Birthday Booze! Glen Grant 37 year old 1974 Berry Brothers & Rudd (cask 7643)

For my birthday this year, I thought it best that as a stay-at-home father I should celebrate by remaining completely sober all night.

HA HA! HA HA! Ha Ha! Ha. ha. ha. ha.

BOOOOOO!

I'll move on.

So, I drank some things on my birthday, including a 1978 Calvados (reviewed here) and a 1978 Benriach single cask (reviewed here).  I ended the night with a 37 year old whisky.  A single sherry cask of Glen Grant, bottled by Berry Brothers & Rudd.  Old Glen Grant tends to be reliably excellent, which makes one wonder why new Glen Grant isn't reliably excellent.  But then again, none of us are as good as we used to be while the mind, the body, and humanity at large decays into the fetid garbage heap that is the future.

I've been reading too many Nihilist Arby's tweets.

So much to say about this whisky in this introduc--

Distillery: Glen Grant
Ownership: Campari
Bottler: Berry Brothers & Rudd
Range: Berrys'
Age: 37 years (1974 - 2012)
Maturation: some sort of ex-sherry cask
Region: Speyside (Rothes)
Alcohol by Volume: 47.8%
Chill filtered? No
Caramel Coloring? No

NEAT
Its color is very dark gold, maybe some maroon highlights.  In the nose, the sherry starts out dry almost smoky.  More nuts than dried fruits.  There are small notes of dried herbs and menthol.  With time, the fruits do come out to play.  Then dark chocolate and mint leaves.  On the palate, dry nutty sherry splashes up against a wall of malt.  Again, with time, the grapes emerge.  Unlike yesterday's Benriach, the bitterness is more herbal/wormwood than oak-related.  Then bits of cigar and toffee.  Pretty rich without being very sweet.  Orange peel and dark cherries meet roasted malt in the finish.  Then lime, toffee, a soft bitterness, and a hint of smoke.

WITH WATER (~46%abv, just a few drops)
The nose becomes maltier.  A little bit of toffee.  More dried berries than grapes.  Never a hint of sulphur.  Meanwhile, there's less malt in the palate.  It's sweeter, with raisins and dried blueberries.  No more smoke or bitterness in the finish.  But there are more berries and overall sweetness.

A couple years ago, someone was nice enough to share with me an official Macallan 18yo that had been distilled in 1984.  Not being a fan of the current version of Mac 18, I tried the '84 with doubts.  But, thanks to more malt, drier sherry, and a touch of smoke, I declared, "Now, this is good."  This Glen Grant reminds me of that particular Macallan.

Nothing about the whisky propels it into the Excellent realm.  Instead, it's a very solid, very full, graceful sherried whisky without major flaws.  Serge V. came to a similar conclusion, though with a few different notes.  Meanwhile, one of the other Maniacs found it sweeter than I did.  In any case, good stuff.

Availability - Secondary market?
Pricing - Used to be around $170!?!? (Sheesh, Berrys' has a 23yo non-sherried Bunna going for $220 nowadays.)
Rating - 88

Birthday Booze! BenRiach 32 year old 1978 cask 4387 Virgin Oak Finish

BenRiach Distillery Company acquired a large quantity of casks when they purchased the actual BenRiach distillery.  There are/were casks from The Glenlivet Distillers Ltd. containing whisky distilled between 1965 and 1978.  And there were even more casks from Seagram Distillers with whisky from 1978 to 2002.  Thus because Billy Walker & Co. bought the place in 2004, the vast majority of their bottled whisky was distilled by another company.  That includes both their regular range (outside of Heart of Speyside and the new 10 year old) and their nearly 400 individual single casks.

Some of these single casks include peated spirit that Seagrams started distilling in 1983 (according to the Malt Whisky Yearbook).  Many of them contained unpeated spirit.  Some casks were released as is.  Some were recasked or finished in new or different casks.  The sample I purchased from whiskysamples.eu almost two years ago was of an unpeated single malt distilled in 1978, originally casked in what was likely a former bourbon barrel-turned-hogshead, then finished in a Virgin Oak hogshead.  I bought the sample because it was from 1978 and also because I was curious as to the impact a new oak cask would have on long-aged whisky...

Distillery: Benriach
Ownership: BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd
Age: 32 years old (late 1978 - July 2011)
Maturation: Primary - refill ex-bourbon cask (a guess). Secondary - virgin oak hogshead (listed). Length of time for each unknown.
Region: Speyside (Lossie)
Alcohol by Volume: 50.9%
Cask #: 4387
Bottle count: 354
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Coloring? No
(Sample purchased from the old whiskysamples.eu)

NEAT
The color is dark gold, like a young bourbon.  The nose begins with mild notes of white peaches and yellow nectarines, creamy vanilla, milk chocolate, and shredded wheat cereal.  But with time, the oak takes over.  Lots of worn out wood and tree bark.  The palate starts with tobacco, caramel, orange zest, and black pepper.  There's a medium level of bitterness.  A little bit of ethyl.  A small note of papery cardboard shows up late, along with a lot more oranges.  It finishes with the tobacco, pepper, and mild bitter notes.  Some more pleasant things then show up, like dried fruit (apricot and pineapple), wheat bread, and a curious hint of smoke.

WITH WATER (~43%ABV)
Strangely, the nose gets tighter.  More of that tree bark note.  Green leaves and tomato plants.  Caramel and maybe some pears.  Lots of wood spice and wood bitterness in the palate.  Vanilla beans and caramel.  More oddness, in that the finale is now the most complex part.  White fruits, caramel, sugar, butter, black pepper, and wood bitters.

What an odd duck.  If I'd tasted this blindly, I would have no idea what its age was.  I'd certainly never guess it was 20+, let alone 30+.  Part of the reason is due to the original cask and the new cask being in conflict with each other.  There's both bland oak and big oak happening at the same time.  It's better neat and best before it breathes too much.  If it could just drop the woody bitterness, the finish would be very good.

I'm going to guess the obvious: the new ownership came upon a limp cask and decided to spruce it up with fresh new oak.  To me, that didn't work.  In fact, the whisky might have been better before it was futzed with.  Normally I'm a big fan of BenRiach's official products (and they tend to be one of the better exotic cask finishers), but I'm not sure why they didn't bury this whisky in the 25yo or 30yo (or even the 20yo) or sell it to a blender rather than releasing it as a single cask.  While it has its issues, it is drinkable, but I expect more from a 32 year old single cask from a good distillery.

If you're looking for another take, whiskybase voters totally disagree with me.

Availability - A few European retailers
Pricing - it was about €200 three years ago, now it's around €330-€500
Rating - 81

Birthday Booze! Lemorton 35 year old 1978 Calvados Domfrontais, the final chapter

This year's birthday booze started out with a huge pour of the 1978 I'd opened last year.  Back in 2012 I began the ritual of opening up a special (and expensive) 1978 whisky that I'd only drink on my birthday.  That precedent-setter was a Balblair 1978, and it was good for three birthdays' worth of posts.  Since 2012, a funny thing happened.  Or not so funny, I guess.  The price of 1978 whiskies has risen exponentially.  Hell, 1988 whiskies are now more expensive than 1978s were three years ago.  So while I do have a pair of '78 single malts in the stash, those will be the last.  Vintage be damned, I'll just open something fun on my birthdays.

Meanwhile, last year, I decided I would open up a 1978 that I'd found for a fraction of the price of a single malt.  It was a calvados, a calvados brandy from the Domfrontais region of Calvados, Lower Normandy, France.  While calvados brandy is usually made primarily from apples, there is an exception.  Pear trees flourish in the Domfrontais region's soil, so local brandy makers have added these fruits to their calvados mash.  To get the "Domfrontais" appellation on the label, the calvados distillate needs to be made up of at least 30% pear.  The Lemorton family's calvados distillate content is 70% pear.

For more words, see last year's post.  And for even better info see Charles Neal's site.

To the booze!

Type: Brandy
Country: France
Region: Calvados (in Lower Normandy)
Subregion/commune: Domfront, Orne
Family: Lemorton
Distillate: approximately 30% apple / 70% pear
Distillation: once through a column still
Year distilled: 1978
Year bottled: 2013
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
(from just above mid-bottle)

The color is bourbon brown, pretty dark for a calvados.  The nose starts out all apples and honey, and though other notes appear, the apples and honey always remain up front.  There are some roses, lemon peels, oaty granola or maybe oats & brown sugar, and a hint of sweat.  But in the palate, the pears take over.  Small notes of salt, pepper, and clover honey.  A mild sugariness, never cloying.  After 20-30 minutes, tart apples come rolling in.  Honey is the biggest note in the finish.  Then, Macintosh apple skins.  Yes, I know that's the wrong apple for this juice.  A mild dryness lingers.  Hints of baked apples and pears show up late.

So any changes since last year?  Yep, much less wood spice now.  Less pepper too, though that may have come from the wood as well.  That has made the liquid an even easier drink now.  Perhaps slightly less complex though.  The pear notes have receded and the apples have largely taken over.

You readers will not see this getting reviewed next year.  I'll open something else then.  While this is still an enjoyable drink, there's nothing to keep it from being anything other than a nice everyday comfortable spirit for the warmer days.  Okay, nothing other than the price and age statement.  But it's open now and it's meant to be enjoyed and, frankly, it's not a world beater.

If you're looking for a calvados brandy distilled in 1978, there aren't many (or any?) others being sold in the US, so this would fit your needs.  But you need to ask yourself, is the age or year of distillation really that important?  The Camut 6 year old can stand toe-to-toe with this one any day, and at less than half the price.

Availability - A dozen or two retailers in the US and Europe
Pricing - $150-$180 (US), $120-$140 (Europe)
Rating - 84

WTF Is This? Mosstowie 1975-1994 G&M Connoisseur's Choice

No, Mosstowie is not a distillery.  It is a fungal disorder quickly contracted by the body when walking barefoot through the Highlands.

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That "joke" doesn't even work.  Mosstowie usually pronounced with a hard 'ow', like "Ow, that was painfully poor", rather than 'oh', like "Oh, what wonderful wit."

Look, this is what passes for original content when the writer is an insomniac stay-at-home father.

Soooooooo, Mosstowie was the single malt produced from two Lomond stills (rather than pot stills) at Miltonduff distillery between 1964 and 1981.  Back in the '50s and '60s, Hiram Walker installed Lomond stills at their Miltonduff, Glenburgie, Scapa, and Interleven/Dumbarton distilleries as a way to create a wider variety of whiskies for blenders from one single setup.  Their fates were brief: Glenburgie's Glencraig Lomond stills (like Miltonduff/Mosstowie's) were scrapped in 1981, Interleven distillery was closed in 1991, and Scapa's Lomond has been heavily modified.  So Hiram Walker's Lomond stills weren't what one would call a full success.

Today's review is of a 1975 Mosstowie that was released amongst Gordon & MacPhail's expansive (but originally not expensive) Connoisseur's Choice range in 1994.  Many many thanks go out to Teemu of Whisky Science with whom I did some sample swappin'.

Distillery: Miltonduff
Malt: Mosstowie
Ownership at the time: Hiram Walker

Independent Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail (Connoisseurs Choice)
Region: Speyside (Lossie)

Distillation year: 1975
Bottling year: 1994

Maturation: probably not first fill casks

Alcohol by Volume: 40%

(pic source)

Its color is a medium-to-dark gold.  At first, the nose is almost all spirit-driven.  Hay, seaside, barley, and a hint of white fruits.  Then there's carob, caramel, and buttery shortbread cookies.  After 15-20 minutes in the glass, a maple syrup note appears and quickly expands. A little sawdust and furniture polish.  At the start, the palate has a nice slight funky musty thing going on (OBE, is that you?) which quickly dissipates. Hints of coffee beans and dark chocolate.  Barley, caramel, and those shortbread cookies.  Maybe a peep of orange zest. It's never too sweet. Texture's a little thin. About 15 minutes in, vanilla and wood spice notes begin to show.  After 25 minutes, a big wood bitterness takes over.  The finish begins with a sugary vanilla breakfast cereal (specifically Trader Joe's Vanilla Almond Clusters). Then a roasted note, reminiscent of the palate's coffee and dark chocolate.  A little peppery tingle on the roof of the mouth.  There's a peep of bitterness at first, that then expands along with the bitterness in the palate.

The LAWS guys liked this whisky and mentioned no particular oddities.  Meanwhile both Johannes (of Malt Madness lore) and Serge (of Whiskyfun Gone Wild) both make point to reference that the palate gets really woody after a while.

I agree with the Europeans on this one.  To me, the oak even grows loud in the nose.  But before that happens, this is an acceptable middle of the road single malt.  The low ABV likely keeps much of its potential richness at bay, but the whisky is simple and pleasant, and would likely appeal to many blend drinkers.  And then the oak rumbles in and zaps it.  I don't know what causes this sort of thing to happen.  Spirit issues from the stills?  An imbalance from too much added water?  Caramel colorant?  Or maybe just some weird casks.  So, to somewhat echo Johannes, I'd have to say this one's a drinker not a thinker.  And make haste!

Availability - Auctions

Pricing - $$$ !!! ???

Rating - 82 until the fifteen minute mark, at which point it loses 5 points; at the half hour mark it loses another 5 points.  This is all very exacting and scientitious.

Single Malt Report: Talisker 18 year old 1979 Cadenhead's Authentic Collection

Today I'm reviewing a 18 year old Talisker, distilled in 1979, bottled by Cadenhead in their old tall green bottle "Authentic Collection".  It comes to this blog courtesy of the most generous Cobo.

My experience with the Authentic Collection is about 50/50.  Half of the time I find these very high ABV whiskies to be intensely hot and tight.  Water tames the heat, but does little to open up the whisky.  The other half of the time, these whiskies prove to be excellent.  Let's see how this one -- which I've been waiting to find an excuse to open -- fares.

Distillery: Talisker
Ownership: Diageo

Independent Bottler: Cadenhead's
Range: Authentic Collection

Age: 18 years old (July 1979 - April 1998)

Maturation: "Oak Cask", yup
Region: Isle of Skye

Alcohol by Volume: 61.1%
(Thanks to Cobo!)

NEAT
The color is of pale straw, which is often the color of the whiskies in this range.  The nose starts off with just ocean, burnt wood, and a seaweed-peat combo.  Then suddenly there are peated cinnamon buns, shortbread, lemon, and smoked toffee.  The palate leads with peat cinders and a generous helping of chili oil.  Behind that, there are smaller notes of smoked almonds, fruity shisha, and cherry candy.  Lots of smoked salt in the finish.  Then lemon juice, shortbread, and barley.

Okay, this whisky feels closed.  Adding water...

WITH WATER (~50%abv)
Out come the lemons in the nose, and some faint limes and tart peaches. Then paste, seaweed, and white frosting.  The palate has cinnamon, salt, cigars, and black peppercorns.  In the finish the pepper goes more cayenne.  Still the salt, cinnamon, and tobacco.

Trying a little more water to see what happens...

WITH WATER (~43%abv)
In the nose, the peat gets slightly farmier.  Still lots of ocean air.  Now some brown sugar and a hint of jasmine flowers.  A better bitter peat smoke shows up in the palate.  Gentle notes of brown sugar and vanilla get somewhat corrupted by a cardboard note.  The finish is fading, now tingly, sweet, and salty.

I can't believe I'm writing this, but I'd take the new Laphroaig 15yo (reviewed on Tuesday) over this 1979 Talisker without a second thought.  Thanks to previous experiences, my expectations for older Taliskers are set pretty high.  So while this is not a bad whisky, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed.  As referenced earlier, like many of the green bottle Authentic Collection whiskies, this Talisker bottled at a high ABV and shows very little oak.  The latter is a good thing.  The former, not always a good thing.

At full strength it felt tight, but the nose was decent and I enjoyed the big chili oil heat in the palate.  The nose picks up some new complexity at 50%abv, though the palate gets simpler.  At 43% the nose remains nice though simple, while the palate and finish seem to be falling apart.

Had I not known what this was a '70s Talisker perhaps I'd be less critical.  But still, I don't think I'd find it any more expressive or complex.  It's still a peppery barnburner, full of ocean and barley.  And that's about where it stops.

Availability - Auctions?

Pricing - ???

Rating - 83

Single Malt Report: Laphroaig 15 year old 200th Anniversary

200K views for me, 200 years for Laphroaig...

Many long time whisky fans reminisce fondly about the old Laphroaig 15.  I am not amongst their number.  The 15 was fine but I always preferred the rawer 10yo and Cask Strength.  In 2009, the 15 was replaced by an 18 year old.  Imagine that, an official bottling replaced by an older whisky.  Again, I found the 18 to be decent though unremarkable, brighter than the 15, though quieter.  But in 2013, Laphroaig changed the design of all of their labels, and I was told by friends with reliable palates that the 18 had changed and improved.  I tried it and I agreed.  But now, in 2015, there's an undying rumor that the 18 year old is on its way out, to be replaced by a 15 year old.  IF, if, if that is true then that is some very quick turnaround/turnover.

Meanwhile, Laphroaig celebrated its 200th anniversary (1815-2015) earlier this year by releasing......you guessed it, a limited edition of a 15 year old.  Perhaps, I should put the limited in quotes.  It's a 72,000 bottle "limited" release.  (If someone mocks Diageo for their 50000+ bottle limited bourbons, then it would be hypocritical of him not to mock Beam Suntory for their 72000 bottle limited scotches.)  As of the day I am writing this post, neither this release nor the 2015 Cairdeas has made it to the West Coast, though they are both for sale in much of the rest of the country.

The reviews of this new 15yo have been very positive, so I purchased a pair of samples of it from the Whiskybase Shop to see if the whisky is worth the hubbub.

Distillery: Laphroaig

Owner: Beam Suntory
Type: Single Malt
Region: Islay

Age: minimum 15 years
Release Year: 2015
Maturation: ex-bourbon barrels
"Limited" Release: 72,000 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Chill-filtration? Possibly
Caramel colored? Possibly

Drinking Laphroaig on a 95ºF summer's day was a little unusual for me, so I switched on The Flaming Lips' Christmas on Mars soundtrack for this tasting because it made sense.

NEAT
The color is light gold with an orange hue.  The nose's first notes are mango, vanilla, shortbread, and a very soft peating.  Then comes grapefruit, Campari, dried grass clippings, and orange gummi bears.  But after a good 20+ minutes in the glass, the whisky emits some good Laphroaig stink and a whole pile of citrus peels.  The peat moss is much bigger on the palate.  A nice bitter edge to the smoke.  There's the grapefruit and Campari from the nose.  Then some smaller notes of lime, caramel, and peppercorns.  The finish has quite a bite for a 43%abv whisky.  Tart citrus, an herbal bitterness, and lots of pepper.  A moment of tropical fruit punch.  Smoke and sweetness lingers longest.

Since Laphroaig 10yo is often bottled at 40%abv overseas, I thought I'd check out what this 15yo would be like at that level.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
The nose is full of orange peel and peated orange marmalade.  Vanilla and the seaside.  The palate is still pretty bold.  Wet wool left by the fireplace.  Very green peat.  Sharp peppery spearmint leaves.  A good bitter nip in the finish, along with some dirty peat and soft sweetness.

I'm uh...um...impressed.  All of Laphroaig's recent tootling around with oak in their NAS and AS stuff had resulted in my low expectations.  But this is good whisky.  While the oak is present, it never intrudes.  It's a mellower version of the 10, but still loaded with character.  Plus the whisky thrives with a few drops of added water.

If this is the stuff that would allegedly replace the new 18, then that wouldn't be a total tragedy.  Just a small bummer perhaps.  Pricing for this whisky starts at $80 in the US.  Personally, I won't pay that price for a 43%abv 15yo from a conglomerate.  You may feel differently.  Perhaps 72,000 bottles is super limited in your opinion, and thus the pricing is reasonable.  I would feel differently.  But as for the liquid itself, the quality is there.  If only we could have a world where the 10, 10CS, 15, and 18 would live together in harmony.  Maybe next decade?

Availability - apparently all over the US, except for the Best Coast

Pricing - $80-$100

Rating - 88

200,000+ Views (as per Google Analytics)! Thank you!

Lady and Gentlemen!

This blog somehow just zipped past another nice round-numbered milestone.  Thank You Thank You Thank You to all of my readers no matter how you found this site or how frequently you visit.  I appreciate stealing your attention while you're at work or in bed or on the can.

This second 100K happened much quicker than had been expected thanks to one fateful series of posts written in early January.  What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom series has been viewed 10,000 times (by actual humans).  That number is astounding and frightening and sexually invigorating.  Perhaps the series told people what they already knew or what they wanted to hear or what they already feared.  Whatever the reason, those posts struck some sort of chord and has kept me rechecking my charts out of sheer paranoia that I've gotten something wrong.

While it's now no longer a secret that the so-called-Boom is in the past tense, I still witness so many whisky geeks buying out of scarcity fears.  And I still see prices rising.  Next January, I'll update the spreadsheets and graphs, as long as the figures are still being made public.  At that point I'll also update the pricing spreadsheet and share that with you all as well.  If any one of my beloved readers has access to industry data that is more granular and specific than that released by the SWA, and is willing to provide it anonymously so that I may apply deeper analysis, together we may be able to create something of interest and assistance to many Scotch drinkers.

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There were also 90,000 views that weren't connected to the Boom series.  The Top 25 All Time posts hasn't changed a whole lot since last May, so if you want the old long list you can click over there.  But let's see what's happened since then.

Firstly and most importantly, my daughter was born.  Everything else is sorta quiet compared to her.

Also, I went to Japan.  My brother got married.  Mathilda turned one.  I went through a long buying freeze.  I left the dusty hunt.  And this stay at home dad squeezed out over 140 single malt reports whenever his daughter allowed him.

Aside from the Scotch Boom stuff, here are the Top Dozen new posts:
1. A Friendly Reminder to Kill Your Whisky Gods
2. The original Suntory Royal SR review -- okay, so this was posted the month before the 100K marker but the number of clicks this review gets baffles me
3. Grangestone Double Cask review
4. Usquebach Old-Rare review
5. Whisky Observations from Japan (or Where the Hell is the Japanese Whisky?)
6. Glen Scotia 12 year old (old label) review
7. Talisker 25 year old (2012 bottling) review
8. Four Roses Single Barrel OBSK barrel 37-1B review
9. Balcones Rumble, batch R12-3 review
10. Karuizawa Spirit of Asama 48% review
11. R.I.P. Willett 4 year old Family Estate Single Barrel MGP Rye
12. Hello, Loch Dhu and Cu Dubh. Goodbye, 2014.

Some odd ones in there.  Um, Glen Scotia 12?

And the ten countries with the most views were:
1. United States of America, making up 52% of the total views
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Germany
5. Australia
6. Netherlands
7. India
8. France
9. Sweden
10. Finland

While blend reviews made up 18% of my first 100K posts, they only accounted for 12% of the second 100K. While the big four malts (Macallan, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, and Glenmorangie) made up 14% of my first 100K, they made up less than 7% of the second 100K.  So even if I discount the Scotch Boom views, it's clear that people are coming to my site for things other than the super popular whiskies.  And if you look at that list of Top Dozen new posts above, readers are clearly going for some of the quirkier things.  And that's great because that's the path I prefer to travel as well!

One final thought regarding the Boom's demise.  If whisky's popularity continues to shrink then will my pageviews -- and those of other whisky bloggers -- do the same?  Probably.  That's how it goes.  As industries contract, so do peripheral businesses.  I guess that's one good thing about running an independent site, I won't be losing revenue.  Can't say the same thing about blogs and publications that directly rely on an expanding industry for financing and content.

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This week I'll celebrate this recent milestone with one relevant whisky and one irrelevant whisky and then a WTF? whisky (super irrelevant!).  And the following week will be a whole bunch of stuff that I'm sure will be brilliant.

Thank you!