At the Distillery

If you’ve been enjoying the exclusive W Club Glenfarclas bottling then get set for a treat later this year when The Whisky Shop launches an exclusive BenRiach.

The new whisky is a big, rich shirred treat, and very lovely, according to Inverness whisky enthusiast Desmond Masson. And he should know – he helped to choose it.

Desmond, aged 55, won the chance to spend a day as a VIP guest at BenRiach and to help make the selection.

“It was a great day,” he says, “and I was amazed because I thought I would be just watching on but I was very much part of it. There were nine whiskies and my views were listened to and eventually the three of us chose the one that will be bottled for later in the year. It’s a 1977 Pedro Ximenez cask so it’s sherried and very lovely.”

Desmond has been a regular customer at the Inverness branch of The Whisky Shop for about two years and buys malt both to drink and collect.

“I drink whisky socially and I’m always looking for something different. I like to always have something special and interesting open. But also if I ever have some apart money then I’ll buy something to keep,” he says. “Most of the stuff I buy to collect is priced between £100 and £200 but I do have one or two special bottles. The Whisky Shop helped me get me a Dalmore Candela, for instance, and has just helped me to get a special Macallan from Germany.”

Desmond was already a big fan of The W Club before he won the BenRiach trip and is encouraging others to join.

“I understand The Whisky Shop chain is a retail business and doesn’t discount as some supermarkets do but as a W Club member I get 10 per cent off everything, and I can go along to an evening tasting where I’ll get five free whiskies and be under no obligation to buy anything. About 20 or 30 of us went to a great night at The Whisky Shop recently, with five whiskies, before going on to see The Angels’ Share. And our first whisky was a Balblair to tie in with the film. That was a fabulous night. That’s what i like about The Whisky Shop. I’m treated like a VIP customer whenever I go in.”

Whisky trending – what I liked this week

Competition crazy

The W Club is going competition crazy and frankly it’s my humble view that we’re spoiling our members.

But it’s hard not to be impressed. I’m so keen to win a couple of them that I’ve adopted a couple of pseudonyms and am entering in disguise in the hope no-one will notice. That’ll learn ‘em.

We’ve just sent a lucky club member to Glen Garioch for what was an almost overwhelming trip, and now we’re following that with this little lot:

- a VIP trip to the BenRiach distillery in Speyside to select the cask which will be used for a Whisky Shop exclusive bottling

- a trip for two to the wonderful Gleneagles Hotel

- the chance to be a guest of Glenmorangie at the Open Golf Championship in July

- the chance to join the legend that is Richard Patersopn, master blender at Whyte & Mackay and one of the most charming and witty raconteurs you’ll ever meet, for an afternoon in his blending room

- the chance to attend a major Johnnie Walker launch event in Glasgow

Not enough? then what about the chance to win a trip for two to the brand new Mackmyra distillery in Sweden, or a trip for two, amazingly, to the Yamazaki distillery in Japan.

And if for some reason this all sounds like too much like hard work and you’d rather not get off your butt, then you ought to be trying to win a complete set of this year’s Islay Festival special bottlings. The prize is worth £1500 today but one week after the Festival is over that price will start heading upwards rapidly, leaving you with the ultimate dilemma – do you sit back and watch your investment grow, or open some of your special bottles and enjoy some of the finest Islay malt on offer.

what a choice

A diamond malt

I don’t think it’s any secret that I love Laphroaig, and of all the Laphroaig’s 18 year old is my favourite. In fact if I was really pushed I would put it in to my top three Scottish single malts.

So this special bottling diamond jubilee version of it provides me with the perfect excuse for me to buy another bottle. Mind you, there’s no way it’s going anywhere but very quickly in to my glass.

And before you ask, no I won’t share.

Boxing clever

Compass Box’s isn’t much to look at from the outside but inside it’s like being in an alchemist’s cave. I was down in London to see John Glaser for a couple of unusual issues – both of which will become clear in the next three or four days – and when I arrived he was working on his latest batch of special releases.

He’s engaging company and he treated me to  lunch at Jamie Oliver’s relatively new and moderatly priced Union Jack outlet -a sort of gastropub with traditional favourites presented with a twist. So does it get better than a chat with our greatest whisky pioneers, a pint of gorgeous Welsh cider, a hot chili pizza made with four different types of chili and covered in green leaf salad and accompanied by a little pot of curd.

not really. Except for the curd.

A taste of history

I picked up a parcel from the post office today and it contained a small sample of a 1953 58-year-old Glenfarclas. Wow! As George Grant says in the accompanying letter, he wasn’t born when it was made, his father was a little boy and his grand father was distilling. And just as amazingly, it was distilled the year after the Queen came to the throne.

Yep, that old…

I have decided it’s the perfect special whisky to start the weekend with. Trouble is, it’s my wedding anniversary so I’d have to give some to my wife. So I’ve hidden it.

No not really. She’s not that knowledgeable on whisky so I’m going to tell her it’s the 1953 but actually give her some Glenfarclas 10-year-old.

A bit mean i know, but the 10-year-old is rather good – and certainly good enough for her!!

What I liked this week

The next issue of Whiskeria

We’ve been working hard on a new issue of Whiskeria and it’ll be hitting the stores some time around mid May – and it’s shaping up to be a cracker.

There’s a feature on our trip to Islay with international photographer Colin Prior, an interview with the whisky-loving lead singer of Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, fatherly advice and whisky picks for Father’s Day and what to do in  Britain if you’re not interested in The Olympics. There’s also a review of Ken Loach’s whisky-basd film The Angel’s Share.

The Angel’s Share

I was invited to a press screening of Ken Loach’s new film and attended with national journalists from the likes of Heat, Empire, The Telegraph. Reviews are embargoed at this point – it comes out in June – but suffice to say it will do the whisky industry no harm and it’s a delight seeing a whisky colleague in action – in this case Charlie MacLean. A review will appear here once a date is green-lighted.

New Glenkeir Treasures

One of the great aspects of The Whisky Shop offering is the opportunity to taste exclusive whiskies in store before purchasing and then buy samples in 10cl, 20cl or 50cl bottles, making quite rare whisky accessible to even the modest pocket.

The whiskies are specially selected for us and are filled in to casks in the shop, and they are uniformly excellent. The arrival of a new Treasure is always a special event and doesn’t happen that often.

The latest additions are an Isle of Jura 19 year old and a Highland Park 17 year old. The former is an oddball whisky,a subtle mix of rapier fresh and clean citrus flavours and a surprisingly subtle and sophisticated taste. The Highland Park is a treat but takes there malt in to new territory, dispensing with the balanced all rounder characteristics normally associated with the whisky  and focusing on a gritty Highland taste with grape and gooseberry in the mix.

BenRiach samples

BenRiach continues to delight and amaze and the latest batch of samples are a mix of sherry casks offerings from the mid 70s and light bourbon fresh ones from the 80s. There are a couple of peaty ones there and one or two of the very oldest have a delicious rich menthol flavour …stunning.

And finally…

I’m off to Tennessee and Kentucky for six days to interview the master distillers about American whiskey for a new video W Club series starting in May. The idea is to ask the people who make it to talk about one aspect of Tennessee whiskey and bourbon. I’ll be visiting Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve, and Maker’s Mark, seeing the new facilities at Beam and the new distillery at Wild Turkey, visiting George Dickel for the first time, and going to what is described as the Bulleit Distillery even though there isn’t one.

All will no doubt be revealed. I am flying on the day the great Southern musician Levon Helm of The Band has died. I was a big fan and his death will throw a dark cloud over the visit.

Follow my tweets here.

Three days late, but nevertheless, lots to like…

The Nth Show
Ask any of the High Rollers who paid extra for their tickets and who attended the ‘speed dating’ session where they got to try high end whiskies and talk to some of the people behnind making them, and they’d have told you that they would have gone home happy there and then – before the show proper had even started.

The next 24 hours were no disappointment, either – a fabulous collection of whisky, a great venue in the Wynn Encore Hotel, high class exhibitors and some excellent masterclasses on the Saturday.

Highlight for me was the Anchor masterclass, which featured a 40 year old Strathisla, BenRiach 21 Authenticus, GlenDronach 33 Year Old, and Hotlings American Whiskey. Beat that.
Next year Mahesh Patel is threatening to hire a fleet of helicopters to fly the high rollers to the glass bridge over the Grand canyon for as whisky tasting. don’t bet against it…

Irish whiskey
Suddenly The Whisky – or should that be Whiskey – Shop has lots of wonderful Irish whiskey. In addition to the Irish Distillers range including Redbreast and the new Jameson Select there’s an assortment of gems which includes Writer’s Tears, the Cooley range, and The Irishman.
And one thoroughly recommended addition is Irishman 70.
Made with a mix of single malt from Bushmill’s and pot still whiskey from Midleton it’s a delight

Tasting notes:
Fermenting apple pip, damp foprest, traces of white pepper and moulding crab apples on the nose, oily rich grain from the pot still, far less sweet and rounded than many Irish whiskeys, with intense spice giving way to more typical green fruit, unripe pear, melon and grape. Unusual for Irish whiskey. The finish is quite short but warming.

Japanese whisky
I have just finished the chapter on Japanese whisky for my Autumn book with Gavin Smith, the Whisky Opus. And as I was finiashing the entry on Nikka’s Yoichi, there was a knock on the door and I received a box with four Nikka whiskies in, including one from Yoichi
Oh go on then…

Nikka Pure Malt 43% 50cl bottle
Autumnal, forest floor and mince pie on the nose, big sherried red berry compote and plum on the palate, soft and rounded with some squidgy date, dark choocolate and a late dash of all spice.

Nikka From The Barrel 51.4%
Packaged in a cute square 50cl bottle and with a full, rich flavour, this is vintage Japanese whisky and something of a favourite. The nose is typically Japanese and oddball, with some fungal and stewed fruit notes. But the palate is Iron Maiden in a glass, powerful, intense, ageing and uncompromising, a five piece opnslaught of oranges and clementines, red and black berries, stewed plum, dark treacle and sweet spice. Heavy metal nectar.

Yoichi 10 year old 45%
Damp leaves, prickly spice, Autumn orchard, and pond lilies on the nose. The taste is superb, with an almost incense quality and sharp, clean apple and pear, an array of spices including cinnamon and nutmeg, and a pleasant complex, challenging, distinctive and utterly beguiling finish.

Nikka Pure Malt 17 Year Old 43%
A stunning nose, with clean fruits, spices and oak dipping in and out of the picture, and a distinctly Japanese fungal mysterio. A cool but dark pool on a summer’s day – you want to go in but you’re not sure what’s under the surface…and it’s fine! Great in fact. Rounded, rich, balanced and utterly magical, this has apricot, pineapple, dark chocolate, coffee, blood orange, liqueur cherry… just try!

Our 37th floorroom overlooks Las Vegas and faces East, so I can watch the sun as it rises above the sprawling city, the surrounding mountains, and the vast dessert. There is no better place to sit and reflect on the outstanding quality of Mahesh Pstels’s Nth Whisky Show at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas.

Saturday is all about masterclasses.

Five cask strength BenRiach samples

You never quite know what you’re going to get from BenRiach – the distillery has such a range of whiskies. But The W Club is planning an exclusive specially made BenRiach and these five samples  are potentially the bottling’s component parts.

And they are superb. Two are described as ‘classic Speyside’ and are 16 years old and 21 years old respectively, but are destined for bottling after their 17 and 22 year birthdays in May. They are both sweet and fruity with honey and vanilla, as you might expect, but the first has a delightful fresh apple characteristic to it, and the second has a liquorice aniseed and oak combination from its age. Both are very good.

The third is 15 years old, finished in a Pedro Ximenez cask, and is set to be bottled as a 16 year old.It’s a big bold whisky with stewed plum, fig, date, mince pie and earthy, woody tannin notes.

But it’s the last two which are really exciting. They’re a year apart in age but will both be bottled as 17 years old. They are both finished in  virgin American oak and the effect  of the wood is all over them. These are dessert whiskies of the highest order. the first is cask 2775 from 1995 and combines banana split drizzled with caramel sauce,  or soft toffee filled chocolates. There’s hazelnut in the finish, too. The second, from 1994 and about nine months older, is much sharper, spicier and woodier, but still has a wonderful vanilla and candy heart if you add water.

Compass Box

It’s no secret that I am a huge admirer of the works of John Glaser and that I love what he and his team stand for.  John makes boutique whiskies with the finest Scotch and I’m delighted that they are a priority for The Whisky Shop.

The company’s whiskies fall in to two broad camps. There are sweet, gentle and easy drinking whiskies including two blends – Asyla and Great King Street, which I recently chose as the Blended Whisky of the Year in the Whisky Advocate annual awards; and a grain whisky called Hedonism. Grain whisky is soft and sweet and can be a bit characterless when young, but in this case it’s the whisky is delicious and refreshing. The other category hass more spicy, peaty and savoury releases and these include malts which are among my very favourites: The Peat Monster – have a guess – Oak Cross, which is matured in American oak casks with virgin European oak heads to give the whisky a spicy note; and best of all, The Spice Tree, which is feisty, challenging and a total treat.

Watch the news column for details of a marathon tasting tour with a difference featuring John Glaser.

The Dalmore Cigar Malt

I’ve already written about the return of this iconic malt and the changes that have been made to it. It’s an unusual Dalmore but a good one, and The Whisky Shop is the first British retailer to stock it. the first bottle sold went to a woman from Lincoln and was sold this week. Welcome back.

Sweden

I went as a guest of Maxxium to Stockholm to join the Viking Whisky Festival Cruise but before boarding we were treated to a tasting by the highly impressive Joy Elliott, who treated us to, among other things, a stunning Highland Park 1978 Vintage, and, amazingly, the 60 year old plus whisky which makes up the Macallan Lalique. Joy  claimed she didn’t have a wee taste while transporting the rare liquid to Sweden. If that’s true she’s stronger-willed than I am.

On board the cruise liner I met great people, hung out with the likes of Laphroaig’s John Campbell, Glenfiddich’s Ian Millar, Whyte & Mackay’s Richard Paterson and Glen Grant’s Dennis Malcolm, and discovered some very interesting new Swedish whisky.  Poor John wasn’t well but managed to hold a tasting which included Ardmore 25 year old, and a new expression of Laphroaig, a 13 year old whisky called Brodir.

On a related note – I have supported Mackmyra’s whisks in tastings for six years and am a big fan of the distillery and its people. So I am delighted that the great Mackmyra introductory malt The First Edition is now available through The Whisky Shop.

Emirates Airlines

What an amazing airline. Their stewardesses are the female equivalent of a box of Quality Street, a mix of races and all beautifully attired, very friendly and highly efficient. And if you managed to miss that they come from all over the world, the pilot lets you know just how many languages they can speak between them – about 12. The food is lovely, the planes spacious, and the entertainment amazing in its diversity. Thoroughly recommended.

Tintin

This is a whisky film. Whisky is a big player in the plot, a force for good and bad, used as a weapon and as plane fuel, and a constant in this delightful animated film.

Dusty wood on the nose, with polish, honey, sweet citrus, reminiscent oak-paneled office. At first there’s sweet orange and tangerine on the palate, citrus fruit, then pepper and a hefty dose of oak and tannins. The finish is quite sharp and bitter, with marmalade. Oakiness battles the fruit with the fruit winning out in the end.

Smoked Cromer crab on the nose, with cured fried bacon, smoky but layered with apples and peach. The palate is a stunning mix of sweet tinned exotic fruits, blackcurrant and chocolate with full peat and smoke, some astringency from the oak, and a delightful spicy bite. The finish is very long and oily, with the charcoally smoke sticking to the mouth with the gloopy fruitiness and some oaky tannins.

The nose is subtle and restrained, with grape, pear and apple, marzipan. Sweet. The palate is subtle, sophisticated and balanced, with honey, vanilla, oak and clean melon and pear. The finish is medium long, restrained and with a delightful burst of oak and spice late on.