Grain Whisky Night

 

Six grain whiskies for us to try

Grain whisky is sometimes seen as a bit of a poor relation in the whisky world. But there's no real reason why that should be so. The label 'grain whisky' simply means using some grains other than malted barley as part of the whisky making process, and far from just padding out the good stuff with some inferior product, it can lead to some quality bottlings and great value drams.

Fercullen 10yo

And so for our April tasting, we had six grain whiskies to get stuck into courtesy of Martin. We started with a whiskey rather than a whisky, and something from Fercullen. It has been making whiskey at its Powerscourt distillery in Wicklow since 2018, but given we had a 10-year-old in our hands we think this must have come from the ubiquitous Cooley's.

This was floral on the nose and we got a lot of peach. "Very peachy all round". In fact, the finish more or less went away except for the peach. So it's certainly one to try if you like peaches. Further comments suggested this was a perfect breakfast whiskey and was in fact "the best first dram in ages." The bottling was white oak aged then finished in bourbon. It was 40% and we paid £60.

Bernheim 7yo

Dram two was another whiskey, albeit from a bit further west. This was a wheat whiskey from the Heaven Hill distillery, bottled under the Bernheim Original brand. It was a seven-year-old, and it had a little bit of corn and barley in there along with the wheat.

Initial tasting notes here were liquorice, herbs and spices. Aniseed and cola cubes came next. This was not universally popular, and some drinkers felt it was a bit on the sweet side for their taste. Others thought it was not bad but just suffered in comparison with the opener. Nice to try a wheat whiskey all the same. This was 45% and cost £78.

Circumstance 3yo

To England for the third whisky and our old friends from Circumstance, who did a remote tasting with us during Covid. They've set out their point of difference in the spirits market by using unusual yeasts, including a saison wheat beer yeast. We were trying a three-year-old, which had been matured in ex-bourbon casks.

This was sweet upfront with pear drops and banana sweets. A bit like those little fruit salad chews. Felt a bit rum like for some, and others thought it had a bit of a non-whisky or even slightly synthetic vibe about it. The yeast was certainly there in the beer-like mouthfeel. A bit light perhaps, and also trying to do a lot in a single drink. Lively and interesting and unlike other whiskies most of us have tried before. It was 46% and we paid £60.

Master of Malt's own

After a half-time break and a chance to refill our beer glasses downstairs at the Britons Protection, we were into something far older for the fourth whisky. From the Atom Labs offshoot of leading online booze retailer Master of Malt, this was Butterscotch & Vanilla & Toast & a Generation, part of their series of similarly-named whiskies with cool minimalist labels. This particular bottling was a 30yo blend of grains, probably from the North British and Invergordon distilleries.

It certainly tasted mature. Not light at all, and there was plenty to go at. Barbecue was one tasting note, creme brulee another. Waxy on the nose and we definitely did get the butterscotch. At £65, this was very good value for a 30yo whisky. But on the other hand, at just 40% some drinkers felt it was a little under-powered, and resolved to try the higher ABV cask strength version which retails for a bit more.

Electric Coo 26yo

More North British in dram number five, which was something of a curiosity. Electric Coo was the brand name, and it ended up with us as part of a crowdfunder for David Stirk, a whisky expert who was writing a book about independent distilleries. If you contributed you got a bottle, and so here it was, a 26-year-old.

This had a bit of an acidic tang to it. In fact it was "brutal" suggested someone, in the sense it was very strong and big tasting, and felt stronger than the 50% on the label. Still some sweetness in there, but also a tannin mouthfeel thought some in the room. A bit of a split room in the end, but more than one person was desperate for another drop having finished theirs. The indicative value on it was £95.

Loch Lomond

For our last whisky of the evening, we went to Loch Lomond via the Southport Whisky Club, which bottled this particular expression. Rather than a grain whisky, this was really a single malt in all but name, but because it was distilled using Coffey stills it can't technically be called a malt. This was a chunky old peated cask strength dram, at 61.3%.

And didn't it taste like it. "My word this is strong" I've written down in my notes, and that sums it up pretty well. Very fruit too, with grapefruit prominent on the palate. There were mixed views in the room on whether it improved with water. Some found it a bit much all round. But, as ever for a big peat monster, it had its supporters in the club too!

We ran dram of the night a bit differently, giving everyone two votes instead of one. And would you believe it, we ended up with a very rare win for the opening dram of the night. The Fercullen picked up 17 votes, with the Loch Lomond second and the Electric Coo third. But all the whiskies got some votes, again emphasising what a good selection we had. Thanks to Martin for providing it, for all club members and guests for getting stuck in and drinking them, and to all at the Britons for hosting us yet again.

Battle of the Blends

The line-up of seven blends 

For June's tasting we did something we do all-to-rarely at whisky club, and took a proper dip into the market of blends. Club chairman Adam took everyone through the most expensive core range blend from the owners of each of Scotland's seven grain distilleries, Girvan, Loch Lomond, Strathclyde, Starlaw, North British, Cameronbridge and Invergordon.

In the almost decade-long history of the club, only five percent of the whiskies we had ever tried as tastings have been blends, so it seemed like a good opportunity to redress that a little and see what was on offer. Adam asked everyone to try these blind and see if we felt what was in the glasses offered decent value.

We began with Girvan, and the Grants Triple Wood. Buttery with biscuits on the nose, more butter on the palate along with a sweetness and a certain prickly quality as well. It's 40% and is usually available for about £17.

Next it was on to the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, and a taste of High Commissioner, a brand that sells well overseas in addition to domestically (it remains the fifth biggest blend in the UK market, although that's down a bit from where it once was). It's unremarkable on the nose, a bit of pear drops perhaps, but overall a little bit thin and watery - we weren't especially impressed. It's 40% and £15.

Strathclyde next, owned by Pernod Ricard, and the 21yo Signature Blend from the Royal Salute brand. Musty with parma violets on the nose. Taste dominated rather by wood. Although it was certainly smooth, much smoother than the previous two drams. As well it might be though, it's a whopping £125 (we thought 20 quid tops). It's 40% again.

French drinks group Martiniquaise owns Starlaw, and we had a bottle of Label 5 Classic Black. A new name on many of us but it's the eighth biggest selling Scotch globally. For the nose we got Scampi Fries and prawn cocktail crisps sort of smushed together with fondant icing. Then on the palate, buttercream and parma violets again. It's 40% and £21.

We were on familiar territory with dram number five, from Edrington Group, owners of the North British distillery, it was a bottle of Famous Grouse. Bit oily and biscuity on the nose, this. Buttery toffee taste and very smooth again, with a hint of Rich Tea biscuits. It's £16 and 40%.

Cameronbridge is owned by Diageo, and one of their best known brands is Johnnie Walker. So we had a bottle of JW Blue. Slightly smoky, a bit sickly. As someone suggested, "the market for this is people who buy solid gold bath taps". It's £155 and 40% - again, not great value by any stretch.

Which brought us to the final dram of the night, Invergordon's Filipino owner Emperador and their Whyte and Mackay brand. We had a bottle of the Triple Matured. Cupcake, sponge and buttercream, we thought. It's £19 and, as is standard for blends, was 40%.

For dram of the night, everyone was asked to score out of ten as they went along, and the Johnnie Walker just edged ahead of the Whyte and Mackay and Royal Salute - although the Royal Salute had most 'top' votes overall.

Thanks to Adam for putting on the tasting and especially David for his extensive notes (I wasn't there so am relying on these for this blogpost!).

Against The Grain: A Grain Whisky Special

The grain whisky line up

For our tasting in August, we looked at one of the more forgotten areas of Scottish whisky: grain whisky. Simply put, grain whisky refers to any whisky made in part from grains which aren't malted barley, and can include grains such as corn, wheat, maize and rye.

Holyrood

We started off with something from the new Holyrood distillery in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital's first new opening in a century. In fact, what we were drinking was not actually produced there, as it's only been up and running since 2019, but was instead called Sweet Single Grain, bottled under licence using the name 'Holyrood Spirits Merchants' although we don't know where the spirit itself was produced.

It smelt nice, with a good nose all round. Something distinctive in the aftertaste, but we couldn't quite place it at first, although there was a shout for butterscotch. Coats your mouth nicely. As someone said: "not all that much to say about it, but it's lovely." From an AHC - alligator heavy char - cask, a fact which might explain the sweetness we all got. This was 46% and was a very reasonable £39.50.

Bramble Whisky Co

Onto dram number two and one of the biggest grain distilleries in Scotland, the North British. Jointly owned by Diageo and Edrington Group, it has an annual output of about 12 million litres, most of which ends up in a variety of well-known blends.

This particular bottle was from a small indie, the Bramble Whisky Company, associated with a local bar. It was four-and-a-half years old, a virgin oak single cask and, like the first bottle, we got ours online from Royal Mile Whiskies. It had plenty going on. We got fruitcake, root liqourice, and a generally quite earthy flavour. Interesting, different, enjoyable, and certainly unusual. One drinker asked whether it was aged in Listerine barrels, although others felt it was a bit on the sickly side. It's £57 and 46%.

Invergordon

We were off next to another big old grain distillery. This time it was Invergordon, today part of Whyte and Mackay. And in a bit of a surprise, we soon learned that we had in our hands the oldest whisky ever tasted as part of a club event. It was a bottling of a whisky distilled back in 1972, making it a 48-year-old when it finally went into the bottle: a rarity for many of us members to have a dram older than them! It was the work of another independent bottler, this time Thompson Brothers.

Pear drops on the nose here. Vanilla, caramel and then a bit of fruit. Tropical fruit in fact, like pineapple or even peaches. Some thought it had a bit of a 'meh' finish to it, but others felt it improved after a few sips. A touch spicy maybe, thought someone. Although a good dram, we probably wouldn't pay the £270 price tag again! It was 42%.

Port Dundas

Port Dundas in Glasgow used to be another big name in grain distilling, until the distillery was closed and demolished a decade ago, as owner Diageo looked to consolidate its grain output at Cameronbridge (more of which in a moment). Adam had chosen for us one of the later bottlings from the distillery, a 2009 10-year-old under the Cooper's Choice name, a mixture of American oak and Martinique rum casks.

And very nice it was too.  Very pleasant and memorable was the consensus, along with "grassy" and "earthy". With water in it became really good, perhaps indicating it was bottled a little too strong. And by too strong, we mean a very chunky 60.5%. At £57 though, we felt this was a bit of a bargain, a more than reasonable price for something like this.

Cameronbridge

Port Dundas may have gone but Cameronbridge endures. Located in East Fife, it's the largest grain distillery in Europe, producing 200 litres of the good stuff every minute. And we had another older whisky to try, this time a 36-year-old bottled by Bartels Whisky under the name His Excellency. Indeed, it was a cask strength version of a bottle we'd had before.

This had the nicest nose so far. Caramel, chewy, toffee apple, even fizzy cider. A bit rummy on the nose, we got some sweetness and molasses. Chewy - that word again - when tasted, a bit of water brought out more of the flavour. The finish was perhaps a little harsh, but was also thick and oily. For plenty of members, the clear favourite so far. It was 57.9% and cost us £78.

Loch Lomond

To finish, we took the high road, or perhaps by this time of the night it was more like the low road, to Loch Lomond. The distillery is known for being self-sufficient, in so far as it has its own malt and grain distillery. And we were trying a peated version of the Loch Lomond Single Grain.

This had an interesting nose. Irn Bru, fruits and spices, and just a bit peaty or smoky. A rabbit out of the hat suggested someone, and quite a few really enjoyed this. It's unusual to have a peaty grain, and on this occasion we were drinking what was effectively a single malt, but which was not distilled in the batch process but was instead made using the continuous Coffey still method so technically doesn't count as a single malt under Scottish rules. More's the pity, as not only was this a very good whisky, it was a total bargain at just £26. It's 46%.

And so we came to the dram of the night voting. And in an unprecedented development, we had a five-way tie! All the drams from two to six got the same number of votes, so we left it at that rather than trying to force a winner.

Thanks to all members for taking part via Zoom once again, and to Adam for selecting and running us through another great selection of drams!

Berry, Bros. & Rudd Special

October's line up

We were delighted to welcome a special guest to lead our October tasting. It was none other than Rob Whitehead, spirits buyer at legendary London wine and spirits merchant Berry, Bros. and Rudd. And he brought along six bottles of BBR whisky from his stash to share with us, which was very decent of him.

Cutty Black.

All of the tasting was done blind and we began with a blend. This had a bit of spice about it, as well as smoky and syrupy notes. A bit of everything, in fact, which Rob explained was because blends are, well, a bit of everything. This particular one was a very easy drinker at 40%, and soft on the palate.

It turned out to be Cutty Sark, or at least a version of the famous blend dating from the early 2000s, Cutty Black (it's no longer on the market). BBR created the blend for the American market in the midst of prohibition back in the 1920s, and it ultimately grew to become the world's largest whisky brand, and was still among the leading ones when BBR finally sold it in 2010 to Famous Grouse owners the Edrington Group. As Rob told us, the profits from Cutty Sark helped BBR stay independent throughout the 20th century and beyond, allowing it to continue to develop into the independent booze powerhouse it remains today.

Invergordon 29yo

It was onto a single grain for dram number two. This got us in mind of liquorice or aniseed on the nose, and maybe a bit of sweetness and candyfloss on the palate.

Rob told us that this was exactly what you would expect from an... Invergordon. Probably better known as a port, the town also has a significant grain distillery owned by Whyte & Mackay. This particular bottle was 46% and 29-years-old when it was bottled in 2017 but was initially incorrectly labelled as a single malt so had to be sent back for re-packaging. As with all the other whiskies we tasted, there don't seem to be any bottles left for sale, though.

Glencadam 21yo

Things moved up a notch for the third whisky, the first cask strength drink of the evening. This was strong, oily and chewy, with a very distinctive texture. Rob told us this last point was something particularly important to BBR's lead spirits buyer Doug McIvor, who apparently loves whisky with a good texture about it. This bottle might have been a bit nutty, it certainly stuck to the palate. In general, we liked this one but not everyone was totally convinced. 

This turned out to be a 21yo from the Glencadam distillery in Brechin. With a dash of water it was perhaps a bit nicer, slightly dampening down the alcohol while keeping that distinctive oily quality. It was also a bit citrussy, with some club members picking up a bit of pineapple. This was bottled in 2011 at 56.6%.

Islay Reserve.

After a break for half-time and a recharge of our pint glasses at the Briton's Protection bar, it was on to the fourth whisky of the night and this was so peaty it could not really be from anywhere other from Islay.

It was BBR's Islay Reserve, the result Rob said of "trying to put Islay in a bottle". It's a blend, with seven casks and three whiskies from two different distilleries inside. There were peated and unpeated whiskies from Bunnahabhain as well as some Caol Ila. For Rob this was a "nice gateway drug" into the world of Islay whiskies, and we couldn't really disagree with that. It's 46%.

Bowmore 8yo

We were back to a single malt whisky for dram five, and it was single cask too. Again there was peat influence here, along with lots of wood influence from the first fill bourbon cask. We liked the finish of this very much, a little bit of spice and fruit in there rather than just full on smoke.

Again we were on Islay, but this time Bowmore for an 8-year-old bottled for La Maison du Whisky in Paris back in 2010. This was once again 46%.

The evening finished with something a bit special, and also a return to cask strength. This had a fair amount of peat in it, along with fruit and also olives. It took a while for the peat to come out though, and as Rob explained, this was perhaps a good example of an older style peated whisky, less concerned with hitting you over the head with its peatiness as some are today.

Caol Ila 31yo

It was a 31-year-old Caol Ila, distilled in 1979 and bottled in 2010. Sadly this was the last bottle! Apparently one went for £500 online recently, so it was particularly kind of Rob to share this particular drop with us.

And so onto the dram of the night voting. The sign of a good tasting is a mixture of whiskies getting support from the club members, and on this occasion every dram got at least one vote with the exception of the Cutty Sark, and even then plenty in the room said they'd have ranked it highly they'd had the chance.

The Invergordon did well with seven votes, but it was the Caol Ila at the end that just trumped it with 10 (I've actually written '10-ish' in my notes, but it was definitely the winner anyway). A special thanks to Rob for coming up from London and producing such a fascinating range of drinks for us all to try, to all club members old and new for another excellent turnout, and of course to all at the Briton's for hosting us once again.

Here they all are.

Follow The Grain

This month's line-up.

Martin took the helm of September's tasting at Manchester Whisky Club. We were in the smaller of the two upstairs rooms at the Briton's, giving way to a theatre performance in the larger space (when this happened once before it was because of a double booking with the railway union's Christmas party), but there was just about enough space for all of us to tackle the line-up of six grain whiskies.

Just the 96.4%

There were actually seven drinks apiece though, the first this little drop of clear liquid. It's neutral grain alcohol and came in at a mere 96.4%. Given the strength, it was actually surprisingly smooth, although most drinkers took Martin's advice of putting their fingers in for a small taste. In the interests of research, your correspondent necked his one though. Either way, it was certainly a lively way to get the evening started.

While grain whisky is considerably less fashionable than single malt, there are some interesting bottlings out there that can provide good value for money. Grain whisky is typically used as the backbone of blends, but increasingly distilleries and independent bottlers alike are putting out grains in their own right, and that's what the evening was all about.

The Malt 'n Rye.

We started off in Norfolk with club favourites the English Whisky Company, and their bourbon finished Malt 'n Rye. This started off smoothly but there was a bit of a sharp finish that was too harsh for a lot of us. Overall it was a bit spirity, too. It was a 45% whisky and cost £45, but with the bottling just 50cl rather than the standard 70cl, this doesn't represent the value offered by some of the other grains on the market.

The Chita.

An immediate contrast to that came in the form of dram number two, The Chita from Japan's Suntory. Previously only available in the travel retail market, this 43% whisky is now on general sale at about £50. A no age statement whisky, this was smooth, buttery, sweet and nice, very pleasant all round in fact. One well worth investing in, whether you're passing through the airport nor not.

We made it back to Scotland for the third whisky of the evening, and a drink from what was, at one time, the largest distillery in the whole country, Port Dundas. A former powerhouse of grain production, Diageo eventually closed it in 2011 to avoid splashing out on a pricey upgrade.

North Star Port Dundas 12yo.

This particular bottling came from North Star, a 12yo available for just £40 despite the strength of 58.8%. Considering that high ABV it was surprisingly creamy, almost with a hint of cream soda in fact. Smooth at the end too, with others noting a certain malty or biscuity taste as well. "It could really warm the cockles of your heart" said one particular fan. A bit of water took the spice out of it a bit, though.

After the half-time break (and some of David's sensational baked goods) it was back to North Star for dram number four, from another of the big grain distilleries, the North British.

North Star North British 21yo

It's the last distillery in Edinburgh and remains one of the largest of any kind in Scotland. As with Port Dundas, you're bound to have had some in one well-known blended brand or another at some point, although bottlings under the North British name are much rarer.

This was a 21yo from a single cask, costing £68 and with a strength of 52.9%. "Posh on the nose and posh in the taste" was an early comment. And that price tag was quickly judged an absolute bargain. It has a distinctive, thick feeling in the mouth, almost like treacle. One of the official tasting notes mentioned rum and raisin, and that certainly rang a few bells too. Great stuff.

Whiskybroker Cambus 25yo

For the last two whiskies of the night we were treated to a couple of bottles from Martin's own collection, from one of the club's favourite independent bottlers, Whiskybroker. Because Martin picked them up some time ago neither is available anymore - bottlings on Whiskybroker tend to go quickly, and the advice is to follow him on social media for updates as to when new ones are going live.

Anyway, dram number five took us to the now-silent Cambus distillery near Alloa in the 'wee county' of Clackmannanshire. This was a first fill sherry 25yo, at 52.7% which, in typical Whiskybroker style, was a very reasonably priced £70. A "totally different" and "very sherried" dram, this was flavoursome and again quite raisiny. The sherry monsters in the room, of which there are many at the club, loved this one, while others thought the flavours were just a bit overpowering.

Whiskybroker Invergordon 43yo

And we stuck with Whiskybroker for an even rarer treat to end the evening, an Invergordon that was bottled last year at the ripe old age of 43. Filled in July 1973 when Slade were at number 1 with Skweeze Me Pleeze Me, this was older than many if not most of the people around the table, and was 49.7% with an original price of just £99. Tropical fruit was an obvious early tasting note, like the old style Opal Fruits in fact (we're of an age where I think we will probably never get round to calling them Starburst). A lovely drink, really buttery again, great on the nose with lots of layers on the palate. A triumph!

It was no surprise that the Invergordon took the dram of the night voting, but it only defeated dram four, the North British, by a single vote, while a couple of the other drams had their supporters too.

So, the end of another great tasting, and thanks in particular go to Martin for the guide through the world of grain whiskies, and in particular letting us into the dark recesses of his own collection for some really special stuff at the end.