Be sure to include your postal address. Since it’s 2012, the 12th person who responds will get the ticket.

I won’t be able to go there myself, so I will send you my ticket tomorrow. It’s valid for one person on Saturday or Sunday and it includes a tasting glass and three drams. Enjoy!

Only Belgian addresses please, otherwise the ticket won’t arrive in time.

The Glengarry is one of the few dedicated whisky pubs in Belgium. It’s located in Gent and run by Bob Minnekeer who has years of experience in tastings and Scotland trips. He’s also the author of several books on whisky.

Other than the Medieval vaults and Bob’s Bowmore collection, the pub’s atmosphere is a little disappointing. There’s a big selection of whiskies though, with a few hundred bottles to choose from. I saw many standard bottlings (including some very recent ones), lots of independent releases, a couple of really old ones, some Japanese whiskies, etc. so it’s certainly a must for whisky enthousiasts in Belgium.

Location: Sint-Baafsplein 32, 9000 Gent (Belgium)
Range: +/- 250 single malts
Price: € 4 to € 30 (for a 3cl dram)

What I’ve had: Ben Nevis 14yo 1992 ‘double matured’ cask #2623 (€ 10)
Glass: ISO tulip (with an engraved Johnnie Walker logo…)

Pros: great selection, quality advice available
Cons: rather dusty atmosphere

Connemara 10 yo 1999 (60,3%, OB 2010, Whisky Festival Gent, 222 btl.)

Nose: I really like this Irish type of peat. It’s sooty but not in-your-face and mixed with lots of sweet notes, like sugared almonds and pear candy. A faint farmy edge as well (wet hay, sheep). If you add a drop of water, some crême brulée with vanilla shines through. The more water you add, the more flowery and candied it gets. Mouth: too hot at cask strength. With water: very sweet with sugared corn flakes and chocolate. Peppery, drying oak. A lot of peat. Liquorice towards the finish. Finish: long and drier. Hints of burnt grass with some vanilla and spicy sweet coffee.

This Connemara 1999 is a sweet hottie, with a peppery kind of peat. Lovely on the nose and a tad sharper in the mouth. Overall very enjoyable. Around € 50.

Score: 85/100

First, because the festival in Gent was held at the same time as Whisky Live in Spa. If festivals want to compete over such a small country, they have to realize that eventually both will lose. Some interesting distributors chose to go to only one festival (e.g. Malts of Scotland was present in Spa, not in Gent). Other distributors didn’t even go to either of the two this year!
The Nectar, one of Belgium’s most interesting distributors and independent bottlers, was not present. Neither were the brands they represent, such as Arran, Karuizawa, Springbank, Duncan Taylor or GlenDronach. There were no Moët Hennesey brands either (Ardbeg & Glenmorangie). Where will this end?

Second, because the organisation decided not to give 5 complimentary coupons with each entry ticket but instead have one free bottle available at every stand. Of course, these were only entry level malts (Macallan 12yo, Glenrothes Select Reserve, etc.) which just made the festival more expensive for whisky lovers who already know the standard stuff. This also meant I couldn’t use the coupons of my girlfriend (who drinks water) – how about a “driver’s ticket”? Overall I had the feeling more cash was needed to buy less quality whisky this year.

As a side note, there seemed to be less new bottlings than other years. Anyway, let’s summarize the things we’ve tasted… (no real tasting notes, because the environment is just not right for it).

Old Ballantruan (50%, OB 2009)

The peated version of Tomintoul. Very malty, quite floral and gently peated. Not sure who this is aimed at… fans of Speyside whisky will probably not like the peat but there’s not enough peat to entertain peatheads. Around € 30.

Tullibardine 1993 Sauternes finish (46%, OB 2009)

Sweet nose with hints of apricots. On the palate very coating and candied with lots of honey. Most of the Sauternes shines through in the finish. Not bad, but we already knew Sauternes can work very well. Around € 45.

BenRiach 18 yo Moscatel finish (46%, OB 2009)

Another sweet wine finish, maybe even more succesful than the Tullibardine.  Fruity, sweet. Very round and candied. A perfect match for the toast with haggis that was served at the festival. Around € 60.

Yamazaki Sherry cask (48%, OB 2009)

From first fill sherry butts only, said to be 12-15 years old. Very punchy with raisins, cocoa and slightly sourish red fruits (raspberry). Big whisky and the first glass I actually emptied. Around € 70.

Connemara Sherry finish (46%, OB 2009)

A limited Small Batch bottling. Sweet notes of dried fruits, balanced with smoke and a light farminess. Rich and promising. A detailed review of this one will follow. Around € 55.

Benromach Organic ‘Special Edition’ (46%, OB 2009)

Bio whisky. Quite simple with huge hints of breakfast cereals and muesli. Quite a lot of wood as well. Rather mono-dimensional. Not my kinda whisky. Around € 45.

Banff 32 yo 1976 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Conoisseurs Choice 2008)

A good Banff with different flavours: flinty notes, fruity notes, toffee, burnt wood… Quite rounded overall. Around € 100. Recommended.

Highland Park 16 yo Calvados ‘Drouin’ finish (46%, Alchemist 2008)

Finished for 2 years in a calvados cask. Honeyed with hints of baked apples. Not much smoke. Uncommon for a Highland Park.

Glen Grant 23 yo 1985 (55,8%, First cask – Whisky Import Netherlands 2009, cask #10182, 187 btl.)

Glen Grant the way we like it: very balanced, very fruity with the right amount of spices. Fruit marmalade galore. Around € 130. Highly recommended.

Bunnahabhain Toiteach (46%, OB 2007)

A young profile, quite some peat and smoke but very simple. Hints of pears? A bit uninspired. Around € 40.

Greenore 8 yo (40%, OB 2009)

Single grain Irish whiskey. Sweet with vanilla and banana. Uncomplicated, light and elegant. A summer’s day whiskey? Around € 30.

I also bought a sample of the legendary Bunnahabhain 1968 Auld Acquaintance and a Macallan 12 Years old HKDNP, a Hong Kong exclusive distilled in the 1970’s. These two will be reviewed in depth. Thanks to Marc Segers for making available his impressive collection of oldies.

The Connemara samples go to Pavlos (Greece), André (France) and three Belgians: Walter, Hans and Geert. You’ll have to be patient, because I will only be able to send them out after the festival.

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks everyone for taking part.

This was the line-up:

• Nikka All Malt vs. Isle of Skye 8yo
• The Spice Tree (v.2) vs. Amrut single cask #2930 for Crombé
• Arran 1998 single cask #700 vs. Glenmorangie Astar
• Amrut Fusion vs. BenRiach Arumaticus Fumosus
• Connemara Ambassador’s Choice vs. Laphroaig 10yo CS (batch 001) 

The choices of the public are in bold, although I have to say I had a different opinion on the second and third combo. Jeroen, who selected the first bottle of each combo, won 4-1. Congratulations!

It was an entertaining evening. My personal conclusion would be that malts from outside of Scotland offer great value for money, certainly in this price range. Also, it seemed to me a general public prefers bottles that have common (easy) flavours rather than complex (more difficult, but for me more interesting) profiles. Anyway, I swooped a couple of samples and will revisit some of these whiskies over the next few weeks.

The contest ends January 20.

Connemara 10yo 1999 (60,3%, OB 2010 for Whiskyfestival Gent, single cask #250, 180 btl.)

To win a free ticket, send me your answer to this question: In which year was the first edition of the whisky festival in Gent? 2003, 2004 or 2005?

Send your answer and your personal details to info {at} whiskynotes.be before 20 January 2010. Winners will be published here and can claim there ticket at the entrance.

To get a sample of the Connemara bottling (nice if you can’t come to the festival), just send an e-mail with your details to the same e-mail address. If you’re lucky, you’ll receive a sample through the post. Be sure to let me know what you think of it afterwards. Good luck!

During the weekend of February 6 and 7, the ICC building will welcome all major bottlers and distributors to present their newest offerings. Maybe I’ll see you there?