EVENT: SPIRIT OF SPEYSIDE SPRING FESTIVAL 2015 - REPORT BY BRUCE CRICHTON

Again this year, the Spirit of Speyside unofficial chronicler, Bruce Crichton, delivers his report from this years festival with tasting notes and a visit to Speyside Distillery. All pictures by Bruce Crichton

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2015

Report by Bruce Crichton

Moist Von Lipwig aka Bruce Crichton

After hiding my money offshore, I headed to Dufftown. Having fallen out of my boat many times, the Spirit of Speyside Whisky festival was just what I needed and after days of great whisky, food, music, kiwis, wallabies, Doctor Who, Captain Slow and a squad from Craigellachie, here is my account of it.

The report aims to give a rough guide and may contain factual errors, for which I apologize in advance. Tasting notes are subjective and comment is added from experts present during note taking. To shorten the report, I refer the reader to past reports and tastings if a whisky re-appears. I also assume the reader is familiar with widely available bottlings mentioned. Cask samples and discontinued releases tasted are described briefly, as these may not be available to buy. Water was added to most drams, given their alcoholic strength and readers are invited to judge for themselves how much a particular whisky requires, if any. The whisky is 40%abv, if the strength is not otherwise indicated and chronological order is broken, where appropriate, to provide a comparison for the reader, along with possible serving suggestions.

A big dram at the Whiskyshop Dufftown

The festival began on Thursday afternoon as Whiskyshop Dufftown (WSD) owner Mike Lord poured a big charity dram of Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve, a non-age statement (NAS) whisky that will replace the 12 year old standard bottling. This was a cheery dram with fruit salad chew bars on the nose and the taste of banana foam sweets giving way to wine and oak on the finish, reminiscent of the 12 year old. The money raised from this went to Fibromyalgia UK. (Rumour has it that thrill-seeking sharks get into cages to get close to Mike and see what he is like in his natural habitat.)

The first whisky from the informal ‘It all started with a big dram’ tasting was a 1993 Gordon and MacPhail (G&M) ‘exclusive’ Mannochmore, at 48.8%abv, that had been matured in a refill bourbon cask that yielded 195 bottles. Bottled for the WSD the day before, the tasting notes had been prepared very quickly and consisted mostly of types of orange so my suggestion of Fry’s orange cream was probably more useful than the possible alternatives of Dale Winton or men in bowler hats and sashes, playing the flute. The distillery was built in 1971, becoming the backbone of the Haig’s blends and was later refitted to make it bigger than sister distillery Glen Lossie. The finish to the whisky was very long and spicy.

Glenfarclas 17, at 43%abv, smelled sweet with notes of chewy highland toffee. Mike finds this more subtle than others from the distillery’s core range while I found the taste of blood orange chocolate. The first release of Tamdhu ‘Batch Strength’, at 58.8%abv, was the most thought-provoking whisky of the session, prompting discussions about NAS whisky and questions about how it compares to Glengoyne cask strength, also owned by Ian Macleod. Mike does not find any young whisky notes in this and found no real nose from the very oily spirit. Brown sugar was, perhaps, the most obvious taste present and the reader is invited to compare Tamdhu and Glengoyne back to back.

Benromach 10 year old ‘100 proof’, at 57%abv, is the popular 10 year old before it is diluted from near cask strength. Lots of smoke is present on the nose and is well balance by the bourbon and sherry casks used for maturation. This was a great whisky, well worthy of careful study in the reader’s home with no obvious need to add water. To end, there was a bonus dram of the WSD exclusive Caol Ila, reviewed last spring and described in more detail later.

I was there with Berry Brothers and Rudd

Presenting whisky at 46%abv, if not otherwise indicated, for Berry Brothers and Rudd (BBR) was Jonny MacMillan who managed to adapt his act to cope with the absence of Boisterous Aberdonian, his regular foil. He began with a slide comparing a 1974 single cask Glen Grant to a thinly disguised bottle of Haig grain whisky with the former being unchilfiltered and coloured and the latter not. Not merely that, but the Haig has had lashings of David Beckham added. Another comparison was Led Zeppelin and 1 Direction, with one member crossed out and Jonny is hopeful that more members of 1D will be crossed out soon.

I found a 1999 Dufftown absolutely enchanting, surprisingly so, given that I’d never previously had a great Dufftown younger than I am. Sherbet, shortbread and vanilla were present on the nose with the taste being sweet and chewy. Best with 1 drop of water, the finish was warm and long. A 1996 Auchentoshan prompted Jonny to remind us that the distillery’s name is Gaelic for ‘made from Glasgow tap water’ and pointed out that this is not his style of whisky. I added to this that there seems to be a fine margin separating great whisky from merely good whisky with this distillery and, perhaps, choice of cask is of paramount importance as I find the ‘Valinch’ bottling to be terrific. All the same, this was still a pleasant dram with cream, vanilla and spice notes.

As an interesting aside, Jonny showed a slide of 1909 prices and drew particular attention to the 1885 Talisker. Moving on, the next whisky was a 43 year old, 1970 Ben Nevis ‘Single blend’, at 44.7%abv, so called because it was made from a single malt and single grain whisky from the same distillery complex and blended at birth. The rarity value price of this whisky did cause a twit in the audience to balk at the price but, really, this was the first ‘I was there’ moment of the festival and it was soft on the nose with notes of fruit syrup and banana and custard yoghurt and some slight bourbon on the finish.

As we tasted a 1991 Strathmill, at 51.2%abv, serendipitously, in the audience, there was Stuart Robertson, currently manager of Dalmore distillery and previously manager of that distillery, in Keith. This had fizzy sherbet and Parma violet notes with delicious sweetness throughout.

Our fourth dram was a 1997 Deanston, at 54.1%abv, and I must admit to being surprised that Jonny did not say this was Gaelic for ‘Monty Python filmed nearby’. Jonny did say that this is his favourite from the newly released single casks. Oily and viscous, this had slight bourbon on the nose and was very chewy.

The eleventh release of ‘Blue Hanger’, at 45.6%abv, had minty toffee on the nose and taste, along with vanilla with a light smoke that grew at the end. BBR endeavour to make each batch taste different and this one may well have had some peated Bunnahabhain as a component. It paved the way ideally for a 1987 Bunnahabhain, effervescent as it was, being light and sweet with a spicy finish.

The Doctor and the Captain of Douglas Laing

With his regular assistant Romana away with the Tardis and K9, Jan Beckers brought Graham Dunnet of Douglas Laing with him to the tasting and began with a 1994 ‘Clan Denny’ North British grain whisky, at 51%abv. This had Jan and I recounting a previous tasting encounter with a nincompoop who, despite being English, did not appear to comprehend the English language. No matter, this tasted of both vanilla and syrup and led Jan to say that he finds grain a whisky a dessert on its own. He found lemons on the taste and, proving that it was not just his Strepsils giving him that taste, I found lemon cheesecake. This one is best rolled on the tongue to achieve striking results.

A 2004 Provenance Benrinnes, at 46%abv, did not taste like a Johnnie Walker whisky to this writer, with notes of cream crackers, spice and light pepper. Jan believes this is a breakfast dram and found fresh green apples. Unwisely, he said that his body was a temple and a whisky festival report writer present quipped that it had clearly been sacked by Mongol hordes long ago.

A 15 year old ‘Old Particular’ Glenallachie, at 48.4%abv, had been matured in a refill sherry butt that Jan believes was made from American oak, explaining the relative lack of colour in the whisky. Interestingly, Jan remembers the days when this distillery’s whisky was bottled exclusively for his native Belgium. Dry and crisp, the whisky had both malt and cereal flavours followed by apples and shortbread on the finish.

Old Particular Speyside 18 year old had also been matured in a refill sherry cask and was darker in colour than the Glenallachie. I found spice and oak with some dried fruit and that it went nicely with blood orange chocolate, something Ulf, Swedish whisky fan sitting beside me, went along with. Jan said that the chocolate transformed the whisky and the combination tasted like Crepe Suzette. However, after discussion, Jan drew the conclusion that he would probably have preferred the whisky paired with Maya Gold, dark chocolate with orange so the reader is invited to purchase the bottle and the chocolates and see which of the two match up the best.

‘Rock Oyster’, at 46.8%abv, is a new release, the latest in the company’s series of what would have, in more sensible times, been called a vatted malt. Graeme took over as captain at this point to tell us that this whisky consists of malts from the islands of Orkney, Jura, Arran and Islay. The dominant taste was of soft, creamy cheese and, again, the reader is recommended to roll this on the tongue for the best experience. Graeme gets some gentle peat from this while Yorkshire’s Phil Yorke got great complexity and Jan was put in mind of a walk on the beach with salty air. Another of this series, the ‘Scallywag’ will soon be bottled at cask strength, just as the ‘Big Peat, from the same range, is bottled at cask strength, for the Christmas market. To end, Old Particular Bowmore 16 year old, demonstrated, with time, classic Murray Mint notes while Graham got butterscotch. The nose was slightly salty with a little peat and more smoke on the taste before a subtle finish.

Whisky fair and in-store tasting highlights in no particular order

A new release from the Speyside distillery at Drumguish, ‘Beinn Dubh’, pronounced ‘Bee and Doo and meaning ‘Black Mountain’’, at 43%abv, was fruity and smooth. Unlike the ‘Cu Dubh’ that contained whisky from the same distillery, this has only a slight addition of caramel and the taste is real, not synthetic like the ‘Black Dog’. Most of the whisky’s colour comes from maturation in port pipes. Interestingly, the 18 distillery’s 18 year old expression sold out in under a year. More about the company later.

‘Dream Drams’ Longmorn 12 year old, at 57.3%abv, from a refill bourbon cask, was particularly creamy and tasted of digestive biscuits. Their latest bottling was a 20 year old Tobermory, at 55.2%abv, that was both salty and coastal on the nose and taste and gave a tremendous sense of luxuriousness.

MacPhail’s Collection 8 year old Glenrothes, at 43%abv, replaces the old 40%abv bottling. Chewy and fresh, it was soft and creamy and ideal for a session, as are whiskies from this range in general. From the same company, Connoisseur’s Choice 2000 Aultmore, at 46%abvm, was light with cereal and grassy notes while Neil Simpson detect a slight touch of peat.

At the Glencadam stall, the Brechin distillery’s 14 year old Oloroso finish, at a standard 46%abv, tasted mostly of Turkish Delight and was awesomely easy to drink. The 15 year old had malt and cereal notes while a bonus dram of the 21 year old in celebration of the birth of Princess Charlotte had cream cheese and spice flavours with a long finish. Also, the distillery has launched a handy collection pack of miniatures.

Adelphi’s ‘Private Stock’ blended whisky was like a light Christmas cake in a glass with brandy butter added. A 17 year old Benrinnes, at 57.2%abv, proved to be the wildfire hit of the fair, with word spreading very quickly. There was light vanilla and hints of salt. Interestingly, the writer Charles MacLean gets ‘Parma Negra Ham’ on the taste and so do I, except for the ‘Parma Negra’, obviously.

Benriach 10 year old, just released at 43%abv and not to be confused with the ‘Curiositas’ did need a single drop of water but this revealed thick green apples of the kind that needs the bite strength of an alligator to actually eat but was delicious in liquid form, something that is apparently characteristic of Benriach at a relatively young age. Glendronach 15, at 46%abv, had subtle and warm sherry notes and would be interesting to taste, back to back, with the aforementioned Glenfarclas 17. This whisky has won many awards recently and deservedly so, on this evidence.

Wemyss have re-released their range of blended malts at 46% and with no age statement. ‘The Hive’ was particularly sweet with honey and wine while the ‘Peat Chimney’ was slightly misnamed with the taste of highland and island peat, rather than Islay peat and was sweeter than the name would indicate. A 1995 ‘Stem Ginger’ from Mortlach, at 46%abv, sold out quickly that weekend but comes recommended to the reader who comes across a straggler of this or of the ‘Pastille Bouquet’ from the same company and same distillery. The taste is self-explanatory, given Wemyss method of naming the whisky after the dominant tasting note and I add only that the nose revealed the taste of soft, melt-in-the-mouth fruit pastilles.

Adelphi Tasting with Antonia Bruce

Introducing Antonia, Mike Lord noted that Adelphi have been at every one of the whisky festivals he has presented as WSD owner and we began with a 1990 Bladnoch, at 55.3%abv. The distillery is currently mothballed and has been since about 2009. As Antonia said she found it ‘farmyardy’, I detected fruit salad chew bars and, as she did the bead test, I took a photo that she described as ‘artistic’.

Suddenly perplexed, I wondered who was I and what had I done with the real Moist Von Lipwig, Albert Spangler and Ethel Snake? Having slipped into the pyjamas of perplexity, I avoided the dressing gown of despair and changed into the jeans of jubilation to destroy the reader’s sense of time and knowledge of the correct tense before moving on to an excellent 19 year old Glen Grant, at 55.7%abv. This had buttery sponge and Pink Lady apples on the nose with vanilla and buttered toast and/or crumpets to taste. The finish was warm, long and delicate with coconuts detectable.

A 1992 Longmorn, at 51.8%abv, had apparently given the best bead test results from all the casks the company had and Antonia noted that this distillery survived the infamous Pattison crash by maturing quickly, hitting the ground running, as it were, and becoming highly prized by blenders. Antonia found spices and ginger on this while I tasted raspberry ripple and cream sponge with sherbet. There was also chewiness and raisins while water revealed strawberry refresher chew bars.

A 2007 Glenrothes, at 67%abv, was the latest in a series of young whiskies from this distillery that Adelphi have released. The aim of this bottling was to achieve ‘young jolly whisky’ and Antonia got the smell of erasers, fruitcake and dark treacle. I found Bovril, as I so often have done with Adelphi Glenrothes, and water quelled the fire to reveal fruitcake, syrup and toffee sauce with a dry finish. This one is best to sip, rather than roll on the tongue, unlike others mentioned earlier.

1996 Bowmore, at 57.2%abv, had been matured in an American oak sherry cask and had salted fish together with Murray mints on the nose. Antonia thought it was like a Caol Ila and finishes like a Springbank, in its oiliness, while I found it reminiscent of Longrow, distilled, of course, at Springbank. The addition of water revealed vanilla and smoke.                                 

Unconventionality from Cadenheads.

3 generations of the Watt family arrived in Dufftown and, since one of them was Mark Watt, we decided to have a Cadenhead’s tasting with some cask samples and ‘Small batch’ releases that have sold out.

A work-in-progress sample of a 12 year old blend, at 46%abv, had fruit syrup and cereal notes. A solera system is planned for this blend and Mark intends to create an everyday whisky with this. In this sample was 14 year old Glen Scotia and 2001 Auchroisk. A future batch will have 14 year old Mortlach.

An entertaining theme emerged as Mark played music and film clips from the year that his chosen whiskies had been distilled. A 1996 Arran, at 50.9%abv, prompted Mark to wish all new distilleries well, especially those that would sell him casks. There was fruit salad, syrup and honey on the nose with Mark describing it as ‘clearic and Ribena’, similar to my description of it as tasting like blackcurrant Fruitella. Mark has apparently worked in a bar in Japan that had 27 Arrans and this was surprising to me as I and the other members of the audience had no idea he had ever been to Japan, let alone been in a bar there.

A 1978 ‘Authentic Collection’ Miltonduff, at 45.6%abv, was sweet and delicate with a little smoke and soft vanilla with refreshers. This was a very ‘Ballantine’s’ dram and, hence, is recommended to the reader to be drunk along with Minstrels while watching a Hammer horror film or possibly a spaghetti western. Interestingly, Mark believes he is responsible alone for the so-called ‘Angel’s Share’ in Campbeltown and this indicates that he has scaled back his whisky consumption recently.

1988 Dufftown, at 52.1%abv, should be released as part of the ‘Authentic Collection’ in July. Mark found woodiness and quoted me as saying ‘not often you get a Dufftown that is very Bell’s’. This, however, had peach syrup notes and some juicy fruitiness. 1990 Glenrothes-Glenlivet, at 55.7%abv, was introduced by Elton John’s ‘Sacrifice’ which Mark commented on, saying that it was one of the few Top of the Pops 2 clips you can still show. A ‘Small Batch’ release, this had ‘huge sherry’ on the nose and ‘more massive sherry’ on the taste followed by ‘huge sherry’ on the finish. There was, however, no Bovril character on this, something prevalent in young sherry-matured whisky from this distillery.

From 1984, Lionel Richie’s ‘Hello’ is a ‘pulling song’ and was used to introduce a Caol Ila, at 54.1%abv. ‘Footloose’ was also mentioned as Mark believes he drinks better than he dances. This was Bowmore-like on the nose with mints and salted fish. The taste was rich and soft followed by smoke and sweetness with chewy fruit sweets.                                                                                

Tannochbrae Gala Dinner

A sumptuous feast was served at the Tannochbrae restaurant, ideal for connoisseurs of fine food and enormous gannets alike, which was handy. Each course was paired with a whisky from ‘Malts of Scotland’ and there was an enchanting selection of music played by Robin Laing and described later, including ‘Magic Ship of Dreams’ for the company’s Thomas Ewers who could not be with us, that evening.

An 11 year old Miltonduff, at 53.6%abv, from a sherry hogshead was fresh, sweet and very thick, almost A’Bunadh-like. Water lightened it considerably. A mystery ‘Images of Dufftown’ malt, at 53.2%abv, was possibly a Pittyvaich, making it very rare indeed.

‘Images of Islay’, at 53.2%abv, was very clean, with a Bowmore-like nose but with hints of bacon and a south Islay taste. A 12 year old Bruichladdich, at 58.4%abv, from a sherry hogshead brought to mind Benriach’s 12 year old Sherry matured bottling and tasted of Turkish Delight.

A 1990 Bladnoch, at 52.1%abv, had been matured in a refill sherry hogshead and Robin described it as ‘history in a glass’. It was heartening to know that I was not the only one present who thought of ‘The Wicker Man’ when tasting this and I found strawberry chewits on the nose with the addition of water softening it to make ideal to accompany a desert. ‘Fruit crumble in a glass’ was the way I described it.

The final dram was a 24 year old Imperial, at 48.1%abv, matured in a bourbon barrel. A classic ‘Ballantine’s Dram’, there were lemon curd and banana custard yoghurt notes with vanilla and refreshers. Robin found pears and honey and the words ‘stuff of legend’ were highly appropriate, on this occasion.

Speyside distillery tour

Sunday morning brought a trip to the Cairngorm Hotel in Aviemore where a bus picked us up and took us to the Speyside distillery at Drumguish, near Kingussie, one of several tours hosted that weekend.

The ‘Spey’ whiskies had been making a big impact on the festival that weekend and the distillery is now owned by John Harvey McDonough, known for the ‘Chairman’s Choice’ series and CEO of Harvey’s of Edinburgh. Speyside was opened by George Christie in 1990, having been built by hand by a dry stane dyker over the course of many years.

Speyside has no warehouse on site with the spirit filled into tankers, transported to Rutherglen, in Glasgow, and filled into casks at 63.5%abv. Each mash uses 4.16 tons of barley and the distillery operates 5.5 days per week with 2 shifts per day producing 600,000 litres of alcohol, an impressive feat for an apparently small operation.

As we walked round, there was a story from Sandy Jamieson, distillery manager, about old workers drinking wash with disastrous trouser consequences. Fermentation lasts an average of 60 hours and the spirit produced is floral. Around the site were some remade Octave casks and a small still, made in Rothes and used in Sark to distill gin which will be used for making spirit again. As an aside, Speyside also appeared in BBC’s television series ‘Monarch of the Glen’ as the fictional ‘Lagganmore’ distillery. Also, the manager’s office had originally been a mill that closed in 1965.

We were joined for the tasting by John McDonough and Patricia Dillon, managing director of Speyside distillers. From Country Durham, John is a fascinating character with many stories, stories I decided to enjoy and listen to while tasting my whisky, rather than scribble them down in a frenzied fashion. The original John Harvey, of Harvey’s Bristol Cream fame, had traded sherry and whisky but was nearly wiped out by the infamous Pattison crash and later proved much more successful in the sherry business.

At 46%abv, the ‘Tenne’ had spent 8 years in bourbon casks then 6 months in Tawny port casks. Tenne is the Latin for Tawny and this name has been used since Tawny Port has a monopoly on the name. A very moreish dram, Patricia thinks this is a good introduction to whisky in general and I found that a spot of water opened it to reveal delicious fruits and sweetness. Always first fill port casks are chosen for this as there is nothing left in the cask after that.

The 12 year old had refill bourbon characteristics and some lemon cheesecake on the nose. I found vanilla, almonds and some slight pepper to taste with the finish being delicate. With this, for the first time ever, I found myself being able to describe something as a breakfast whisky.

On Christmas day, the ‘Chairman’s Choice’ whiskies are chosen and they last until about May.

This session’s Chairman’s Choice had a high proportion of 17 year old whisky matured in both bourbon and sherry casks, giving it the taste of shortcake and caramel. The ‘Royal Choice’ was first bottled at 40%abv but is now bottled at 46% and comes from vintage sherry casks. Patricia found toffee notes on this and I tasted the sauce from a great sticky toffee pudding, drawing the conclusion that it is Speyside’s after dinner luxury dram and is probably best tasted then, even though it is excellent before lunch.

No bristling from Morrison and Mackay

Introduced by Mike Lord as ‘probably the next James Bond, suave and debonair’, Peter Mackay wasted no time in presenting a ‘Strictly Limited’ 2006 Craigellachie, at the standard 46%abv, that had been matured in 2 bourbon casks. With excellent timing, a squad from the village of Craigellachie joined our table and later posed for a picture with Peter. The nose had lemon curd with light, golden syrup with lemon and vanilla on the taste, plus a little sharpness perhaps indicating that this whisky is a component of the popular Dewar’s blends. Dewar’s is a Perth-based blend and Peter told us that he had just been at the Perth whisky festival that had lived up to the reputation of Perth and said it was best to leave it at that. Peter is pleased that Dewar’s have launched their own series of single malts, including Craigellachie, and believes that the distillery’s spirit has a light, grassy character.

As an aside, Peter told the audience that his father had launched the now legendary collector’s item ‘Black Bowmore’ and was told at the time that £90 for a bottle was too expensive, something he is no doubt laughing up his sleeve about and the interested reader will do well to get a nip of it in a pub for that amount.  His father also said that he could kick rugby drop goals from his own half of the pitch so Danny Maguire added that New Zealand’s Zinzan Brooke can do that as well. (Some reader may recognize Danny, who was in the original series of Star Trek as a tribble).

Moving on to the next Strictly Limited bottling, a 1998 Ben Nevis, matured in a Fino sherry butt had the characteristic strawberry chewits on the nose, with a creamy taste and a very soft finish. Peter is a big fan of Ben Nevis but I think this is because he is a secret alchemist. At any rate, he and his company have consistently bottled the best whiskies available from this by no means reliable distillery.

Returning to Perth blended whisky, Peter talked of Matthew Gloag, of Famous Grouse, and his ‘Pintail’ sherry casks used to mature whisky. He recommends this particular sherry to be served at 8C and pointed out that the Palomino grape is used for both Fino and Oloroso sherry. (This grape probably gives better results than using a horse or a Mexican-American boxer who appeared in ‘Taxi’ with Tony Danza). A further story about a ‘sherry condom’ caused this writer to dissolve with laughter. Peter wondered if he should copy the showmanship of a famous master blender by using a water pistol but I said that he doesn’t have a moustache and doesn’t look like he holidays on the face of the sun so it wouldn’t work.

A 2000 Strictly Limited Fettercairn offered a rare chance to taste whisky from this distillery not saturated with caramel. Even allowing for that, it had been matured in casks stamped ‘organic’ making it most unlike any other Fettercairn ever produced. The nose had fruit gums and fruit salad chew bars with peached, syrup, vanilla and coconut notes. At the finish, vanilla burst through and lingered.

A Celebration of the Cask (COC) 1996 Arran, at 52.6%abv, had been bottled a fortnight before, having been matured in a refill sherry puncheon. Peter and I agreed that a first fill cask would have overpowered this one with the nose having light fruitcake and soft toffee. Rolling on the tongue gave the best results and the reader who obtains a bottle is invited to compare it to the distillery’s official cask strength bottling. Apparently, even the people of Perth can tell the finer qualities of this so this should be considered praise. In a historical context, Peter drew our attention to the fact that Arran distillery was built at a time of very low confidence in the Scotch whisky industry, 1995, a year when Bowmore was selling 35,000 cases per year, as opposed to the 200,000 they sell now.

A 1988 North British COC, at 60.7%abv, smelled of golden honey and syrup. Very light, there was soft, delicate bourbon on the taste while Peter found butterscotch. Water revealed vanilla on the nose and there was creamy toffee to finish with. A final dram of 1988 COC Longmorn, at 57.4%abv, had fruit cream sweets on the nose while Danny got fudge on the taste and Peter got buttered shortbread. I found that a single drop of water unlocked the taste of millionaire shortbread on the finish.

Music night with Robin Laing 

To accompany his music, Robin had chosen BBR Clynelish, reviewed in the Autumn 2014 report, Malts of Scotland Bruichladdich, reviewed earlier, Benriach 18 year old peated ‘Dunder’ Dark Rum finish and Glendronach 18 year old Tawny Port, both at 46%abv, a Glen Moray ‘Santa’s Christmas Stocking’ from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and the WSD Caol Ila.

The ‘Dunder’ had subtle smoke, peat and chocolate on the nose with rum and raisin ice cream and rolling it on the tongue revealed smoked fish. There was treacle and smoked bacon to finish with. The Glendronach tasted of stewed fruits and many other kinds of fruit although, by this time, my palate had virtually collapsed. The Caol Ila is still surprisingly sweet and light, ideal for a nightcap, and may win over those who otherwise do not like peat in their whisky.

Between songs, Robin recounted singing a song about Burke and Hare to TV’s Hairy Bikers and was annoyed he was not allowed to sing about Deacon Brodie. Noting that this was the best audience he’d had all day, Robin was pleased to see a lot of new faces as this meant he could tell old jokes.

Robin was appearing at Bruichladdich’s open day, a few weeks after the festival, and the theme for the day was to be ‘Country and Western’. With that, he had ‘whiskified’ Janis Joplin’s ‘Mercedes Benz’ with a new verse about the Highlander Inn and played ‘Whiskey Lullaby’, a song recorded by Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley.
Robin’s next album will be titled ‘Whisky and Death’ and he played a new song about old whisky. Also, he told the audience that his definition of a whisky collector is a sad individual who doesn’t have enough special occasions in their life. As usual, highlights from Robin’s performance are available on both Facebook and www.youtube.com.

After that, the festival continued for another day but not for me. I was heading down the road. On the Monday, there were attractive tours of Glen Moray, Glenglassaugh and Knockdhu distilleries with tastings from Laphroaig distillery and Gordon and MacPhail’s as well as the winners of the WSD competitions to announce at the drams party. If anyone was on any of these events and would like to tell me about what I missed, please feel free to sod off and, with that, I’d like to thank everyone involved in organizing and running the festival and, in particular, Mike Lord and his wife Val, Vicky and Kirsten at the Whisky Shop, Warren, Gemma, Kat, Simon and the rest of the crew, Claus for the proofreading, Steve Oliver, the Tannochbrae, the Coffee Pot café and the Cairngorm Inn in Aviemore.

I’m off to sell my Hoover as it’s just collecting dust and I’ll see you all again at the Autumn Festival.

EVENT: SPIRIT OF SPEYSIDE WHISKY FESTIVAL SPRING 2014 - REPORT BY BRUCE CRICHTON

A little later than last year, I give you a report by resident Spirit of Speyside Chronicler Bruce Chricton. The report features mainly the tastings on at the festival, along with a couple of distillery visits. Enjoy the read!

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Spring 2014

Report by Bruce Crichton

After reading ‘Wallabies in Kangaroo Courts’ by Anubis Mulligan, I headed to Dufftown. Now well versed in marsupial legalities, the Spirit of Speyside Whisky festival was just what I needed and after many days of great whisky, food, music, tours, dress code violations and Status Quo escapades, here is my account of it.

Bruce, your Spirit of Speyside Chronicler

This report is only a rough guide and may contain factual errors, for which I apologize in advance. Tasting notes are subjective and comment is added from experts present during note taking. To shorten the report, I refer the reader to previous reports and tastings if a whisky re-appears. I also assume the reader is familiar with widely available bottlings mentioned. Any cask samples, discontinued releases and fill-your-own (FYO) tasted are described briefly, as these may not be available to buy. When water added was, literally, one drop and whiskies were 40% abv, if the strength is not otherwise indicated. Finally, many references are in this report to a prominent festivalgoer known as ‘Salmon-Pink’ who had such an impact at the festival that none of those who met him will ever forget him, no matter how hard they try.

‘It all started with a big dram’ again at the Whiskyshop Dufftown

Whisky Shop Dufftown (WSD) owner Mike Lord had selected four drams that had caught his eye. Working more efficiently than last year, he had only needed to work a series of 29-hour days to find these and we began with the Chivas Cask Strength Edition 1993 Scapa, at 58.6% abv. This vintage seems to be unbeatable for the Orkney distillery as previous releases from this year by Chivas and by Gordon and MacPhail have been noted for their quality. The addition of water revealed the taste of soft bourbon and a fruity sweetness. Other whiskies from this range are available from the shop and will probably go fast.

Next up was Glenmorangie ‘Companta’, at 46%abv. Named after the Gaelic word for friendship, this had been finished in Cote de Rhone wine casks. It had the taste of rich, dark chocolate and treacle toffees. Very heavy and rich, this tasted like a whisky that would sell well in Germany.
A 1991 Glenfarclas Family Cask, exclusive to the WSD, at 53.8%abv, was taken from a first fill Oloroso sherry butt. Mike had chosen this one from 20 samples which was, apparently, very hard work and, having chosen this one, he was heard to say ‘you’re my very, very best friend’. He also reckons that magic happens in the casks at the distillery. I found it to have the taste of thick, chewy licorice and very drying finish. Phil Yorke found the taste of lime zest. Neither of us needed to add water and one commentator found that four drops of water made the sweetness disappear to the whisky’s detriment.

Also exclusive to the shop was a 9 year old Caol Ila, at 60.3% abv, from Gordon and MacPhail. Taken from a refill bourbon cask, it had an unusually sweet nose, almost Bowmore-like with its minty notes. Phil tasted cereal and oatcakes while I got sweet and smoky flavours and a real chewiness. The finish was sweet, smoky and peppery at the very end.

Near the end, I jousted with the dapper Warren Marsden and we drew the joint conclusion that any event with a dress code would be treated by me as if it were radioactive and that I wouldn’t go to any event that had a dress code I could pass, which is especially important as I’m me and no one else is. Suddenly aware that I had begun to talk drivel at an alarmingly early stage of the evening, I decided to call it a night. 

Glenburgie distillery – home of Ballantine’s

Just outside Elgin lies Glenburgie distillery, home of the Ballantine’s blends, and the first public tour for the festival was hosted by Chris Brousseau. We began with a glass of the widely available ‘Finest’ which had an interesting cereal maltiness and which this writer finds is complimented by a bag of Minstrels and either a spaghetti western or a vintage Hammer horror film.

The new Glenburgie distillery was built in 2005 and the old distillery is adjacent to it, Chris told us, before giving us some factoids about the brand. Born in 1809, George Ballantine left school at 12 and opened his grocery in 1827. George was a pioneer of advertising and had innovative ideas such as free delivery, free samples and brand identity. Well ahead of his time and an expert at blending, his first releases were 5 and 7 year old whiskies. His son, George junior, continued the trend by buying whisky from Scapa in 1895, a few months after the distillery opened.

In 1810, Kilnflat distillery was founded by John Paul. In 1878, it became Glenburgie. In 1957, Hiram Walker, owners of Ballantine’s, introduced Lomond stills to make Glencraig whisky while neighbouring Miltonduff distillery made Mosstowie using the same stills. In 2008, capacity was increased to 4.2 million litres per year and the number of stills increased from 4 to 6.

There are 30 mashes per week with 7.5 tons of malt per mash. Fermentation takes 50 – 60 hours and aims to produce sweet, fruity spirit. Moving to the warehouse, Chris pointed out the unusual fact that all the casks are the same size and that all the whiskies in the blend are matured in bourbon casks. Glenburgie, together with neighbouring Miltonduff, Scapa and Glentauchers are the key Ballatine’s malts.

After re-tasting the ‘Finest’, we had the delicious 12 year old, a blend launched in 1960. The nose was soft, with syrup and honey and it tasted of spicy vanilla, warm honey and peach syrup before some light smoke on the finish. There have been 21 special releases of the blend since 1990 including 8 and 12 year old vatted or blended malts for Asia, indicating that the brand has not been content to rest on its laurels.

Ballantine’s had large stocks of old whisky, early in the 20^th century, in the wake of prohibition. Because of this, they were able to launch the 17 and 30 year old blends. The 17 year old, at 43%abv, had vanilla, icing sugar and slight smoke on the nose and the same on the taste, followed by a stylish bite and a long, chewy finish. The reader is recommended to take a big mouthful and roll on the tongue for a big peat punch.

The 21 year old, also at 43%abv, had a lovely, warming character with cream, honey, smoke, and a long finish. The 30 year old had a heather honey nose. With no smoke, there was bourbon, vanilla, cream, banana foam sweets, honey and light toffee sauce. Stuart Terris got ‘Toffo’ sweets when he tasted.

We closed the session with a smooth, sweet and chewy 14 year old Glenburgie, at 60.5%abv.

Cask Strength Gordon and MacPhail

Presenting a series of cask strength whiskies from Gordon and MacPhail (G&M) was Stephen Rankin, descended from John Urquhart, the man who inherited the business from the original owners.

Bottled in January 2014, a 1995 Aberfeldy, at 55.8%abv, had been matured in refill sherry casks that gave it the smell of Refreshers and Parma violets. There was the taste of vanilla and some astringency and a peppery bite. Water revealed some citrus while Phil Yorke detected soft lemon on the palate.

As we tasted, Stephen recounted looking over archives from 1914 and finding an order for 9 pints of Linkwood. He also noted that his company has 9000 casks at distilleries, 6000 in Elgin and between 9 and 10000 at the Benromach distillery, ensuring they don’t have all their eggs in one basket, as it were.

A delicious 1991 Bruichladdich, at 54.9%abv, matured in refill hogsheads and bottled in 2012 had light, soft bourbon and floral notes. It tasted of warm, sweet vanilla and golden honey. Danny Maguire found the taste of stewed fruits on the addition of water. Danny was slightly annoyed that someone had spiked another of his drinks and, when we looked in the glass, sure enough, there were many hedgehogs swimming about merrily. Stephen finds that cask strength whiskies are generally waxy while a Dutch observer reckoned there was fudge on the taste.

2003 Benromach, at 58.2%, was in the ‘no home should be without’ category. Taken from 3 first fill bourbon casks, it smelled of toffee and fudge ice cream with toffee sauce on top. There was a pleasing smoky taste that gave way to vanilla sweetness with the addition of water.

Displaying his keen knowledge of history, Stephen told us of how John Urquhart was taken on at the age of 15 and, by 1915, owned the company. Interestingly, James Gordon’s wife thought lorries would never catch on. Praising the vision and foresight of his great grandfather, George Urquhart, Stephen said that G&M was bottling single malts some 60 years before many illustrious distilleries. He had enjoyed great relationships with distillers, helping a number of them with their cash flow and provided his own casks to mature the spirit.

Bottled in 2014, a 1995 Glentauchers, at 58.3%abv, smelled of treacle and tasted slightly prickly with toffee, cherries and a pleasant cough syrup. In fine form, Phil Yorke noted the taste of cloves and sweet oranges, with eucalyptus to finish.

Stephen found a 1994 Tormore, bottled in 2007 at 59.9%abv, very waxy. Taken from two first fill sherry casks, there were toffee, fudge, chocolate and honey aromas with the taste of stewed fruits, prunes and plums, wedding cake and icing. The finish was short but punchy, nonetheless.

As the tasting drew to a close, a strange odour became noticeable and the source of it turned out to be Salmon Pink who had arrived by bicycle earlier, having been bog snorkeling beforehand – he had forgotten to flush. Apologizing profusely, he promised to use stronger bleach next time.

Heading to the WSD, I had a perplexing encounter with a man who was filling in the whisky competition and who took exception to my Status Quo t-shirt. Turning the tables quickly, I drew the conclusion that his ire was due to his being in the band but being fired before they had any hits and he didn’t find it amusing that I told him I was staying in Atlantis with Lord Lucan, Shergar and Jimmy Hoffa, unlike all those who were standing behind him. I left him fully enveloped in the pyjamas of perplexity before heading back to the hall for my next tasting.

Berry Brothers and Rudd, the Reaper, Whitney and Jim Murray

In no mood to waste time and armed with several film soundtracks, Jonny MacMillan, presenting the best of Berry Brothers and Rudd (BBR) began with a slide comparing a single cask BBR bottling with a thinly disguised bottle of ‘Isle of Fettermore’ with the former being unchilfiltered and coloured and the latter anything but. (The alcoholic strength of each bottling is 46%abv, if not otherwise indicated).

A 1987 Linkwood, 25 years old, smelled of sherbet lemons with Jonny finding a peaches and cream character about it. Lemon zest and vanilla followed and the finish was short.

A 1993 Glen Keith, at 55.2%abv, was truly the stuff of legend. Smelling of fruit salad chew bars, the taste was rich and fruity with peach syrup. Water unlocked some bourbon notes and light golden honey and the finish was soothing and long. Jonny asked for the audience’s view of the whisky and used my exclamation of ‘awesome’ as an official note.

A 1982 Duttown, at 53.4%abv, had some light coffee and cocoa aromas and a soft, velvety taste before a creamy and slightly smoky finish. As he told us of the whisky, Jonny mentioned Whisky Bible writer Jim Murray and there suddenly came a burst of Whitney Houston singing ‘I will always love you’, followed by a montage of slides from Jonny’s presentation. Later, and too much acclaim, I suggested another movie soundtrack favourite ‘Don’t fear the reaper’ as an alternative tune to accompany the slides. Lightening the mood, Jonny told us the story of his foil, a man who wears a t-shirt saying ‘I like sniffing bungholes’, and his winning of a bet with an American in a local bar.

Moving on, a 1989 Cragganmore, at 54.5%abv, had been bottled in 2011 under the ‘John Milroy’ name. Only two casks per year are given this name and this one had some soft smoke and sweetness on the nose and a crisp taste with delicate vanilla. The finish was long.

As the tasting moved on, Salmon Pink was becoming increasingly boisterous, talking a load of Baldrick’s fine wine and smelling of it as well, winding the audience up no end.

On a more pleasant note, a 1988 Longmorn, had obvious vanilla aromas and a rich silky bourbon taste. We then ended with a very pale, peated 2006 Bunnahabhain, at 57.8%abv. This had minty toffee and smoke on the nose and subtly sweet smokiness on the taste. The finish was huge and short. As we considered the whisky, Jonny showed us a picture of the ‘Bunna Haven’ Indian restaurant, a clip of ‘The Muppets’ and slides of his bunghole-sniffing foil while recounting the tale of a car crash at the only roundabout on Islay.

Saturday Morning Whisky Fair

Apologizing for his conduct the previous day, Salmon Pink had sobered up with some of Baldrick’s coffee. This is a favourite of his as he has an inexhaustible supply of sugar substitute, judging by his clothing.

The air cleared, as far as it can with Salmon Pink around, and I was free to enjoy the fair, beginning with a 22 year old Bruichladdich, at 53.5%abv, from ‘Dreamdrams.co.uk’ was sweet and lightly salty. This old school ‘Laddie’ had a light coating of peat that gave it a spine and made it a great start to the morning.

Further highlights included G&M’s ‘MacPhail’s Collection’ 8 year old Tamdhu, at 43%abv, a cheery low-budget dram with mints and honeycomb sweets on the nose and a vanilla taste. Creamy and with a hint of smoke, a charming. 1997 Connoisseur’s Choice Jura, at 46%, had come from sherry hogsheads.

The Adelphi 1990 Benriach and Fascadale 12 year old would reappear later that day. A 1989 Bunnahabhain, at 47.2%abv, had a soft, minty nose and tasted of smoked fish. The medium length finish was salty.

Tomintoul Whisky Castle’s 1998 Glengoyne, at 53.1%abv, was fantastically dark. It had a rich nose and taste with Christmas cake and treacle flavours. The finish was sharp and had an extremely big punch which the reader is invited to compare to that of the standard cask strength distillery release.
As master distiller Robert Fleming told us a cautionary tale about the practice of ‘dramming’, I found the Glencadam 14 year old Oloroso finish to taste of Turkish delight. The 12 year old Port Wood finish was light with fruity and sherbet notes. Both were bottled at 46% abv.

Benriach’s new Glenglassaugh ‘Torfa’, at 50%abv, had been matured for four years in first fill bourbon casks and used barley peated to 20 parts per million (ppm). There was sweet peat on the nose while the taste was also sweet and elegant with only the finish betraying its relative youth.

Returning to the ‘Dream Drams’ table, a 10 year old Bowmore, at 60.3%abv, had been matured in a bourbon cask and offered a no-nonsense peat punch ideal for lovers of such whiskies.

                                       Adelphi Tasting with Antonia Bruce

Hot off the bottling line or hot off Antonia’s car, were the latest Adelphi selections. Adelphi’s Ardnamurchan distillery is up but was not running, at the time of writing. The company is hopeful that distilling will begin in the late summer.

Glen Grant 21 year old, at 56.6%abv, displayed moderate beading when shaken and tasted sharp with fresh lemon while Bill Sharp found bananas and tropical fruit. A drop of water revealed pear drop sweets on the finish.

A Benriach 23 year old, at 52.9%abv, had sweetness and smokiness, like many other festival drams. Antonia found Angel Delight flavours and thinks water brings out a herbal quality to the whisky.

A 32 year old Miltonduff, at 53.1%abv, had been matured in a refill bourbon cask. Antonia got baked apples on the nose while I detected lemon curd and bananas. The middle was interesting, tasting as it did of blood orange chocolate – available from Green and Black – and watered unlocked a spicy finish with some more orange sweetness.

A 7 year old Glenrothes, at 67.5%abv, had the classic sherry cask tastes of Bovril, coffee and treacle. Surprisingly smooth, despite the high strength, there were also notes of Dundee cake while Antonia got almonds and marsala. Water freshened it considerably but the finish was short, as is often the case with such youthful whiskies.

Continuing Adelphi’s lightly peated Fascadale series was a 12 year old Clynelish, at 46%abv. Since Clynelish is unpeated, it’s this writer’s view that the cask had previously held spirit from the long closed Brora distillery. The whisky was very pale, having been matured in well used casks, and I smelled Refreshers, Parma violets and many other fizzy sweets. Adelphi recommend this to accompany Cullen Skink or smoked salmon. The taste was sweet, delicate and crisp with hints of salt and peat that Antonia also thinks would make this a good whisky to pair with cheese.

Morrison and Mackay Whiskies with Peter Mackay

Formerly known as Carn Mor, the company will have changed its name to ‘Morrison and Mackay’ by the time the report is published. The name change reflects some 140 years of industry experience. Morrison and Mackay plan to move to the other side of the city of Perth where a new warehouse facility will allow them to mature more whisky in sherry casks.

Peter opened with the first of four ‘Strictly Limited’ releases, all at 46%abv, a 1995 Glenallachie, taken from two bourbon hogsheads. Again, there were numerous fizzy sweets on the nose, my Achilles heel when the foot’s on the other hand. After extricating myself from this anatomical nonsense, I found the taste of crisp vanilla with both lemon zest and lemon curd before spice, pepper and bourbon appeared at the finish. As is often the case with this range, it’s recommended with literally one drop of water.

Next, Peter recounted a horror story from a festival in Frankfurt where, for an hour and three quarters, no one could touch their glass, let alone taste the whisky. Noting that their whiskies are not coloured or chilfiltered, Peter thinks adding caramel to such a whisky makes it look there’s mud in the bottle.

A 1997 Arran had been bottled only a month before, again from two bourbon casks. Lightening considerably with a drop of water there was vanilla, peaches and cream with a spicy and very long finish.

A man after my own heart in one regard, Peter told us that he likes Mortlach and he likes sherry casks but not particularly both together. Proving him correct was a lovely 1998 Mortlach that had a fizzy sherbet nose with cream, velvet, biscuits and shortbread on the taste. This truly was the stuff of legend and those sitting beside me reckoned that I had fallen in love. (I was going to tell the reader that the bottle and I eloped shortly after the festival but it turned out the bottle was already married.)

Showing that his company bottle the best Ben Nevis’s, a 1997 vintage, taken from 2 sherry butts, had spice and sherry on the nose. Better to taste than nose, the taste was dominated by sticky toffee pudding with an added gallon of toffee sauce. Taking a quick poll, it was apparent that exactly half the audience enjoyed it, confirming what Peter had suspected, that it would split the room.

Peter also had an unusual encounter with a fellow supporter of his football team, St Johnstone (of Perth), and this was the first time in several decades that two St Johnstone fans had been that close together.

A 1992 Celebration of the Cask (CotC) Glen Grant, at 55.7%abv, was soft and silky with sherbet sweetness and light golden honey before a long and delicate finish. Introducing the new Black Gold series, we had a 1989 Highland Park, at 54.abv. Launched the previous Tuesday, the Black Gold range is taken from very heavy dark sherry casks. Appropriately, this bottling had all the classic sherry cask flavours but had them fiftyfold. Peter had struggled to describe the taste himself, settling for a ‘Fisher and Donaldson’ fudge doughnut from Cupar or St Andrews, in the east neuk of Fife.

Tannochbrae Gala Dinner with Robin Laing

It is with sadness that I report the untimely passing of Susie from the Tannochbrae. She had been ill for a long time and had been laid to rest shortly before the festival. A great chef and a good friend, all of us who knew her will miss her.

However, life goes on and, on Saturday night, Thomas Ewers of Malts of Scotland presented whiskies with each course while music came from the ever popular Robin Laing. Malts of Scotland are a German company and Thomas had proved very popular during his festival debut. A 1989 ‘tea-spooned’ Dufftown malt, at 53.5%abv, was exceptionally smooth and, it turned out, we were the first people to taste it.

A magnificent 1975 Strathmill, at 42.1%abv, had rich full vanilla and warm butter and, as we tasted it, Robin sang ‘Islands’ from one of his non-whisky albums and ‘Pussy in Dundee’, the story of a neutered cat. A 2001 Ledaig, at 58.9%abv, had a peat punch worthy of a classic Islay malt and softened with water. The company had begun as a hobby for Thomas, who hadn’t tasted malt whisky until he was 42.

A 1991 Benriach, at 51.6%abv, was tasted while Robin sang his ‘Speyside Whisky Song’ and I found warm, soft butter on crusty bread with some lemon notes. A 1995 Bowmore, at 53.2%abv, prompted Robin to sing ‘Reaching home’. This had been taken from a first fill oloroso cask and was like Glenfarclas 105 or Aberlour A’Bunadh with a dab of added peat. Robin followed this with an ‘Ode to peat’ and some limericks about Bowmore. He then sang and joked about Glasgow as we tasted an extremely dark 1988 Littlemill, at 52.1%, from the long gone distillery. Matured in a sherry cask, it tasted mostly of treacle. Finally, a 2002 Bruichladdich, at 58.2%abv, had been fully matured in a red wine cask and tasted of fudge, tablet and Turkish delight. Robin sang of a ‘Turquoise frame of mind’ and a ‘Black art’.

A Sunday Morning Wheech round Speyside

Steve Oliver joined us for a bus tour with a difference. We would not tour distilleries, as such, but we would turn up and have a dram before heading to Tomintoul. We arrived at Benrinnes, one of four ‘finger print’ malts used by Johnnie Walker’s Black Label, and tasted the now hard to find Flora and Fauna 15 year old bottling. Interestingly, Steve told us that the previous release from the distillery was smoky. The 16 year old Dailuaine, from the same range, turned out to be ideal to drink in spitting rain. Exceptionally smooth, there were fudge, sherry and wedding cake notes.

Heading to Carron, we looked at the site of the new distillery on the old site of Imperial. G&M’s 1998 sherry cask matured ‘Exclusive’ bottling, at 50%abv, had the taste of syrup, toffee sauce and luxurious dark chocolate. After tasting the old Edrington bottling of Tamdhu, Steve told us he wasn’t taken with the new Ian MacLeod release which he thinks has unnecessary added colour. The last distillery we passed that morning was Tomintoul and Steve describes the 16 year old as ‘quaffing whisky’.

At the Whisky Castle, Mike Drury treated us to the 12 year old Port Wood finish that he reckons is the best from the distillery. A Strictly Limited 2000 Auchroisk was very soft and tasted of nuts and bourbon.

 The castle’s own ‘Whisky Laddie’s Choice’ Mortlach, at 56.4%abv, was delicate smooth and creamy while a 1990 Connoisseur’s Choice Tamnavulin, at 43%abv, was reassuringly pale, tasting of malt and cream.

 Worth noting, is the fact that Mike has some of the last available ‘Scott’s Selection’ bottles. This company was bought over, along with parent company Speyside distillers and there will be no more releases from them or from the ‘Private Cellar’ range.

Old Particular by Douglas Laing

Eager to demonstrate that his performance improves with the application of WD40, Jan Beckers returned to Dufftown to demonstrate the ‘Old Particular’ range (OP) that has filled the gap left by the popular Old Malt Cask series, now bottled by Hunter Laing. Malts from this range are bottled at 48.4%abv, up to the age of 18 and at 51.5%abv, above that age.

A 15 year old Dailuaine, smelled of buttered toast and tasted of wine, cereal and malt, with slight smoke to finish. Jan finds this one fruity.

While demonstrating his prowess with multimedia, Jan recounted tastings in Canada and Russia, where the locals need to be held back during tastings. He also told us the long story of bottling a cask from a family owned distillery near Benrinnes. They were not allowed to use the distillery name or call it ‘Green Valley Distillery’ and they subsequently were not allowed to call it ‘Ballindalloch Estate’. Eventually, they settled on naming it ‘Probably Speyside’s Finest’ and, when a member of the owning family said it was too cheap, they said that they would increase the price if permitted to use the distillery name.

A 17 year old Clynelish, taken from a refill sherry butt, had wax, honey, pineapples and tropical fruit notes. Strangely, the sherry was not apparent in the taste.

Returning to the multimedia, Jan showed us some pictures of the company’s founder, Fred Douglas Laing and demonstrated his high-tech pointer, otherwise known as his finger.

A mouth-coating Craigellachie 17, from a sherry cask, was fresh and creamy with Jan getting macerated raisins while I noted orange zest on the finish, and recommended pairing it with blood orange chocolate.

A 9 year old Provenance Glenrothes, at 61.2%abv, was a sherry bomb with wedding cake, coffee, leather and other sherry notes. A spot of water opened more sweetness and some citrus notes. As we tasted, Jan talked of the gamble inherent in laying down stock for the future as it assumes the whisky will improve with age. He also said that he walks to work, very useful for tasting emergency samples.

Finally, a Director’s Cut 15 year old Laphroaig, at 53.4%abv, smelled minty and fresh, being unusually sweet. Mike Lord found licorice tastes while Jan found smoked and cured bacon. The taste was lightly phenolic and opened considerably with water.

An evening with Robin Laing

Running through his catalogue of ever-popular tunes, reviewed in previous reports, Robin told us he was working on new material and presented some of his favourite whiskies and a few newcomers. The most notable of these were the 1999 Benriach Virgin Oak finish, at 46%abv, the Glenlivet Guardian, at 48.7%abv, the Aberlour A’Bunadh batch 46, at 60.4%abv, and the Malts of Scotland Laphroaig 16 year old, at 58.2%abv. The latter tasted mostly of sherry with a dab of peat. Water revealed smoked bacon and strawberry trifle. The Guardian tasted of oranges and marmalade with burnt sugar, the A’bunadh was lighter than usual and not quite as sweet but still charming while the Benriach was spicy and soft with fizzy sherbet on the nose and distinctive bourbon notes appeared in time.

Also tasted was a 1988 BBR Longmorn, reviewed earlier, that prompted Robin to tell us that he loves that distillery’s whisky at more than 20 years old and a 2002 Malts of Scotland Bruichladdich, at 55.2%abv, that was distinctly creamy.

As usual, highlights from Robin’s performance are available on both Facebook and www.youtube.com.

A Taste of Tomatin

Tomatin distillery, on the edge of Speyside, was once the largest malt whisky distillery in Scotland. Established in 1897, by the 1970’s, it was producing 12.5 million litres a year, most of which went for blending. Production, however, was scaled back in the 1980’s. Scott Fraser was our guide for the morning and he told us that water comes from the granite mountains behind the distillery and that barley is supplied by maltsters from Berwick, Inverness, Arbroath and Buckie. All but 10 days production out of the entire year uses unpeated malt though, 8 years ago, some peated spirit was produced for blending and, indeed, the Japanese owners of Tomatin also produce the Talisman, Big ‘T’ and Antiquary blends.

8 tons of malt are used and there are 12 stainless steel washbacks where fermentation takes between 85 and 95 hours. Where once there were 23 stills, today 12 stills make 2.5 million litres of alcohol per year. The spirit produced has notes of apples and wheat, judging by the ‘aftershave test’. Filling is done on site and the 14 warehouses can store up to 200,000 casks. Bourbon casks, sherry butts and port pipes are all used. A 14 year old port finish was recently released and Tomatin are currently experimenting with other wine casks and also virgin American oak. America is the biggest market for the company though China and Russia are growing while Britain and Germany are big markets for Tomatin as well.

The ‘Taste of Tomatin’ tour offers the chance to taste 5 whiskies and to fill your own (FYO) bottle at the end. Notes on these are brief since I was driving and took only the smallest of tastes. The non-age statement (NAS) ‘Legacy’, at 43%abv, had vanilla and nutty flavours, having been matured in first fill bourbon and virgin oak. The 12 year old Tomatin was smoother than the Legacy though Scott told us he does like a bite to his whisky, preferring the younger bottling. Fresh and creamy, the 12 year old had a subtle oaky taste with some wine and cereal.

Both FYO casks may be gone by the time of publication but the 12 year old FYO bourbon cask, at 57.1%abv, was, nonetheless, delicate with the taste of light honey. The 12 year old FYO refill sherry cask, at 55.7%abv, was lightly sweet, chewy and creamy. Finally, released in 2013, the Cu Bocan, at 46%abv, was smoky and sweet and the reader is invited to compare it to Benromach and Ardmore.

Creations for Cadenhead’s by Mark Watt

Entering the hall for the tasting, Mike commented that I had shaved but didn’t bristle or split hairs as Mike is known for hiding in waterholes, waiting for unsuspecting crocodiles to come into range. As I approached the front of the hall, Mark Watt was warming up with a single pint. He had already made a good start with a double of vodka and, after his pint, another double vodka brought him to 100 milligrams.

Cadenhead’s apparently like to use a distillery’s old name and, hence, a number of releases have a hyphen followed by the word ‘Glenlivet’. However, my suggestion that the 1997 Braes of Glenlivet, at 46%abv, should also have this added to its name was still just a bit daft. I found this creamy and fresh and Mark reckoned it would make a good session whisky.

A 33 year old Girvan grain whisky, at 46%abv, smelled and tasted of soft bourbon while Danny Maguire found coconuts at the finish. Mark found that, at cask strength, it had too much attack on the palate and said that Cadenhead’s assess each cask individually to decide bottling strength. Digressing slightly, he pondered the relative meaning of ‘limited edition’ releases. This bottling, for example, was from a single cask but Mark has seen ‘limited to 279 casks’ on one distillery bottling.

An excellent 23 year old Aberlour-Glenlivet, at 54.9%abv, had been taken from 2 hogsheads. With citrus and vanilla notes present, the buyer of this is recommended to roll their dram on the tongue for best results. As we considered this whisky, a Dutch whisky expert recounted a Cadenhead’s shop that doesn’t seem to sell whisky, no matter how hard he had tried to buy a bottle. Mark concurred with this, reckoning that, in some ways, he is in the field of sales prevention.

As we tasted a 24 year old Auchroisk, at 57.5%abv, Mark told us that bottles are hand-filled by the company as a bottling line is too fast and that the ‘Moidart’ vatted or blended malt is being discontinued. The Auchroisk, from a single butt, tasted of wine, cream, cereal and biscuits with a lovely bite to finish.

One pertinent observation of Mark’s is worth considering. In years gone by, word went round that some whiskies were particularly brilliant, Black Bowmore was one such release, and, once they were drunk, the surviving bottles became collectable. Now, very few collector’s item bottles are drunk with the majority being, in effect, very expensive ornaments.

On a lighter note, Mark has been unable to buy Japanese whiskies for Cadenhead’s, prompting one reporter writer to ask if he wasn’t going to the wrong bars.

Fittingly, given my earlier distillery tour, we had a 1978 Tomatin, at 44.1%abv. The nose was enchanting and I could have spent all day smelling the variety of fizzy chew bar aromas present. After the fizzy nose, the taste was juicy and sweet while Mark found the finish woody but not overly so.

 Ending the session was a 13 year old Bowmore, at 46%abv, from 2 casks. This was easygoing, sweet and minty while a Danish whisky buff found smoky crème brulee.

After the last tasting ended, Salmon Pink attempted to make amends for his behavior that weekend, telling me that he had once been surrounded by Komodo Dragons but escaped when they refused to eat him. However, he was humiliated when one of them told him that his breath stank. This was too much for him to bear having already been mauled by tadpoles while cycling across the Sahara desert the week before. He told me he planned to get his life together as he now had enough sob stories to be guaranteed winner of the next series of X factor and, with that, he got on his bike and departed. Sadly, these plans will never come to fruition as he was accidentally decapitated that evening while playing Sudoku.

At the WSD drams party, Mike announced that Provenance 5 year old cask strength Aultmore had won the Speyside challenge ahead of a 1987 Adelphi Mortlach  while Wemyss 12 year old Spice King had won the ‘Rest of Whisky’ challenge. Interesting tasting notes included ‘Finish: not as long as my first marriage’, ‘Finish: like meeting second wife’ and ‘Like Hamburg but in a good way’.

The best whisky to accompany haggis is Aberlour 15 year old ‘Select’ while bacon goes best with Benriach 20 year old.

With that, I’d like to thank everyone involved in organizing and running the festival and, in particular, Mike Lord and his wife Val, Vicky and Kirsten at the Whisky Shop, to Claus and Claire for the proofreading, to Steve Oliver, Mike Drury and everyone involved in organizing the festival.

In the late summer, I shall become an earl and receive an OBE so I hope to see you all again at the autumn festival which will be my first festival as an earlobe.