Exploring whisky

Having looked at the components of whisky over recent weeks, Dominic turns to the production process. And because wood has been featured recently, he starts at the end of the process – with maturation

A few years back I attended a tasting of three single cask Bowmores from the ’60s. Each had been filled in the same week some 40 years previously, two on the same day. But each was from a different cask type: one Oloroso sherry, one Pedro Ximenez, one bourbon. and although the Bowmore DNA was in each, they varied dramatically, demonstrating just how important the cask is in the making of whisky.

Some claim that up to three quarters of the flavour of malt comes from the maturation process, and unless caramel is added, so does all of the colour.

But what’s even more remarkable is the fact that if all three had been bourbon barrels and had been filled with the same spirit batch on the same day and matured next to each other for 40 years, they would still have been different to each other. They would have had different flavours and marginally different alcoholic strengths, and they would have matured at different rates.

What’s more, while much these days is known about the maturation process, a great deal isn’t. This is the magic – or miracle – of malt. Science is doing its best but it hasn’t got there yet. Let’s hope it never does.

So what do we know?

First, that malt spirit needs to be matured for no less than three years in a cask, and in Scotland that cask has to be made of oak. And because the spirit is delicate it cannot hold of the spicy tannins of new oak for three years, so it needs to be put in as cask seasoned with something else – normally sherry or bourbon.

In the cask the spirit circulates and expands and contrasts slightly with the changing of seasons and temperatures. And in the cask the liquid undergoes four processes:

Firstly, the spirit is forced in to the wood, picking up flavour and colour. Secondly, during this process the wood also moves some flavours, and in particular some negative ones such as sulphur. Thirdly compounds in the wood react chemically with the spirit to produce the array of flavours we associate with malt whisky.

And finally, we know that spirit escapes faster than water in maturation – at least it does in Scotland – because over the course of several years the strength of the spirit is reduced. But the cask does not collapse, indicating that oxygen enters the cask – and thus oxidisation takes place.

Once whisky has been made after three years, it’s up to the distiller to decide how long he wants to keep the whisky maturing, but he has two constraints: one, the strength of the liquid cannot be allowed to fall below 40% ABV; and two, the tannins and spices of there wood contribute to flavour but there will come a time when it will become noticeable, then dominant and finally overwhelming. The positive flavours imparted from the cask will peak, too, so the distiller must choose carefully when the optimum flavours and the oak are best serving the final flavour. And with every cask that decision is different.

That’s a tough ask with just one cask, but what if you are storing 100,000 or even a million?

* Next week we’ll look at maturation lengths and what effects them

Another amazing W Club giveaway. The W Club love nothing more than treating our members to some free whisky.  This time we are offering one lucky winner the opportunity to win the fabulous Scottish Leader 30 year old limited edition!

To be in with a chance of winning this unique single malt simply visit our Facebook page and follow the instructions on our Scottish Leader post. Winner to be announced this Friday! Good Luck!

Weekly Whisky Auction Watch

Andy Simpson

14.05.2013

As the appeal of rare and old whisky steadily increases, it’s almost natural that we start to see other impressive whisky sales at auctioneers throughout the UK.

Last week Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions held their first major rare whisky sale.

It’s not unusual to see hammer prices towards the lower side of expectations for an ‘inaugural’ whisky auction such as this; however, that was clearly not the case here. Many bottles achieved new record prices in what was a very keenly fought sale.

The auction included a good spread of modern day icons such as the Macallan Royal Marriage and Official Port Ellen releases. These, combined with some stunning 1970’s independent bottles were enough to keep virtually every whisky fan drooling with anticipation.

Before I get onto the more traditional bottles of Scotch; worthy of separate note was a small selection of 1980’s vintage Karuizawa. As the number of maturing casks rapidly dwindles from this closed Japanese distillery, some solid increases are being observed for existing bottled stock. Roughly two years’ worth of releases from Karuizawa remains maturing in cask…. Then it’s gone. Karuizawa definitely carries a ‘buy’ rating in my book.

Included in the sale were many long discontinued Cadenheads ‘dumpies’ (referring to the dumpy shape of the bottle). These old bottles are among the best recent performers at auction from independent bottlers.

A 1966 vintage Littlemill and a 1962 vintage Dallas Dhu both sold for new records of £350. These, coupled with other bottles from Ladyburn, Glenury Royal, North Port and St Magdalene made for an exceptional selection of Cadenheads ‘dumpy’ lots.

Older style Gordon and MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice bottles also reached new highs. A bottle of St Magdalene 1963 sold for £450 (first release style black and red label). That equates to a 125% increase in value over 2008 prices.

Certain old vintages performed to new record highs when two Gordon & MacPhail Glenlivet bottles, on a 1938 and a 1940 vintage, sold for £650 and £500 respectively. It’s incredible to think that these ‘golden oldies’ (among many others from Linkwood, Glen Grant etc) from Gordon and MacPhail were selling for less than £200 just four years ago.

Any whisky auction worth its weight wouldn’t be complete without a liberal smattering of rare Macallan bottles. A Macallan 1964/1981 sold unboxed for an all-time high of £600. One of the very early 18 year olds, vintaged 1966, also sold unboxed for a new record of £480. £200 would have bought one of these in 2008.

Auchentoshan is all too infrequently mentioned in these pages so it was great to see a bottle of 1965 vintage ‘Distillery Archive’ selling for £300. A scant two years ago this bottle was trading at £170.

There were also some good deals for buyers as certain limited release Ardbegs sold for well under current market value. Both ‘Ardbeg Day’ and ‘Rollercoaster’ sold for £110 each. Those prices were a good step back from recent sales and more representative of quarter three 2012.

The highlights of the auction were the older independent bottles. From my perspective, these wonderful old pieces of liquid history are rightfully now gathering pace as collectibles.

Overall, the market still remains positive with broad based increases in value continuing. In my opinion, the outlook still remains buoyant for the right bottles from the right distilleries.

Until next week.

Slainte,

Andy.

Feis Ile’ comes to Nottingham.

For those of us that are not fortunate enough to be able to make it up to Islay for the festival we’re having our own ‘taste of Islay’ in the Nottingham shop.

We’re going to be trying whisky from each of the distilleries on Islay for a whistle-stop tour without having to leave the building!

The tasting will be £10 for non-members with the usual £5 off for members and will run from 7pm-9pm on the 24^th of May.

Hope to see you there. As usual tickets are first come, first served.

The Whisky Shop Nottingham

3 Cheapside

Nottingham

NG1 2HU

Nottingham@whiskyshop.com

Talisker Port Ruighe

We asked some for some volunteers to come forward and taste the best whisky as soon as it comes onto the market. Please enter the Talisker Port Ruighe!

Some more whisky will be sent in the post shortly… Thanks to everyone who has given their thoughts!

Edward Imperatori

Colour:  Rich dark honey, almost amber

Nose: light peat on the nose, salty marine qualities typical of a Talisker with a touch of honey and then a floral hint of lavender. Later lingering bbq spare-ribs and a touch of lemon on the nose

Taste: again  lightly smokey on the palate, a clearly malty whisky. A touch of water brings out notes of fresh orchard apples. On 2nd taste neat also some ripe banana.

Mouthfeel: medium mouth-coating not too oily but a lingering mouthfeel

Comments: complex enjoyable full-bodied whisky which does not require water, it is less intense than Talisker Storm but not as complex as Talisker 30 year. I prefer it to Storm but not to the 30 year.

View: very good complex

Score : 4.5 / 5

David Keddie

Colour: Rich Golden Amber.

Nose: A bold smoke with  fresh sea salt breeze. Followed by coal tars .

Taste: Coal Fire Smoke  of the 70′s that very quickly turns  very sweet , with marmalade on burnt toast undertones.

Finish: Quite a long smooth finish,  a bit of fruit, sweet burnt orange on application of water.

Comment:  A whisky for smoke lovers  who love a sweet fruit after taste.

Mr Aumakua

Colour: A nice light tan in colour, almost an amber.

Aroma: Warm spices with a hint of peat.

Taste (straight): Hmmm! Warming but sort of leaves your mouth feeling dry like too much pepper.

Taste (with water added):  Whoops, Just need to top my glass up first!

Arrh! It’s the maple syrup that gives it colour and sweetness. Just the kind of drink to follow Christmas pud.

Taste (with Ginger Wine): Taste test abandoned , too nice to mix

Verdict: Would definitely look for the bottle on the shelf in the pub but could work out a dear round with friends.

Andrew Wintle

What an absolute pleasure is was to sample the Talisker Port Ruighe – thanks for including me in the tasting panel

The depth of the colour is the first thing that strikes you – a lovely deep golden caramel

The smell is unmistakably Talisker – really bold and peaty with plenty of pepper and wood smoke but with extra sweetness from the port

I found it very smooth, almost creamy with a rich sweet and spicy taste – like other Taliskers it’s quite fiery to begin with then moves to a more dry/complex combination of deep wood smoke, pepper then almost honey sweetness

It leaves the usual lovely lingering smokey/peppery taste – I tried it with and without water; this really benefits from adding water as it elongates the smokiness

Nik Suddards

“A long legged, slightly peaty, rather smoky whisky with great depth of flavour that leaves a wonderful, long lingering smoky taste on the roof of the mouth. The further down the glass, the more I enjoyed the whisky and appreciated the subtlety of the flavours!”

Kevin Pollock

Visibly, the colour is similar to the 10 year old but on the nose, the robust smokiness of the standard is not as intense with the Port Ruighe. This is a much more mellow whisky with regards to the aroma. There the mellowness stops as the first taste of the malt delivers a smooth, powerful blast of the Carbost coast. There is quite a pungency with this malt, more so than with the 10-year old. However, after several sips, oddly I find this a more palatable malt than the 10-year old. At 45.8%, it is a little bit more volatile in that the taste does tend to nip upstairs and explore the olfactory department.

Iain Grainger

I really enjoyed the Talisker port Ruighe ,with its strong oaky aroma, fruity taste and the lingering spiced after taste, would recommended this whisky. very nice!

Lionel Green

Initially the nose is of rubber and smoke, a little water opens the whisky and spice comes through. A lovely warming dram to enjoy on a cold night by the fire.

Exploring whisky

We’ve been looking at the components of whisky in recent weeks. This week we conclude with a ten point guide to being a whisky wood geek.

This week we were due to look at finishes and flavour manipulation as part of our series featuring the ingredients that contribute to the finished whisky. But on reflection I’ve decided that’s better suited for inclusion in the maturation part of my guide to the whisky making process.

So next week I’m going to turn to production – but to amuse myself I’m going to do the process in reverse. so next week it’ll be the said maturation feature and a close look at what happens inside the cask and how different woods make a difference.

For now though, let’s wrap up with:

Dominic’s would-be geek’s, geeky wood guide

1. Most malt whisky is matured in casks that have formerly contained sherry from Spain or whiskey from America.

2. We refer to bourbon casks but a high proportion of them are from the world’s biggest whisky distillery, Jack Daniel’s. And Jack Daniel’s isn’t a bourbon.

3. Bourbon can be made anywhere in America so Tennessee whiskey could be bourbon but the State’s two distilleries both employ the Lincoln Process – letting the ‘white dog’ or ‘new make’ drip down through a charcoal wall. They say it makes it taste smoother and better. Kentuckians don’t.

4. You can find bourbons which have been dripped through charcoal -but it happens after maturation, not before, as in Tennessee.

5. We talk of casks in terms of European oak, American oak, sherry and bourbon. But it  doesn’t follow that a sherried will have been in European oak, as some sherries are matured in American oak.

6. Different oaks have different properties. European oak tends to be tighter and spicier than American. Hungarian oak reacts with the spirit faster than most European oaks. And…

7. …you can’t use Australian oak for malt maturation because it leaks.

8. The smaller the cask, the bigger effect of the wood on the spirit.

9. Bourbon is made in virgin white oak but it doesn’t have to be American, despite what many books say (including my first one – sorry!). You can call a whiskey bourbon after it’s been in the cask for a few hours. To be called a straight bourbon it must be matured for two years. I know at least two Kentucky bourbon chief executives who don’t seem to know that.

10. Oak has to be used in Scotland, but not elsewhere. Maplewood, cherrywood, walnut and hickory have all been used elsewhere and even in Scotland it’s possible to find a cask or two made with cherrywood. Shhh!!

This week  Speyside Part 3

By making this three parts I’ve dragged it out a bit haven’t I? But I keep getting told by people who know about these things that the average person reading on line has the attention span of a gnat and if I waffle on and on, they’re gone. And even in newspapers I’m told that only 63 per cent of people who read a headline bother with the first paragraph, and less than 40 per cent get to paragraph two. Though to be fair, the survey was talking about Sun readers.

Are you still there?

There was a great sketch in the spoof news programme The Day Today when the Paxman-like Chris Morris berates a reporter: “Go after him, you’re letting the story get away.” Well The Spirit of Speyside 2013 in my mind will always be the Festival that got away. I missed it. Nearly.

I turned up at the wrong bridge (though I wasn’t the only one) for canoeing and missed it. I turned up at the Saturday fete for a hogs roast – and it had finished. I missed the big Saturday night hoolie in a bout of being sensible, and as a result of being sensible I set out on ambitious walk on the Sunday morning and missed the Speyside whisky awards lunch. In fact I missed lunch three days in a row.

Which begs the question, what did I actually do?

Well I spent time at three distilleries, one of which will be featured in the next issue of Whiskeria. And the festival organisers – clever people – kept the best to last: a visit to Mortlach.

I’m going to be honest here, my two most disappointing distillery tours were at Diageo venues, and over the years I’ve tended to drift away from its distilleries, so that there are a number of them I have never been to. Mortlach is in that category. This, though, was not only the best Diageo tour I’ve done by some margin, but was way up the list for Scottish distilleries in general.It’s a geeky anorak’s delight, the whisky world’s equivalent to the haunted house at the end of the street – broody,mysterious, enigmatic, a bit intimidating and the subject of rumours of ghouls, giant worms, and little witches.

The spirit, rich, full and oily, enjoys a cult following. And if you know it you’ll be aware that this is a rich sherried whisky, from a distillery where sulphur isn’t a dirty word and indeed, is a vital contributor to this complex and intriguing malt.

The distillery itself is a short hop from the centre of Dufftown, and in some respects is the antithesis of Glenfiddich and Balvenie at the other end of the town.

It’s a malt whisky distillery so let’s not bother going on the tour and let’s cut straight to the chase and focus on the three parts of the experience which elevate it above the competition.

1. The Wee Wichtie

As you probably know, normally the spirit for malt whisky is the result of two distillations. in the first everything distilled is moved in to the spirit still. Here the very strong alcohols that come off first are dangerous and taste horrid, so they are not saved and are recycled back for the next run. The final part of the run is too weak and that is not wanted. So just the middle is kept.

At Mortlach the first pair of stills operate in the conventional way. But the third pair operate differently and the heads and tails are distilled in The Wee Wichtie along with the heads and tails from spirit stills one or two. This makes for a final unique news make spirit that is regarded as one of the best in the world.

2. The worms.

It’s an old whisky joke – has your distillery got worms? Few do, but you haven’t qualified as a whisky geek until you’ve seen some, and indeed, made that joke.

Worms are coiled piping normally lying flat or curling down like a corkscrew on the roof of the distillery through which the spirit passes. Flowing water immerses the pipes to cause the re-condensation of the spirit, and the nature of the re-condensing – it’s slower – produces a heavier, more sulphury spirit. This combined with the distillation process – which is described as part triple distilled – keep up, there’s a test coming -  makes the resulting spirit unique.

3. The tasting

So lots of rich, oily and sulphured spirit then?

Eh, no, actually. And this was the surprise of the year for me.

While sulphur is deliberately included in the new make and is integral to the taste of Mortlach, it is effectively the first and second layers of paint, and not the top coat. You don’t taste it – you taste what its platform has allowed to develop;. And Mortlach is creamy, sweet, and vanillery, with distinctive tropical and yellow fruit notes. If you just know the 16 year old, which is from sherry casks, this is a revelation.

It was for me anyway.

So that was The Spirit of Speyside – and this oddball trip has without doubt reignited my passion for the region, the whiskies from it, and the people who make them. I have committed myself to a new series on the great characters in the region, and to visit the other distilleries here that I have yet to go to.

Brilliant whisky comedians, ace music, wonderful river walks, the finest scenery, the world’s greatest whiskies – and most of all, great great people. How can there not be a God, and how can this not be his zone?

What I Liked this week – Spirit of Speyside Part 2

I was going to do this in two parts but it warrants a third. So today let’s look at Thursday and Friday nights…

Once upon a time The Speyside Festival was like a big thick bowl of porridge – Scottish, traditional, consistent, reliable, unchanging, a bit grey and certainly not for everyone. Any attempt to take it out of the bowl invariably ended up in a splurgy sticky mess.

The new version – rebranded The Spirit of Speyside Festival – is a whisky fun fair with a ride for everyone. And never was this more clear than the contrast between the opening dinner and the entertainment I attended on Friday night.

The dinner is at the beginning of the festival, unlike the Kentucky Gala, which brings the Bourbon Festival to a close – and I prefer the former option – people are fresh and excited, it provides a chance to catch up sand co-ordinate plans for the days ahead, and it is Speyside ‘happy hour’- the time when you leave your bigger world behind, and settle in to the bens and glens of the region. I met Alex Salmond at this event once, and i think he thought I was leader of the Cornish National Party – and I oversaw a disaster that my magazine at the time was partly responsible for – when the whole room got hammered due to a quick fire judging of six strong whisky samples for the festival on the way in, and a VERY long wait for the meal.

That wouldn’t happen now. This is a professional and considered event. The current dinner sold out in seconds, and is an elegant and ordered dinner in as salubrious surroundings as you can create in the grounds of a distillery (on this occasion, Glenlivet).If you hadn’t been to the event for a few years, as is the case with me, it would have come as a shock – it’s more diverse, more cosmopolitan, and more stimulating – as good a representation of the festival it opened as you can get.

I’m told there were gremlins – the wi-fi gave up, a speech was lost – but only the organisers could have given a monkeys . Oh and maybe one or two more anal bloggers – but when you’re in Godzone God can demand your entire attention. Screwing up the wi-fi was His way of saying wake up and smell the new make -  switch off, tune out and immerse yourself,  brothers and sisters – you’re in malt whisky company now.

I’m not sure if the organisers were mad, genius or just couldn’t care less, but after the splendour of the opening night, Friday was Cinderella returning back from the Ball and heading off to the pantry.

Taking a national whisky writer to see a blue comedian in a traditional working men’s club telling you whisky is all about getting pisshed could have been the equivalent of taking a born again  fundamentalist Christian to a male only Brighton sauna.

It wasn’t – because the journalist was me. Middle class I may be, but I was brought up watching acts in places like The Glenrothes Working Men’s Club, I edited Club Mirror, I support Leicester and love Iron Maiden. I drink cider for heaven’s sake. This was no sweat.

As it turned out, sitting on the floor at the front was.

The evening’s act was The Whisky Comedian, a true blue , adults only,old school club comedian, only with whisky. The evening, called Whisky for Dafties, was side splittingly hilarious. Or would have been if the guy who was meant to be entertaining me, hadn’t decided to make me part of his act. No matter. This is as good a way of dragging in the folk who think whisky is for wine buffs and worse.

It wasn’t perfect. His whisky knowledge had some holes in it, and when he suggested that anyone who thought that whisky tasted of fruit, spices, nuts or flowers should leave (not actually his words), he did give me an escape route, though I was too terrified at the humiliation that would follow me all the way to the back door entrance.

My contribution was to do a blind tasting of three whiskies. And I delighted the partisan crowd by putting the English whisky last and a blend above the 21 year old single malt.

Note to comedian: that blend was Johnnie Walker 12 year old, and I stand by my choice.  After all, I’m the guy who carried three expensive bottles of whisky home and when I collected my bag something was leaking. Which of the three would it be?

It wasn’t any of them – it was a can of Strongbow.

When I tweeted this story someone asked why I was carrying a can of Strongbow back from Scotland? Good question.

The answer?

Well you can take the boy out of Glenrothes Working Men’s Club, but….

Tomorrow: some proper whisky words! Join me at Mortlach.

Weekly Whisky Auction Watch

Andy Simpson

07.05.2013

Last Sundays Scotch Whisky Auction was a little more settled than recent sales. Prices for many bottles held onto recent gains but didn’t accelerate into the stratosphere as we’ve become somewhat used to. There were still fireworks in some areas of the market but the wind dropped and the 12 foot swell subsided a little to let us pause for breath (and in some cases, repair battered wallets I suspect!).

Two particular high value bottles failed to meet their respective reserve prices. The Dalmore 1926 and the Glenfiddich 1958 failed to sell. Both will remain on the shelf for the time being. Whether they stay there or not remains to be seen as the market decided they were both a stretch too far. Maybe everyone was saving up for the SS Politician bottles?

Brora proved interesting with most of the official bottles selling for good money but the 35 year old took a noticeable step back in value. Brora, however, is a distillery whose future credentials as an investment does not concern me.

At the other end of the scale were Bruichladdichs Yellow Submarine bottles. These sold at a 50% premium above recent prices. The two packaging variants have both been achieving level par against each other so I can’t think that’s the cause. I do think it’s a spike and we’ll see prices settle back down.

Macallan had some up’s and down’s which was actually good to see. Macallan values tumbled in 2009 and we saw a fairly far reaching re-trace in values by around 30% of previous highs so it shows nothing is written in stone even for the most popular distilleries. The sheer volume of Diamond Jubilee bottles softened prices and they just couldn’t hold onto previous highs. £740 was around the mid-price for these, easing back from last months highs of £900.

The Royal Marriage bottles held gains slightly better at around £880 per bottle compared with around £950 in April. All rather moot points, to be fair, as these prices represent exceptional increases over retail costs.

The Macallan Robert Burns decanter hit a new high of £1600. In 2009, these were around £300 at auction. If you bought one at its original retail cost, you’d have paid £200.

Rosebank came through with a strong performance. The 25 year old official bottle hit a new record of £310, the Rare Malts Selection bottles performed well and the old 70 proof bottle did exceptionally well when the hammer finally fell at £450 (especially noting the quality of the label).

All in all a pretty mixed bunch of results. With more relatively substantial auctions heading our way in the immediate future, it makes me wonder if the massive levels of supply are finally starting to affect values? Will we see a more balanced buyers market emerge under simple supply-demand dynamics? As usual, only time will tell….. should any trends start to emerge, they’ll be reported here.

Until next week.

Slainte,

Andy.