Oban Little Bay

What Oban Little Bay is, other than an NAS release that costs nearly the same as the 14 year old release, is a little vague. Here are descriptions from industry sites:

1. the whisky "rests" in "small oak casks for some time"
2. finished in "small oak casks"
3. "aged in part in smaller casks"
4. married in "200-litre ex-bourbon barrels"
5. refill American oak hogsheads, European oak Sherry casks and refill casks with new ends
6. official site: nothing

The first three items say basically the same thing, while the next two say something potentially much different. And then good ol' Diageo doesn't help at all. There seems to be a whole lotta talk about Oban taking a mix of #5 and then giving it a #2 (er, item number two, above). There's no mention of what "small cask" means, but if it's just ex-bourbon barrels (per #4) then it's not a big deal, nor unusual, nor should the end result be as aggressively oaky as a quarter cask or octave finish. It still seems as if plenty of carpentry (or cooperage) was involved.

I guess plaudits should go out to Diageo for not spinning some malarkey about the story behind the whisky, which is an almost revolutionary act at this point in time. And there's no Gaelic surname. Since Oban means "Little Bay", it's just Oban Squared.

sample generously provided by St. Brett P.

Distillery: Oban
Ownership: Diageo
Region: Western Highlands
Age: ???
Maturation: see the introductory paragraphs
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? Uh huh
Caramel Colorant? Yarp

Why does Diageo color the Obans so aggressively? This one is orange. The nose doesn't start off promising. Mostly vanilla and cardboard. Slowly, notes of hay and dried apricots ease in. Then honey, orange candy, simple syrup and gummi bears. And paper. And flowers. Acidic citrus dominates the otherwise very sweet palate. A little bit of milk chocolate and cayenne pepper. Vanilla, ginger, toasted oak spices, caramel and vanilla. And there's the hint of cardboard. The finish has the same acidity, as well as the sugar and caramel. Toasted coconut and black pepper. Vanilla.

Oban Little Bay reads like a blend, albeit a blend at 1/3rd Little Bay's price range. It probably works best as a dessert whisky. American oak casks flavor the whole thing, but never go bitter. Still the paper and cardboard notes are unfortunate. I'd say more, but it looks like MAO covered this same ground three months ago. While this whisky was probably aimed at blend fans, it comes across like another NAS that's so oaky it barely resembles its distillery mates.

Availability - most specialty whisky retailers
Pricing - $50-$80, though some US retailers are offering it for $40 or less, a fate similar to Talisker Storm
Rating - 78

Blackadder Peat Reek Raw Cask, batch PR2017-5

I'd always thought Blackadder's Peat Reeks were from Islay. And I was wrong. Batch PR 2017-5 was sourced from The Highlands. While my sample of Wednesday's Peat's Beast came from the LA Scotch Club, today's sample of Peat Reek Raw Dog is from the Columbus Scotch Club. My guess was that Peat's Beast was sourced from Benriach, this Reek could be from a number of distilleries due its violent youth.

Partaking in both peated whiskies while watching the All Star game, I was surprised by which of the whiskies I enjoyed more.

Company: Blackadder
Brand: Peat Reek

Type: Single Malt

Distillery: somewhere in The Highlands

Age: NAS
Maturation: refill American oak, probably
Batch: PR2017-5
Alcohol by Volume: 59.9%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? No
Barrel schmutz in the bottle? Yes

NEAT
Caramel, butter and salt in the nose. More floral and ocean-y than medicinal. Sugary peat. Peach-scented hand lotion. The palate is hot, chalky, green and tart. Ginger, charred meat and eucalyptus. Grows sweeter and bitterer with time. The hotter, smokier finish is lightly tart and very drying. The sweetness gets aggressive after a while.

DILUTED TO 46%abv, or <2tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose now has some plums, but also soap. Ash and mild peat. Vanilla, eucalyptus and berry candy. Meanwhile, the palate works better at this strength. Less sweetness. A fruitier tartness (if that makes sense). Chocolate. Lime marshmallows. The finish seems longer. It has the lime marshmallow sweetness and a little bit of smoke.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Not enjoyable when neat, this batch of Peat Reek is a better drinker once diluted. But I wasn't crazy about the nose with or without dilution.  There's not much more to write about, other than this was my first Peat Reek and I'm not inspired to try another batch. It's not really peaty and it's par-baked. Was there such demand for this series that another batch needed to be rushed?

Availability - Europe and Asia
Pricing - from $70 to $100 WHY WOULD ANYONE PAY $100 FOR THIS?
Rating - 74

Peat's Beast Single Malt

I think the only reason this sample got into my stash is that Peat's Beast kept showing up at LA and OC Scotch Club events in 2015 and 2016. Because I never actually drank it at this those events — not because I'm a snob, but a man needs to make choices before he drives home from a spirits event — I've been curious about what the whisky actually tastes like.

Before today, the only thing I knew about its bottler was that Fox Fitzgerald is an awesome cocktail name. "Yeah, I'll have a Fox Fitzgerald up, please. Easy on the Clynelish, I have two onboarding meetings this morning."

They have a "cigar malt" called Corriemhor, they run the oft-expensive Rest & Be Thankful single cask line and then there's Peat's Beast. Though the official site says The Beast is peated at 35ppm, it never says the whisky is from Islay, so I'm betting it's not. Benriach, maybe?

I tried this along with Friday's whisky while watching the MLB All Star game.

Company: Fox Fitzgerald
Brand: Peat's Beast

Type: Single Malt

Distillery: ???, my guess is Benriach

Age: ???
Maturation: refill American oak?
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? not much, if any

NEAT
There's menthol, pine, limes and pink Caladryl in the nose. Armpit peat. And more armpit peat. Talcum powder and oatmeal. Buffalo wings sauce. Salty, roasty peat in the palate. Charred meat and graphite. A little creamy, a little bitter. Hints of chocolate-covered cherries. The finish is a little roasty and bitter too, but the cherry note balances it out. Simple grassiness, a whiff of florals.

DILUTED TO 40%abv, or <1 tsp water per 30mL whiskey
The nose is essentially the same. Less stinky, more candy. More limes? The palate is simpler, but picks up a brown sugar sweetness. Roses and cologne. No so much peat, but rather smoke residue. Mild sweets and smoke in the finish. Hint of mint. Kinda flat.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Friday's whisky has more indie cred and is cask strength, but I liked Peat's Beast better. Beastie's nose was more adventurous than I'd expected. It tastes fine, though it does leave one pining for southern Islay's best. It delivers a bigger peat punch than Compass Box's Peat Monster, but lacks that one's complexity. I prefer Beastie without water; the nose holds up but the palate doesn't once water is added. It's less than $40 (ex-VAT) around Europe, which is about as cheap as craft-presentation peated single malt gets unless you're feeling filthy for Finlaggan.

Availability - Europe and Asia
Pricing - $30-$40 (ex-VAT) Continental Europe & Japan; $45-$55 (ex-VAT) UK; 
Rating - 82

Lagavulin 12 year old Cask Strength (2017 edition)

The cask strength 12yo Lagavulin is the only part of the annual Diageo Shitshow Special Releases that ever draws my attention. I've reviewed previous editions from 2011 and 2014. I'm reviewing the 2017 release today. At this rate, the next one I'll try is the 2020.

$125 for a 12 year old cask strength whisky was a crazy price when I reviewed the 2011 edition, four years ago. But since then, everything has gone crazy. Browse European (as well as the occasional US) retailer sites and you'll find almost every indie bottler pricing their 8+ year old cask strength Lags at $100+. So the market has caught up. Which must be why some American retailers are slinging this 2017 edition for $150. Can't blame the Trump tariffs for that.

Distillery: Lagavulin

Owner: Diageo
Region: Islay
Maturation: refill American oak casks

Age: minimum 12 years
Release date: 2017
Outturn: ??,???
Alcohol by Volume: 56.5%

Chill-filtration? Probably not
Caramel coloring? Probably not
(from a purchased sample)

NEAT
The nose is brighter and fruitier than most other batches. Apples, pears, lilac (one of the official notes!), Ceylon cinnamon and cherry candy. Meanwhile, there are piles of smoked fish, coffee grounds and mocha ice cream. It gets beach-ier with time and also unveils an anise note. The palate is massively medicinal, followed by earth, coffee grounds and hot pepper sauce-topped steak. Just a peep of sweetness mixed with Ceylon cinnamon. The BIG finish is all ocean water, peat embers, lemon and smoked meat.

DILUTED TO 48%abv, or 1tsp water per 30mL whisky
The nose leads with coconut cream, sharp citrus, soil, stones and brine. Then some simple syrup. coffee grounds and mild peat. More muscular peat meets flower blossoms in the palate. Then creamy coffee, cayenne pepper, seaweed and charred fish. Smaller notes of Robotussin, spicy mint leaf and roasted nuts follow. It finishes lightly bitter and light sweet. Roasty/Toasty and peppery. Charred peat and tart lemon.

DILUTED TO 43%abv, or <2tsp water per 30mL whisky
The nose has a simple but lovely ocean note throughout. Brown sugar, vanilla bean, lemon and citronella. It gets smokier with time, while also picking up a cocoa powder note. Feels bigger than 43%abv. The palate has mint, black coffee and cayenne pepper. Brown sugar + peat. Lemon and almonds. Mildly salty, mildly bitter. It finishes with sugary peat, almonds, tonic and squirt of lemon juice. Salty/briny. Good length.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
You know, every time I want to talk shit about Lagavulin 12yo I drink the whisky and remember why that's futile. It's terrific whisky. And I gotta say, it might be Diageo's best regular (or semi-regular) single malt.

As mentioned in the notes, this a bright, fruity batch on the nose. It's also remarkably flexible when it comes to dilution. The 2014 batch collapsed at 43%abv, while this one transforms into its own very solid drink at that strength.

Ultimately, you're not paying for age or scarcity with this one. You're paying for quality, which is as subjective as a thing can be. What $125 means to you might not mean the same thing to another reader, or me. But if you're in the habit of drinking a bottle of this expression every year, then the 2017 batch won't let you down. (If you don't believe me, then believe MAO.)

Availability - Most specialty spirits retailers worldwide
Pricing - $110-$160 (US) 
Rating - 91

Old Perth 21 year old 1996 Blended Malt (55.1%abv)

I first saw Old Perth whisky at Shinanoya in Tokyo last summer. There were a half dozen bottlings, all blended malts, most hitting 46%abv, others cask strength. None had an age statement. I'd never heard of Old Perth before, and thought they might be a brand produced specifically for the Asian market.

Then I came back to the states to find European retailers selling Old Perth, many of which had age statements and vintages. And according to Morrison and Mackay, the brand owners, that brand has been kicking since 2013. So I'm behind on this, like most current whisky news.

I'd read heresay that one of the 21 year old sherry cask Perths was mostly Glen Grant with a little bit of peaty Islay malt. But it was unclear which release that pertained to. There were 55.1%abv, 55.2%abv and 55.4%abv 21yo releases, as well as a 55.4%abv 20yo release.

As some of you may know, I do NOT like buying whisky blindly. But I wanted something that was twenty years old, deeply sherried, cask strength and under $100. Hah! Good luck, right? But the 55.1%abv 21yo Old Perth fit the bill.

Company: Morrison and Mackay
Brand: Old Perth

Type: Blended (or Vatted) Malt

Distilleries: Scottish, and that's all I know

Age: 21 years (1996-2017)
Maturation: a single sherry something
Outturn: 335
Alcohol by Volume: 55.1%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? No

NEAT
This thing has the one of the darkest colors of any whisky I've owned. What will that mean for the rest of it? Unexpectedly, the nose leads with honey, green apples, cantaloupe and orange oil. Then comes toffee, Hershey's milk chocolate and a moderate bit of toasted oak. Salty almonds in caramel. It gets a tiny bit woodier with time, while picking up hints of both vanilla and ground mustard seed. The INTENSE palate starts off with ginger, lemon candy and wood smoke. But its spiciness takes the fore throughout. There's black pepper, lemon pepper, cloves and something savory. In the mid- to background, there are limes, tropical fruit juice and Cherry Coke. No generic raisins or prunes. Plenty of spiciness (cloves and dried ginger) carries through the long, warm finish; as does the non-specific tropical fruit stuff. A few wisps of the wood smoke too.

Hoo, that's a big drink. Time to water it down.

DILUTED TO 46%ABV, or 1.25tsp water per 30mL whisky
The nose keeps much of its intensity, but shifts focus. There are dried apricots, lemons, vanilla and the same measure of toasted oak. Now there's cocoa powder, musty basement and a salty seaweedy note. The palate calms and simplifies. Less smoke. A mild fruity sweetness. More tangy citrus. Bitter chocolate, ginger, limes and a whack of chili oil. It finishes smoky, tangy and a little sweet. Ginger and pepper. Lots of limes.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
No, you're not imagining things. All three of my reviews this week were of my own bottles. I don't think I've ever done that, and probably never will again due to how many months it takes me to drink through a single bottle. But wow! Okay, moving on.

Can't tell if this was the batch that was Glen Grant + Islay. The smoke/peat comes across more Highland or Island, but that could just be the mix. Other than the arrival of a seaweed note in the diluted version, the phenolics read more like wisps of wood smoke more than anything else.

I like the lack of raisins and prunes. Not that those particular dried fruits are a problem, but they can be over-prevalent in the bottlings of many popular official sherried whiskies. The cask shows its activity in other ways, specifically with all those spices. But there's no sawdust, no woody bitterness and vanilla levels stay low.

No complaints about the nose, at all. The is palate is quite good, but had it had a bigger fruit nose to lift it out of the darkness, then it'd be looking at a 90+ (or A or 4-star) grade. As it stands it's a dark, intense thing, more suitable for colder weather than the summer. The 20+ year old cask strength sherry options are nearly nil at this price point, so I'm pretty happy with my purchase.

Availability - Europe
Pricing - Still kinda possible to put it in a good-sized order and keep its per-bottle price near or below $100
Rating - 87

Knappogue Castle 12 year old Irish Single Malt, Single Barrel for The Party Source

I used to say that Knappogue Castle (KC) was the only Cooley single malt that I consistently enjoyed. And then I discovered that Knappogue Castle is often sourced from Bushmills. Like today's whisky.

Knappogue Castle has been producing exclusive single barrels for US retailers over the past couple of years. They're 12 years old, 46%abv, non-chillfiltered, and about $35-$40/bottle. That's a combo one doesn't see much anymore. I bought this bottle at The Party Source last year, then I went back a picked up another this year, which tells you what I think of the stuff. TPS had them on sale for $33.99 both times. They're sold out now, but I hope this inspires another single barrel to roll through TPS's door sometime soon.

It performed just as well on the rocks as it did as a hot whiskey. In both forms, its fruity elements came to the fore. Time to type up some actual tasting notes of the whiskey at room temperature.

Brand: Knappogue County
Distillery: Old Bushmills Distillery
Location: County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Type: Single Malt
Distillations: Three
Age: minimum 12 years
Maturation: first-fill bourbon barrel
Bottle: 77 of 216
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? Maybe

NEAT
The nose leads with anise and grass. Then the clementines come rolling in. Lime juice, vanilla extract, lemongrass and a touch o' malt. In the palate I find peach ice cream, lemons and tart limes. Toasted sunflower seeds and zippy jalapeños. The long finish balances peaches, lemons and limes with tomatillo-like pepper sauce.

DILUTED TO 40%abv, or <1 tsp water per 30mL whiskey
More grain and vanilla in the nose. Lemons and nectarines. A late note of paprika! The palate picks up some fudge and ginger notes. The pepper note is subtler. Tart lemons and yellow nectarines. The finish is noticeably shorter, but it holds onto the ginger and nectarines, which makes for a pleasant combo.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Whew, after two disappointing Lowland single malt scotches in a row, it's nice to review a good drinker from right across the North Channel. This is an example of a first-fill bourbon barrel single malt that isn't all vanilla, caramel and lumber. See, it can be done!

The fruit element makes this a pleasure in warmer months. And colder months. As I mentioned above, it's a drinker not a thinker. Midleton's single pot still whiskies are more complex. But this single barrel is a very friendly thing, and carries a high quality-to-price ratio.

Availability - was exclusive to The Party Source, sold out now
Pricing - ranged from $34-$40 at TPS, other retailers' editions have similar pricing
Rating - 86

Life of a Whisky Bottle: Auchentoshan 20 year old 1991 AD Rattray

No one will remember this post. But I will never forget this whisky.

I first tried it at an OC Scotch Club event almost six(!) years ago. Its palate was unlike anything I'd tried up to that point in my life. The shock of its vegetal, sandy ugliness startled me into giving it a high rating afterwards. It was a punk whisky. The guitarist didn't even know three chords and the drummer had been snorting NoDoz so the rhythm was shit.

At the end of that post, I wrote: "It's so strange. Kind of haunting actually. I need some closure. I need a whole bottle of this stuff to sort things out."

So I promptly bought a bottle, and it sat in the dark until I opened it 18 months ago. I set aside a sample from the very first pour, mid-bottle and the bottom of the bottle. And now I'll tasted them side-by-side. Will this help me sort things out? Like, things in general. Life, the universe and everything?

Distillery: Auchentoshan
Ownership: Beam Suntory
Region: Lowlands
Bottler: AD Rattray
Age: 20 years (February 20, 1991 - September 15, 2011)
Maturation: Sherry Butt What
Cask#: 484
Outturn: 545 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 57.5%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? Absolutely not

This bottle's usage:
I forgot to keep track of the percentages this time, but 0% was for casual drinking.

FIRST POUR, February 2017

NEAT:
Nose - Barley and roses. Burnt (hazel)nuts, rice vinegar, fried plantains, bark and cabbage.
Palate - Hot and burnt. Sand, bark and cabbage. Dirt and rubber. A weird artificial nut note.
Finish - Vinegar, salt, sand, ash and terrifyingly bitter.

DILUTED TO 46%abv:
Nose - Pool and beach. Chlorine and bleach. Ashy and floral (Kristen says: tar and banana). Cucumber skins. New make.
Palate - Very sweet, very bitter, very ashy. Vinegar and weird nut note.
Finish - Ash, salt and palate-ruining sweetness.

---

MID BOTTLE, November 2017

NEAT:
Nose - Bright young barley note, as if this were 8 years or younger. Vanilla, soil, raw cocoa and mint gum. Roses, ash and rice vinegar.
Palate - Hot and ashy. Intensely grassy. Urine. Soap.
Finish - Dried grass, ash, salt, urine, heat and Nutrasweet.

DILUTED TO 46%abv:
Nose - Bananas, dogs, orange blossoms soaked in white vinegar. Burnt things. Vanilla, cotton candy, sand and urine.
Palate - Burnt and ashy to the point that it feels unsafe. Weird bitterness. Simple syrup and soap.
Finish - Heat, ash, bitterness, soap and Diet Sprite.

---

BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE, July 2018

NEAT:
Nose - Cabbage or garbage? Loch Lomond, is that you? Rotting stone fruits buried under burnt hair. Peanuts and fruity handsoap. And honeydew, because WTF.
Palate - Hot. Grass, mint, sand and vinegar. Brussels sprouts and Nutrasweet. Hint of ginger powder.
Finish - Burnt bark, burnt Brussels sprouts. Salty and grassy. Burning. Terrifyingly rancid aftertaste.

DILUTED TO 46%abv:
Nose - Loch Lomond's fermenting garbage note. Old cauliflower (aka sewage). But also fruity handsoap. Mint, lemons and vinegar.
Palate - Bitter, hot, salty and tangy. Very veggie. But also very very very sweet.
Finish - Burnt kale, ash, vinegar and Nutrasweet.

---

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Life is too short, and I just shortened it.

I thought this would be a philosophical tasting. It wasn't. The use of this cask was a crime.

There are difficult whiskies that serve as studies of the vast range of matured spirits. Then there are whiskies that are inexcusable cockups. Six years ago, I thought this was the former. It's the latter.

The only thing that kept me from punching in a lower rating was the at times approachable nose. The palate would be tragic were it not so foul. The finish will ruin your face and your evening. I'm embarrassed I ever graded this whisky positively, and I'm pissed off that I suffered through a bottle.

At least I found closure.

Availability - Mercifully, it is now unavailable
Pricing - This should not have cost money
Rating - 56