Highland region – 49.2%ABV – Best of luck finding a bottle. And if you do, expect to pay about $2000/bottle.
With release after release of old Glenglassaugh, there would seem to be no shortage of the stuff.
The previous sentence could not be further from the truth.
What makes a whisky such as this so very precious is that it’s from Glenglassaugh’s stocks of 400 (more or less) older casks.
True rarity – hence the hefty price tag.
People go nuts over older whiskies – the older the better right? Not true, good people. Sometimes a whisky an hit its prime at the young age of 3, 4 or 5 years old. Or, if not at its prime, still damn tasty, complex and balanced. However as whiskies get older they run the chance of getting over oaked, too drying and just… blech.
On the nose – A wonderfully sweet nose, if not a touch hot, with other scents mixed in such as Connecticut shade tobacco leaves, sugar cane and near ripe white flesh peach.
Chocolate covered marzipan.
(Good) oak and spice, spice and (good) oak.
A slight wine-like note that was floating a top it all but now seems a bit more forward.
On the mouth – Oily texture yet drying fairly quickly.
Not hot like the nose initially suggested. I love the strength of this whisky.
Oak and grape skins are evident but lying just beneath those flavors is a stone fruit compote.
Perhaps a touch of cola syrup and the slightest amount of fennel (slight).
Finish – Shiraz like spice – not sure why I keep getting these wine like notes in here but, I like it.
In sum – A bit drying but not overly so, especially for a 45 year old whisky. Very enjoyable, warming and balanced quite well. Something to enjoy with a good book.
I thought reviewing Kilchoman might be the best way to kick off the 2nd half of this series. At 6 years old, Kilchoman is Islay’s youngest distillery and they are kicking out some absolutely cracking whisky! Age be damned, Kilchoman is all about quality.
Today we’ll review the new Machir Bay whisky (the UK bottling – we will see a bottling here in the US very shortly) which is a mixture of 3yo (60%), 4yo (35%) & 5yo (5%) ex-bourbon barrel (Buffalo Trace to be exact) matured whiskies. Before batting it all together, the 4yo whisky was further matured in oloroso sherry butts for an addition six weeks (to help round out some of the flavors, methinks — it’ll help add some nice color to the whisky as well).
On the nose — It’s quite obvious that Kilchoman has a true style and character. Initial whiff and yup, this is a Kilchoman.
And it’s lovely.
Quite sweet smelling under all of that peat — fruity and tart (tart apples in an apple tart).
The obvious brine and smoke are waving a flag saying “hello, hello!! here we are!!” Citrusy notes here as well. Lemon, lime… limon?
This aside, I’m enjoying some buttered toast notes and even a salted pie crust like scent.
On the mouth — Thick, full, oily whisky.
Much like what I experienced on the nose however there is the slight addition of sherry influence here. Think light milk chocolates and spice.
There’s a bit of pepper here and something that I just love: salted black licorice.
Nice and even keeled – No huge sign of being too young.
Finish — Very long and laced with more licorice and even a touch of grilled apples.
In sum — Impressed yet again with Kilchoman. It’s obvious they know what they’re doing. This whisky is peaty/smoky enough for the peat heads out there and complex enough for the whisky geeks and just perfect, if you ask me, for a summer’s day.
I find this Kilchoman to be bright and fresh and has a bit of a pick-me-up feel to it. Highly recommended.
Initially, I thought the easy comparison to make with Kilchoman (as sort of the new kid on Islay) would be to make a comparison to a rock band that was comprised of youth.
Well, that didn’t work out so I decided to think of bands I love that have had hit after hit after hit (like Kilchoman has enjoyed with their whiskies).
I was happy to finally think of a band that had both youth, great music and hit after hit after hit…
Kilchoman – congrats! You are the Jackson Five! A truly incredible band and truly delicious whiskies.
Special thanks goes to JJY for getting me a bottle of this fancy sauce!
I had a “sit” and a “think” the other day and wondered if I could explain Islay distilleries and their whiskies, specifically to people that are new to whisky, by way of Rock and Roll; which is a universal language. Right?
Sure, scientists will say that math is the universal language. If that’s so, why did we send a Rolling Stones tune into outer space? Answer me that. It’s not Freakonomics, it’s Jaggernomics is what it is!
So, let’s see if this works out. I’ll go over the eight existing distilleries and make my comparisons… First the whisky review then the Rock Band comparison. Cool? Cool.
On the nose – Whoa. Huh. Interesting. This is huge. We’re talking huge.
I’m not sure what has the most influence – the levels of phenol (peated to 140ppm) or the wine finish (Petrus). Lots of root vegetables with parsnip seeming to win that battle.
Fresh soil and port wine spice. Grape jam, sweetened overly so.
No smoke whatsoever, this is peat. Peat and a bit herbaceous, briny capers too.
Currently, I’m sitting outside and with the sun on me and the cool breeze… I could nose this forever. The day is perfect and this is shining even more so because of the day.
With water, there are some fantastic coastal elements that come to the fore. Salty sand castles, browning apples, ocean stones. I am LOVING this with water!
On the mouth – A numbing quality upfront that forces the focus on the finish rather than the flavors upfront. I need to give this some time and a second go… An elusive whisky, aren’t you??
Very ashy for sure after the 3rd sip, and once it’s noticed it’s a bit of an affront. *However*, there are these fine wine influenced notes that offer up some tanniny grape skins (think dark Rose where they use a better part of the skins in production).
Very creamy, ooey. Yummy. Me likey. Reminds me a bit of an heavily peated Black Arts (that Bruichladdich spirit quality shines through).
The addition of water brings out notes of chocolates and spent welding flux. The mouthfeel becomes massive with a dash water.
Finish – Heavy wine influence, good wine influence. Not very long though…
In sum – Don’t let the high ABV and 140ppm peating level scare you off (if those do in fact tend to scare you off). All it takes is a dash of water to subdue this baby and s/he will be yours. Big, powerful and full of character. If you can find some, grab some and enjoy sparingly. A dram will go a long way. I envision many wonderful conversations being had over a dram of this whisky!
Special thanks to Ronnie R for the sample!!
Gal of Whisky Israel reviewed this one quite a while back as a head-to-head review with Octomore 2.1 and it’s well worth a read!
Bruichladdich – the band! — Man, this is an easy one for me. Sex Pistols. Simple. Easy. Let’s move on.
Wait, you need more explanation? Ok, ok…
Back in 1976/77 few major bands had the look or (raw) impact on the music like the Sex Pistols. Rock was stagnating and Disco was becoming more popular. But the Sex Pistols burst upon the scene like a lion on new kill.
Compare this to Bruichladdich, look at their kick-a$$ packaging or their all-over-the-place releases of yesteryear (and by yesteryear, I mean the past 8-10 years and up until the newest Laddie Ten). From the moment they released their amazing new “Laddie Ten“, it takes people from a scratch-your-head, “what are these guys doing?!” position to a more, “Ah, NOW I get it!” position.
And then, like Springbank, they’re making three different whiskies in the same place. An unpeated one (Bruichladdich), a heavily Peated one (Port Charlotte) and the world’s most peated whisky (Octomore).
What’s more is they have a still (called Ugly Betty, by the way), they they installed a short while back that now makes what I feel is one of THE best gins on the market – The Botinist. Seriously, A-MAZ-ING gin!
My point? They are doing what they want to do and not what people might expect from them. They don’t give a $#!?. Solid.
“We are Bruichladdich – love us or leave us.”
To me, that’s punk rock and that’s why the are the Sex Pistols of whisky.
Let’s hear it for the fourth and final Icon of Arran bottling!
They started off with the “Peacock” then went onto the “Rowan Tree”. “The Westie” did not have its tail between its legs when he appeared as the third Icon of Arran and following that one is this: The Golden Eagle.
If you look closely on any Arran bottle, you’ll see that, embossed in the glass of the bottles, there are birds. Those birds are the famous Golden Eagles that nest themselves around the distillery. On any given day, if you look up in the sky, you’ll see those beauties flying about. They fly so strong and sure – gorgeous creatures and a fitting end the the title of the last Icon of Arran.
On the nose – Incredibly soft (like sniffing the softness of a baby’s behind… sans the poop and such).
I detect and interesting mix of tangerines and light incense (sandalwood – again, light).
Baby aspirin (orange cream) followed by some pear candies and a tad spice of spice…
On the mouth – Great mouthfeel – very… Arran. Very full/viscous.
This flavors here follow the lead of what I got on the nose – very soft and delicate, *subdued*.
The Arran apples are here in baked form (I often find apples in Arran whiskies).
Fresh rain on a spring day.
Reminiscent of many Arrans I’ve had but a much more restrained version. Like and aerated chocolate bar, if you catch my meaning… it’s still a chocolate bar but something is different about it, the flavors are held back/elusive.
Finish – Speaking of chocolate, there’s a touch of milk chocolate on the finish which, by the way, is medium in length.
In sum – This is such an easy going whisky! Perfect on a cool spring night or a warm fall evening and a good entree for your friends that are scared to try Scotch whisky.
For me, I was hoping for a bit more presence for the final Icon – something that would go out in a bang. Then again, perhaps the goal was to match the elegance of the Golden Eagles that fly about the Arran distillery. If this is the case, Arran has met their goal.
It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed and Arran (and G-d knows, I’ve reviewed quite a few Arran whiskies). I’ve had a bottle of this Arran Sassacaia on my shelf for a while and have been slowly, but surely, chipping away at it.
The first time I tried it was when I was in Scotland doing the JSMWS whisky tour with Jason Johnstone-Yellin and our two guests Meg & Mike. Mike was the one that turned Jason onto the stuff and it was he, Mike, that turned me onto the stuff during a stop at the Craigellachie Hotel just outside of Elgin.
We put this Sassacaia cask whisky up against another distiller’s Sassacaia cask whisky and this Arran one blew the other one out of the water. There was no real comparison. This Arran is big and fresh and vibrant. The other? Not so much. While I will not name the other whisky, I will tell you it was *not* the new Glenmorangie Artien – that whisky wasn’t even released when we did this side-by-side.
Here are the details on the Arran Sassacaia Cask:
On the nose – Like bathing your nose in a tub full of deep/dark tropical fruits (think passion fruit, persimmon, over-ripe cantaloupe and then a good bit of cherry which I know is not really tropical…).
A bit of a malty backbone.
Juicy juice grape juice (if there were a not so sugary version of it).
Some notes of rubber birthday ballons too. That’s said in a very positive way.
It’s like a party in my nose.
A very vibrant smelling whisky.
On the mouth – Thick, deep and honied mouthfeel.
Noticeable notes of, you guessed, Sassicaia wine – cherries, cedar wood and even a bit of chocolate in there.
Cinnamon spice which quickly becomes drying.
A couple of sips later reveals an interesting hint (a tiny hint) of swimming pools on hot summer days.
Finish – Drying, long and filled with cherries and chewing tobacco.
In sum – Not a very Arran, Arran if you ask me. Nice, well balanced and overall a very satisfying whisky. However, I did not detect much of the Arran character that made me fall in love with their whiskies. Not a complaint… it just makes me think about what percentage influence wood *really* has on whisky and what makes that percentage change from cask to cask. This aside, when should you enjoy this one? Well, I’d try to do it soon. These bottles are hard to find!!
Big thanks goes out to Mike A for suggesting the whisky – big thanks goes out to Merwin’s for selling me their last bottle!
On the nose – A wonderfully sweet nose, if not a touch hot, with other scents mixed in such as Connecticut shade tobacco leaves, sugar cane and near ripe white flesh peach.
Chocolate covered marzipan.
Oak and grape skins are evident but lying just beneath those flavors is a stone fruit compote.
Perhaps a touch of cola syrup and the slightest amount of fennel (slight).
