail in there somewhere.  Maybe it was the sample.  Maybe it was me......or rather my senses -- I did not smell like salty-beefy-cheesy farts, I think.

I'm humbly posting two reports this week that I believe were examples of whisk(e)y fails.  Today, it's Irish, tomorrow it's Scottish.

Distillery: Cooley
Brand: Slane Castle
Type: Irish Blended Whiskey (single malt + grain)
Current Owner: Beam Inc.
Age: at least 4 years
Maturation: first fill ex-bourbon casks
Alcohol by Volume: 40%

Slane Castle is one of the several indie bottlings produced at Cooley Distillery.  With the recent Beam Inc. takeover, all or most of these indies will stop production as the new owners want to keep as much juice as possible for their major brands (Kilbeggan, Tyrconnell, and Connemara).  At the moment, Slane Castle is still for sale all over the US and their website is still active.

Drinkhacker liked it quite a bit.  John Hansell of Whisky Advocate wrote a pair of very positive reviews for this whiskey. He noted that it was full of "honeyed vanilla, soothing caramel, lively summer fruits, golden raisin, subtle date, and butter cookie" and that it was very drinkable.

Sounds yummy, right?  Especially for this blogger who loves him some Irish whiskey.

So I was able to get my hands on a pour of it while in San Diego this year.  Here's what I found:

NEAT:
Color -- Medium gold
Nose -- Clean oak, minerals, grain-HEAVY, ethyl, light manure, stale, (wife says it smells like tar fumes)
Palate -- plastic toys, both sugary sweet and vegetal, edamame, grassy
Finish -- Saccharine sweet

WITH WATER:
Nose -- Wet cardboard, fleshy, dirty underpants
Palate -- hay, paper, cream, light oak, cheap wine, weak
Finish -- hay & manure, zoo-ey, old moldy basement, Please will it ever stop?

Where are those butter cookies?  Lively summer fruits?

I'm a firm believer that a plastic toy or manure note can actually work well in a whisk(e)y or wine.  But whatever was going on here was just funk when integrated with my nostrils and tastebuds.  Looking at other reviewers' notes, it seems like we'd tried different booze.  They spoke of pleasurable drinking experiences and I (who have had more Irish whiskey than I can ever quantify) found the worst Irish porta-potty distillate I've yet tried.

Was it just me?  I don't know.  I'd had a Powers 12yr an hour earlier and that tasted fine.  Could the Slane bottle have been sitting open on the shelf since the whiskey arrived on US shores in July '09?  Possibly.

Either way, something went awry.

Availability - Some liquor specialists
Pricing - $25-$35
Rating - 65 (low rating may or may not be due to old stale bottling)

Bruichladdich-Rémy agreement completed

The Rémy Cointreau / Bruichladdich acquisition agreement is now official.

Mark Reynier, the financial saviour of Bruichladdich in 2000, and now the man who has taken the most abuse (by the always patient online vox populi) for being a sellout during the Rémy Cointreau negotiations has posted his explanation of the goings-on of his company's financial history.  It was up on the Bruichladdich site, then pulled "for clarifications".  It's an objective but bittersweet post.

The sale for 58M GBP is significantly more than most online guesses had been.  At $90,000,000, it's the highest amount ever paid for a Scotch whisky distillery.  Rémy says they won't cut any jobs.  In fact they're hoping to double production, thus creating local jobs.  Per Mr. Reynier's post: "As with other Rémy businesses, Bruichladdich will continue to be a stand-alone company, operated from Islay, with Islay maturation and Islay bottling."

Additionally, per the most recent Whiskycast, the distillery employees had been receiving company stock as part of their compensation; many stand to make six figures when the sale is complete.

Finally, Mr. Reynier, who has taken the brunt of the online "sellout" complaints, was the only board member to vote against the sale.

Single Malt Report Standings as of July 21, 2012

Let's check in on the standing after two weeks...

(My methodology uses pageview counts from three different sources in an attempt to suss out which posts are spammer heavy and which ones are getting the real clicky traffic.  Then I apply a very (not) sophisticated algorithm.  And from that I get a Top Ten.)

SINGLE MALT REPORT STANDINGS AS OF 7/7/2012 (out of 86 posts / 95 whiskies):

#10  Lauder's Blended Scotch Whisky NC

#9  Millstone 8-year-old French Oak, Dutch Single Malt -1
Lauder's and Millstone are almost tied now.  Macallan 12 has put some ground between itself and them.  So 10th place is essentially a battle between a post visited for its pictures of windmills and, um, Lauder's.

#8  The Macallan 12-year-old Single Malt +1
I finally got a prediction right.  As news about the future of the Macallan range spreads, so do the Macallan post views.  Mac 12 is now solidly in eighth.

#7 Powers Gold Label (Blended Irish Whiskey) NC
Again, Powers Gold keeps getting bushels of clicks.  That's okay with me.

#6  The Macallan 18-year-old Single Malt NC
This has gotten interesting.  Mac 18 is now almost tied with Chivas.  I thought Chivas would have taken the #4 spot by now, but it's likely to be kicked down to 6th by Mac 18 this week.

#5 Chivas Regal 12-year-old Blended Scotch Whisky NC
The Chivas excitement has been curbed.  After madly streaking like Frank the Tank, its views have mellowed out.  Its daily view average has dropped 65% in the past month.

#4  J&B Rare Blended Scotch Whisky NC
J&B's spot is secure, though it's entirely possible that Mac 18 will challenge it in August.

#3  The Glenlivet 15-year-old French Oak Reserve Single Malt NC
'Livet 15 is actually pulling better daily numbers than Famous Grouse but is so far behind that it'll be stuck here for a looooong time.

#2  The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky NC
Views continue to slow but the Grouse's spot is secure.

#1  Glenfiddich 12-year-old Single Malt NC
Number one.  Carve it in stone.

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BIG MOVERS
(note: adjustments have been made to the Ardbeg Taste Off views since I discovered that three posts have been getting lots of spambot views)

UP
Springbank Spring Break, Part 2 jumps up 9 spots to #39
Jameson Blended Irish Whiskey continues to climb, moving up another 7 to 31st place
Dewar's 12-year-old Special Reserve hops seven spots to #29.  Really, people?
Bulleit Rye Whiskey keeps movin' on up, this week it's 7 spots to 26th place.  That's a 25 ranking climb in four weeks.

DOWN
No big drops this time.
Springbank Spring Break, Part 1 went the opposite direction of Part 2, dropping 5 places to #27
Bunnahabhain 12-year-old plops down 4 spaces to 24th
Macallan Cask Strength moves down 4 spots to #33
Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon drops 4 to #35
Michael Collins Irish Blended Whiskey drops 4 places to 45th

NOTES FOR THIS WEEK, BAD PREDICTIONS FOR NEXT WEEK

As mentioned in the Movers note, there was a weird glut of hits on the three Ardbeg Taste Off posts that didn't show up on the more legitimate metrics measurements.  So I've handicapped their counts and will keep an eye on them.

There are two legitimate challengers to the Top Ten now.  I'm rooting for either of them to supplant Lauder's.  But I doubt that sort of change will occur before the next set of standings.

I'm predicting some moving and shaking amongst the Top Ten over the next two weeks.  There's been a lot of movement in the Top Twenty and I expect that to continue.  Yes, the blends are moving in, but there are some surprise single malts holding ground.

The Glen Garioch 12-year-old was the only rookie to debut in the Top Fifty.  My next few reports are quite the mixed bag, so I have no idea how they'll fare, view-wise.

This two-week pause worked pretty well again, so I intend to list the next round of standings on the weekend of the 4th.

Thanks again!

The Flailing Writer Goes Gardening, Part IV

It's been seven weeks since my last confession gardening post.  I'm not sure if the joys have balanced out the heartbreak on my balcony, but it's one of the more meaningful experiences I have each day.

The parsley, died.

The first cilantro, died.

The zucchini, died.

The second cilantro plant, barely living.

A blight has taken out almost half of the cherry tomato plant.  The heirloom tomato plant won't live much past the summer.

With the same powdery fungusy blight covering the new squash plant's leaves, I'm spending some time tending to all of the blights with an "organic" copper spray.

Sorry, no pics of the bad news.  And no pics of the second round of fertilizer tea from a couple weeks back.  That was hella feculent.

How about some good news?

The heirloom tomato plant has produced five ripe fruits, the first of which we'll try tonight.

The cherry tomato plant has squeezed out twenty ripe ones so far, and may have about that much remaining on the vine!  As the temperature gets hotter, the fruits have taken on a very pleasant sweetness.

We have the aforementioned new squash plant.  I put it in a wider pot than the ex-zucchini had to see if that helps root-wise.  She's blossoming already.

I think this is the first girl blossom.

Ruby here, was nearly dead three months ago, now she's blooming like crazy!

We also have a new mint plant (for beverages, Mediterranean dishes, and general sniffing) that has taken well to its spot in the sun. The chives have rebounded after the bugs were killed off. The basil has remained perky all month.  Fern the First and Fern the Second have been moved to a shadier cooler spot and are now building up new fernish undergrowth.

Finally, Pepper has been fully resurrected, producing seven beautiful chili peppers.

I still love this and I'm still learning. I'm already making mental plans for next year: having three cherry tomato plants and perhaps some sort of planter contraption that'll allow enough root space for two healthy zucchini plants.

For those of you with gardens, whether in the ground or eighty feet in the air, I send my best wishes for your crops!

Quick Booze Nooze, courtesy of Remy Cointreau

Remy Cointreau just announced some massive gains in their fiscal first quarter.  Could this have something to do with the sudden big offer to Bruichladdich?  Coincidences aren't often allowed in high finance.

Single Malt Report: The Yamazaki 18 year old

Let's cut to the chase.  This is delicious whisky.  It was this whisky that made me postpone this week's two planned reports until a future time, so that I could post my Rosewood Tavern experience promptly. (Thanks to Johnnie Mundell for recommending the Rosewood!)

I was looking to celebrate getting my first job interview in nine years and this was the beverage of choice:

Distillery: Yamazaki

Ownership: Suntory Whisky

Age: minimum 18 years

Maturation: Toasted American oak puncheons, European oak sherry butts, Mizunara puncheons

Country: Japan

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

I've covered Suntory products in two previous posts.  While I highly recommended the Yamazaki 12, I basically had a whisky fail with the Hakushu 12.  Either I received a warped sample or my senses missed the grand notes others had found (of course, that post has had seven times the views of the Yamazaki 12 post).

I figured the Yamazaki 18 would be out of reach, due to pricing and the news of its impending U.S. scarcity (now confirmed by two major LA spirits buyers).  Thus I put it on my Dram Quest list; and, yes, I am now able to cross that one off.

Let's take a look at what makes this whisky so splendid.  I say, it's the big wood.  Usually I blather on about distillate-this and distillate-that, but this time I cannot not talk about oak.

First there are the sherry butts which tend to be at least twice the size of bourbon barrels.  There's less spirit contact with the wood which may slow maturation down a little, but it imparts chocolatey and dried fruity characteristics.

Then there are the toasted American oak puncheons which are also much bigger than the usual bourbon barrel, so maturation slows here too.  By toasting rather than charring the oak, there are often fewer vanilla characteristics and more citrus notes.

Finally there are the very rare Mizunara (Japanese oak) puncheon-sized casks.  As per master distiller Mike Miyamoto (in 1001 Whiskies), Yamazaki "can only make 200 Japanese oak casks per year because of the scarcity of the timber".  Thus the amount of mizunara-aged whisky in the final bottling is relatively low.  But it's very rich, imparting unique spice notes that we (read: I) might automatically think of as specifically Asian -- a little sensory shorthand as we (again: I) struggle to label the experience.

So how about the final product?

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NOTES:

The color really is almost as dark as the picture above; a reddish maple syrup.

The nose begins with a big sherry and bright sugary wood effect.  Then a creamy dessert wine.  Glue fumes, but in a good way (don't pretend you don't know what I mean, huffers).  Then there's something like a sweet Mirin wine or a sweet soy sauce, followed by a little leather, and a rich amaretto.

Then there's the palate.  At first, it's a mouthful of caramel sauce.  Then cherries, caramelized sugars, and a touch of barbecue sauce.  Then fresh sticky toffee and stone fruits.  It is BIG and desserty.  It sent me into a sense memory of standing in a cake bakery when I was child.  Did it really happen?  I don't know, but it was intense.

The great unusual (mizunara?) sweet oak goes on forever in the finish.  I could still smell it in my head hours and hours later.  The juicy stone fruits (think ripe plums and nectarines) floated in the finish as well.

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Yeah, it's good.

In fact, it's luxurious.  Other than, perhaps, the Bowmore 25yr, I've never had a whisky that felt luxurious.  I've sampled older, more expensive, "luxury" whiskies but nothing quite like this.

In the coming weeks and months (and years?), I will sound off on the terrible pricing in the single malt market.  But this here, The Yamazaki 18, is on another planet.  And, despite its scarcity, it's still cheaper than The Macallan 18!

Availability - Disappearing
Pricing - Due to scarcity $120-$140, but there may be two LA stores selling it for $100 [Ed. note: as of 1/1/14 its average price is $186]
Rating - 92 (but it gets a markup on the followup review)

Single Malt Report: Glen Garioch 12 year old

My wife is sitting next to me playing a video of two HOT women working out on the beach.  So I'm a little distracted.  But...

Here's an actual single malt (remember those?) report.

Distillery: Glen Garioch
Ownership: Morrison Bowmore (Suntory)
Age: minimum 12 years
Maturation: Bourbon casks and Spanish Sherry casks
Region: East Highlands
Alcohol by Volume: 48%

RECENT WHISKY HISTORY:

Scotland's easternmost distillery, Glen Garioch (pronounced Glen Gee-ree) has undergone a number of changes over the last two decades.

In 1994, Suntory took over the ownership of the distillery via its purchase of Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd.  In 1995, the distillery was mothballed.  Up to that point, they had their own malting floors onsite and dried the barley via peat smoke.  So up until this closure, the whisky was lightly peated (8-10ppm). Upon reopening in August 1997, the distillery outsourced its maltings and the spirit was unpeated going forward.

Thus, old stuff : peated; new stuff : unpeated.

In 2009, Glen Garioch did a complete overhaul of their range.  Gone were the 8, 15, and 21 year bottlings at 43%, replaced by the NAS Founders Reserve, 12yr, and a number of small batch vintage casks.  The first two are bottled at a hefty 48% and are unchillfiltered.  Brilliant!

In 2011, the awesome Rachel Barrie left Glenmorangie Plc (where she helped create the Corrvreckan for Ardbeg!) to become Morrison Bowmore's (and thus Glen Garioch's) Master Blender.

CONTEXT:

My Scottish buddy James introduced me to the old Glen Garioch 15 and I enjoyed it from the first sip.  I was sad to see it disappear from the shelves (though it can be found with some proper research), but I was curious to see what replaced it.

Two years later (last week), I took a little road trip to Rosewood Tavern on Fairfax in Hollywood.  First off:  Rosewood Tavern, recommended.  GREAT selection of all sorts of whiskies, a few of 'em priced very well.  I felt like a kid (on a budget) in a candy shop.  I picked this Glen Garioch 12 on a whim and received a very generous pour.  Thanks to Miss Swiss!

(Side note: Like most bars they don't have whisky glassware, so I recommend going for a wine glass, champagne glass, or a snifter if they have one.  Just not a flat tumbler!)

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THE WHISKY:

NEAT - The color is dark gold, more apple juice than maple syrup.  The nose is very malty. It gets fruitier (think white fruits), but not sweet, with time. Some bourbon oak effect, but not too heavy.  The sherry is very subtle, almost invisible.  The palate is malty and salty, lightly fruity with a little toffee.  One doesn't feel the big alcohol %. It finishes at a decent length, fresh and fruity with a touch of salt.

WITH WATER - A great nose, like a caramel tart.  The oak on the nose and palate takes a backseat to more vegetal notes.  The texture gets much creamier.  The finish actually gains strength......mysterious!

It's not a sweetie, it's not a peatie, so I suppose it's a maltie? It's actually quite similar to Oban, so perhaps this is the Highland character I often read about.  It has this sturdy burly element that drew me to single malts in the first place, many years back.

Now, if Oban was cranked up to 46% (not even 48%) and not filtered, my goodness what would that be like?  How about it Diageo?

Sorry, couldn't resist a little comedy.

At least I think the new Glen Garioch spirit gives us a hint of Highland greatness at a price that passes for reasonable in 2012.

Availability - Most liquor specialists
Pricing - Considering the big ABV and no chill-filtration, the price is relatively reasonable at $50-$60
Rating - 88