Edradour 10yo Unchilfiltered

@edradourmalt was the first distillery I visited back in 1999 and I've had a soft spot for it every since.

Imagine my joy when my local pub put a bottle behind the bar!

Whisky 'machinery' - the Washback

Continuing the series looking at some of the 'machinery' used in a distillery to create whisky - this time the Washback or fermenting vessel.

I've covered the basic process of creating whisky here, but I'm going to explore the machinery a little more in this series.

Whisky 'machinery' - the Mash Tun

A new series looking at some of the 'machinery' used in a distillery to create whisky - this time the Mash Tun.

I've covered the basic process of creating whisky here, but I'm going to explore the machinery a little more in this series.

Side by side : Highland 46s

Highland drams seem to get a little ignored by reviewers with their big brothers from Islay or Speyside taking the limelight. This region produces nearly a quarter of all the whisky distilled in Scotland.

For this side by side I've selected 5 Highland drams all at the ABV sweet spot of 46% but with varying maturation, let see what they are like!

A Signature Journey

If you've been reading this blog for a while you may have gone back and read my first post about how I got into whisky - my first distillery visit to Edradour near Pitlochry in the Highlands. Now when I visited back in the last century it was owned by Pernod Ricard but shortly after my visit in 2002 it was bought by a local independent bottler by the name Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Company.

As well as distilling Edradour and peated whisky under the name Ballechin, they buy casks from other distilleries and bottle them under the name Signatory Vintage. Over the years I've tried a few of these and always been very impressed.

Mini Reviews (Updated 24th October)

Edradour Caledonia 12yo 46%

Date: 15th Jan '18
Sample: swap from @Maltman_Mike

Nose: sherry

Palate: honey and a little spice

Finish: short

Notes: disappointing....

DL Glenlossie 1997 19yo 50.9%

Date: 15th Jan '18
Sample: swap from @Maltman_Mike

Nose: pineapple with a hint of ginger - very tropical.

Palate: more of the pineapple with a little honey, big hit of spicy ginger

Finish: honey with the ginger

Notes: lovely sweet dram!











DL Glen Ord 2004 13yo 48.4%

Date: 15th Jan '18
Sample: swap from @Maltman_Mike

Nose: new make with some citrus tones.

Palate: lemon meringue, sweet honey with a spicy edge

Finish: spicy honey
Notes: OK but not great, my first disappointing dram from DL, improved slightly with the addition of some water - lots of vanilla notes but toned down the spices.










Clynelish 14yo 46%

Date: 7th Jan '18
Sample: swap from @AmateurDrammer

Nose: apples, honey, a little citrus, a little mown grass.

Palate: very smooth, slightly oily, loads of honey, a little vanilla followed by hot chilli - yummy!

Finish: a hint of smoke? milder chilli & the honey sweetness.
Notes: a lovely dram, honey and spice!

Heavily Peated but not from Islay?

Through a couple of #dample swaps I managed to get my hands on a couple of unusual heavily peated drams - now as most of you know I love peated drams - Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Port Charlotte etc but these two are a little different - neither are from Islay and one isn't even from Scotland!

My favourite peated dram of the last year or so was Port Charlotte Islay Barley - this was labelled "Heavily Peated" at 40ppm which I reviewed here. These two drams sit either side of that phenol level, one is 30ppm and one is 50ppm.

So what are they?

First up at 30ppm from Japan is Hakushu Heavily Peated - a 46% NAS from Suntory's second distillery in the Southern Japanese Alps

Distillery: Hakushu
Whisky: Heavily Peated

Characteristics: 48% NAS NCF Pale Gold (looks naturally coloured) 30ppm
Source: #drample swap with @GeoffGilmore1

Nose: light smoke, a distant fire? Damp soil, wood shavings but all very light!
Palate: honey sweetness with a big kick of spice, very smooth on the tongue, a little salt and maybe some citrus?
Finish: long, warming and very smokey, some citrus again but lingering smoke!

Next up at 50ppm is Edradour's Ballechin 10yo Heavily Peated.

Distillery: Edradour

Whisky: Ballechin 10yo Heavily Peated

Characteristics: 46% 10yo NCF Rose Gold Non-coloured 50ppm
Source: #drample swap with @The_Cask_Blog

Nose: in-your-face Smokey Bacon! A big peaty kick in the nose with little hints of tropical fruit.
Palate: very light almost watery, slightly spicy - unusual and not what I was expecting! There's all sorts on the palate - orchard fruit, red fruits but all very fleeting - the smoke covers all - it's also very drying.
Finish: as it goes down your throat it gives you a big kick of smoke to let you know it's there!


Comments: two completely different drams, overall I think I prefered the first - the Japanese one - it might have 'only' been 30ppm but I think it carried it off much better and had a bit more about it. The Edradour was far 'peatier' at 50ppm but was quite rough in it's approach - like Octomore's little brother! Both were hunting out if you like peated drams and want to explore a little away from Islay!

Any Port in a storm?

One of the great things about the internet is the opportunity to 'meet' people you wouldn't ordinarily have met or even come across! Twitter, in particular, is great for this and I have met and 'spoken to' loads of people on Twitter especially about whisky! Friendships have developed including drinking whisky 'together' and swapping samples. Over the last few months I've amassed quite a collection of samples and decided the time has come to try and get some tasted!

The sample box

I wanted to try and be a little creative so have grouped some of them together, as the title suggests all these samples have been finished in Port casks.

First up colour - they all look beautiful in the glass!

L-R Tomatin, Talisker, Glenmorangie, Edradour

I also tried to find out how long each had actually spent in a port cask but Talisker wouldn't tell me.

So on to the tasting notes!

Distillery : Tomatin
Whisky : 14 year old Port Cask
Sample from : @WhiskyWings
Characteristics : 700ml, 46% ABV. Not coloured, NCF.
Distillery's info : "Soft, smooth and sweet, benefiting from its time spent in Tawny Port casks which previously held port for around 50 years. Rich but balanced aromas of red berries, sweet honey and rich toffee develop into aspects of light fruits and nuts on the palate and an abiding finish of smooth fruit salad"
Price : £54
Colour : Pale Gold
Nose : Raspberries and Apricots with sweet red berries developing over time, the port was there but only just.
Palate : Oily, salted butter, more of the red berries
Finish : Chewy vanilla
Overall : This one had spent the shortest in a Port Pipe and it showed, not much of a Port influence.

Link : 14yo

Distillery : Talisker

Whisky : Port Ruighe NAS

Sample from : @The_Cask_Blog
Characteristics : 700ml, 45.8% ABV. Coloured, Chill-filtered.

Distillery's info : "Double matured in port casks, this malt is a toast to the Scottish traders who braved the high seas and were instrumental in the foundation of the port wine trade. Port Ruighe, pronounced ‘Portree’ is the Gaelic spelling of the once-bustling trading port on Skye. The port finish combines Talisker’ s powerful maritime character with succulent sweet notes of rich berry fruits for a superb taste experience."

Price : £50

Colour : Pale Gold (Coloured)

Nose : Sea salt, a little smoke, and some winey aromas, completely different from the Tomatin.

Palate : Continuing from the nose - sea salt but a bit of yin and yang with a sweetness - slightly confusing! there is some oakiness and some honey there too but over quite quickly.

Finish : Smokey with a spicy pepper finish.

Overall : I just didn't like this one, the nose was very strange and on the palate I just couldn't make my mind up about the salt and sweet thing.

Link : Port Ruighe

Distillery : Glenmorangie

Whisky : Quinta Ruban 12yo

Sample from : @SpikeyDog120
Characteristics : 700ml, 45.8% ABV. Coloured, NCF.

Distillery's info : "The darkest and most intense whisky in the extra-matured range, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban has spent 10 years maturing in American white oak casks, before being transferred into specially selected ruby port pipes from the Quintas or wine estates of Portugal. Extra maturation in these port pipes develops Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban into a voluptuous spirit with a complex balance of sweet and dry flavours and an intriguing contrast of smooth and crisp, cooling textures. Non chill-filtered for additional aroma and mouthfeel."

Price : £50

Colour : Pale Gold (Coloured)

Nose : Sweet honey developing into dark chocolate with a hint of orange - yummy! The Port was there as a foundation.

Palate : Some sweetness, more of the honey and chocolate but with some underlying vanilla.

Finish : Warming and spicy with lots of maple syrup.

Overall : This was a lovely dram, the nose was delightful and the finish was superb.

Link : Quinta Ruban

Distillery : Edradour

Whisky : 2001 SV Port (13yo)

Sample from : @The_Cask_Blog
Characteristics : 500ml, 56.3% ABV. Not coloured, NCF.

Distillery's info : "Nose: Red berries, oak and fruity port richness. Palate: Velvet texture. Smooth but lively on the palate with heather and oak, maple syrup, orange and spice. Finish: Warm spices with lingering red fruits."

Price : Discontinued

Colour : Pale Gold

Nose : WOW - this is liquid walnuts! As soon as I poured it out of the bottle it filled the room, nosing just intensified the aroma. It did fade over time and revealed a hint of butterscotch and the port.

Palate : Really nutty! More of the walnuts and a little almond - much like a Dundee cake but this cake was full of chilli too!

Finish : Drying, due to the higher strength, again more of the nuts and that lingering spicy chilli!

Overall : I really enjoyed this one, but nearly lost it - when I mentioned Edradour to my wife and let her smell the dram she disappeared with the glass! This is the dram which had spent the longest in a Port Pipe and it showed - on the nose and palate.

Link : Discontinued but newer version available

Summary : It was a close thing between the Glenmorangie and the Edradour for first place! I think the Glenmorangie just took it on the finish. The Tomatin was third but the Talisker was a distant fourth. I normally love smoke in a whisky but the combination with the port just didn't tick my boxes.

Hello

After reading some great whisky blogs from writers such as whiskypilgrim, craigleewatson, amateurdrammer etc. I've been inspired to start my own!

I've been enjoying whisky for nearly 20 years, ever since an unplanned visit and tour of the beautiful Edradour Distillery in 1999. Only £5 for the tour, OK I said, 1 hour later we came out of the gift shop with a bottle of 10 year old, a crystal glass decanter and 4 glasses. A little more than £5!

This blog will be my thoughts on Malt Whiskies, especially those from Scotland, but occasionally some from further afield! I'll include my own thoughts on tastings and other malt related subjects.

Edradour - where the adventure started!