Strathmill, the slightly obscure Speyside distillery operated by Diageo. We don’t see too many bottlings yet a lot of people thought this was the highlight of the Spirits in the Sky festival!

Released under the Daily Dram label in cooperation with The Whisky Agency.

Strathmill 37 yo 1974 (44,4%, Daily Dram 2011, joint bottling with The Whisky Agency)

Nose: excellent start – sweet and buttery (fresh croissant, vanilla) with huge beehive notes (honey, mead, beeswax). Very fruity as well – first ripe banana, melon and apricot, then moving to crispier oranges. Hints of praline, coconut and dried flowers. Great nose, very thick and honeyed. Mouth: gentle and elegant. Almost completely on honey and oranges (fresh and liqueur). Backbone of malt, medium oak and spices (soft pepper, cinnamon). Nice vanilla, apricot and coconut. Finish: slightly drier, with some tannins and spices, dried oranges and faint nutty notes.

What an excellent, luscious nose! The palate is less unique but certainly high quality. Soon in stores. Around € 150 if I’m not mistaken. Recommended.

Score: 92/100

Yesterday I went to Leuven for the Spirits in the Sky festival (5th edition if I’m not mistaken). It’s organised by our Belgian importer The Nectar so the brands in their portfolio (too many to sum up these days) are the main attraction. It’s a good place to find out about the new stuff that’s going to hit the shelves.

Festival highlights

Here are some of them most interesting new things I was able to try. Most of these will be reviewed in depth in the following weeks.

• Strathmill 1974 (44,4%, Daily Dram)
• Miyagikyo 1988 for La Maison du Whisky
• Bruichladdich 5yo vatting by Jim McEwan for The Nectar’s 5th Anniversary, Château d’Yquem finish
• Glenallachie 38yo 1973 (44%, Malts of Scotland, bourbon cask #11018)
• Glen Grant 1972 (Whisky Agency “Private Stock”)
• Cardhu 27yo 1984 (52,6%, Whisky Agency)
• Port Ellen 27yo 1983 (55,5%, The Whiskyman)

And two excellent oldies:

• - Talisker 1957 (53,3%, G&M Cask 1989)
• - Ardbeg 18yo 1974 (57,7%, Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection 1992, 150th Anniversary bottling)

Of course there were also a few disappointments. Maybe not bad whisky, but expectations were higher than the actual result for the GlenDronach 21yo Parliament (clean but too sticky, too caramelly), the new Bruichladdich 10yo ‘The Laddie Ten’ and sadly also the new official Brora 32yo (see comments).

I was told there would be one more official Brora after this, a Brora 40 years old. Let’s hope it will be outstanding and not priced with Taiwan in mind.

The Whisky Agency masterclass “not yet bottled”

Carsten Ehrlich, the driving force behind The Whisky Agency, brought five samples to the festival from casks that were yet to be bottled. We had a chance to try them (blind) and select our favourite which will be bottled as a special edition Whisky Agency & Spirits in the Sky in the near future. Carsten doesn’t like to host tastings, so Mario Groteklaes had to take his place.

The first three samples were Bowmore 1999 (focused on oily peat, not complex but good drinking whisky), Glen Scotia 1992 (dirty sherry, old-style and definitely not my cup of tea) and a typical Glen Elgin 1984 (similar to the Daily Dram release of last year).

Then there was a terrific Glen Grant 1972 (sherry hogshead) with a superb fruity / jammy nose (cherries, apricot pie, honeysuckle) and a fruity albeit slightly tannic profile in the mouth. Similar to the Glen Grant 1972 bottled for The Whisky Fair 2009.

This Glen Grant was chosen by our tasting committee, although a lot of people preferred sample number 5, a Tomatin 1976. We’ve had quite a lot of these and it’s easy to recognize the tropical fruits. High quality again (some said the best Tomatin 76 so far, especially on the palate) – a close second place.

Keep in mind that all five will be bottled at one time or another (some probably with Liquid Sun or Liquid Library labels). I know many people will look out for the Tomatin but personally I still think the Glen Grant was the best choice!

This old Caol Ila 1981 is part of the second Liquid Treasures series with “Seabirds” labels. I’m always happy to see Caol Ila is still relatively cheap at such an old age.

Caol Ila 30yo 1981 (50%, Liquid Treasures “Seabirds” 2011, ex-bourbon hogshead)

Nose: starts lemony, briny and slightly resinous but quickly there are sweeter notes (clementine, marzipan) and a hint of vanilla – just enough to balance it. Quite some medicinal elements, cold ashes and gentle smoke. Seems younger than it is. Mouth: powerful. More peat now, a dry kind of peat. Then it grows typically austere and coastal, with walnut skin, medicinal notes, all kinds of citrus zest, hints of salmiak and big salty notes. Big flavours. Finish: long, zesty, briny with quite some ashes.

Quite a powerful Caol Ila, which hasn’t lost any of its youthful nervosity. Around € 125. Available from eSpirits in Germany.

Score: 88/100

ps/ There’s a similar Caol Ila 1981/2011 in the Liquid Sun series. That one’s a tad less rounded on the nose and even more powerful (not to say brutal) in the mouth.

This BenRiach 1984 cask #7193 is part of the 8th series of single casks by BenRiach. It’s a peated Speysider finished in a Virgin oak cask.

BenRiach 26 yo 1984 (54,1%, OB, cask #7193, peated, Virgin oak finish)

Nose: is this a sherried Ardbeg? Or Karuizawa? Nice anyway, I really like the combination of sweet peat, embering fires and punchy spices. Smoked ham and sweet tobacco. Blackcurrants and dates. Pepper and nutmeg. Some cedar wood. It’s big in different directions and the balance is spot-on. Mouth: punchy, still quite smoky, spicy and sweet, only now there’s also a slightly disturbing sourish element (raspberry vinegar maybe). Dry oak as well. Growing herbal notes. Anything but subtle, even a bit over the top now. I’d suggest a few drops of water. Finish: long, spicy, drying and peaty.

I thought we had an absolute cracker based on the nose, but on the palate it gets a little out of balance. Recommended for fans of extreme whisky. Around € 125.

Score: 86/100

Ootori is a Japanese blended whisky produced by Mercian Corporation, the owner of Karuizawa (malt) and Kawasaki (grain) distilleries. The bottle and its golden packaging are very similar to the (non-related) Hibiki blend.

Ootori 15 yo (40%, OB, 66 cl.)

Nose: creamy and biscuity. Plenty of vanilla cake. Peach and green banana. Coconut. Some hay. Sweet with big grain notes but also a volcanic / spicy hint of Karuizawa malt. Mouth: a bit strange, sweet and mineral, creamy and slightly harsh at the same time. Shows malty notes and some fruits (oranges and the coconut / banana combo again). Finish: quite short with vanilla and chocolate.

Certainly enjoyable, but at times the grain and malt components seem to fight each other rather than… well… blend. Interesting but too expensive for what it is. Around € 75.

Score: 80/100

Liquid Library is a range of accessible daily drams by The Whisky Agency. This 13 years old Clynelish is one of the latest additions to the series.

Clynelish 13yo 1998 (51,7%, The Whisky Agency ‘Liquid Library’ 2011, ex-bourbon hogshead, 214 btl.)

Nose: starts a bit musty and mossy, hiding the usual Clynelish vibrance. Leather notes. With some water it seems to find its character, with apple peelings and a little paraffin. Still not the freshest Clynelish. Mouth: sweeter and fruitier now, with very nice pear drops, oranges and almond notes. No obvious waxy notes on the palate. Quite some leather again, a hint of rounded oak and very soft spices. Not very different after adding some water. Finish: medium long, quite fruity. Faint grassy notes as well.

Not the most typical Clynelish in my book, but decent drinking whisky nonetheless. Around € 65.

Score: 83/100

During the month of November each year, Movember asks men across the world to grow a moustache with the aim of raising vital funds and awareness for men’s health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer.

Master of Malt is supporting this charity by the release of a 9 years old Glenfarclas (the youngest we’ve tried so far), distilled in September 2002 and taken from two oloroso hogsheads. It will go on sale today.

Glenfarclas 9 yo 2002 (53%, OB for Master of Malt 2011, oloroso hogsheads #2659 & 2662)

Nose: clean, rich sherry with plenty of rum & raisins, raspberry jam and kirschy notes. Some spicy chocolate. Oranges and red grapes. Hints of almond liqueur. A very juicy (and slightly more balanced) version of Glenfarclas 105. Mouth: in that same tradition of the 105. Deep sherry with dark sugar and raisins all over. Plums. Gets spicy (cardamom, pepper) with a savoury and lightly herbal (even salty) touch. Finish: baked pear with caramelized sugar, dried orange and a fair amount of oak.

Maybe these casks were pre-destined for the 105, but they turned out to be better than average? The result is very nice indeed. Around € 45 of which around € 11 will be donated to Movember. Please note that both Master of Malt and Glenfarclas are working at cost price on this project. Great initiative.

Score: 87/100

The guys from eSpirits in Germany are steadily moving forward with their own Liquid Treasures range, focusing on accessible bottlings, more than most other German bottlers.

Following the tradition of their colleagues from The Whisky Agency, they’re now using different themes for the labels. This Bruichladdich 1991 is part of the second series “Seabirds” – the first series was “Boats”, the third and latest series is “Lighthouses”.

Bruichladdich 20 yo 1991 (50%, Liquid Treasures ‘Seabirds’ 2011, bourbon hogshead)

Nose: clean, punchy barley with quite a moderate fruitiness (peach and apple). A few grassy notes. Hints of porridge. Some nice waxy touches as well as a coastal, briney veil. Quite naked, not a lot of cask influence. Mouth: fruitier now, with peach, pear, apple and lots of lemon peel. It quickly turns to a slightly sharp spiciness (white pepper, mustard, ginger). Pleasantly salty with the sweet fruits somewhere in the background. Finish: medium long, quite zesty.

As natural as it gets, very much to-the-point. Nicely coastal as well, but the lack of cask influence makes it feel younger than it actually is. Available from eSpirits, around € 90.

Score: 84/100