Mysterious Drams for Hallowe'en

The full line-up, plus a pint.

October's tasting took place on Hallowe'en night itself. Club members took refuge from the ghoulies in the safe surroundings of the Britons Protection, where Rich P took us through a selection of mysterious drams: selected because they were all independently bottled without the original distillery name on the label.

Secret Irish

There are lots of reasons why distilleries might do this, from selling off whisky that doesn't fit their own flavour profile or simply to maintain control over their branding and how it's used. It means lots of interesting liquid is out there for us to try if you are able to explore beyond the better known labels.

Our own journey started with something bottled by Master of Malt, the online booze retail behemoth. Their 13-year-old Secret Irish (the number of distilleries this could realistically be from at that age is very limited, but nevertheless) came in pretty strong at 57.5%. And it was a proper vanilla bomb, very punchy but still eminently drinkable despite the strength and without adding water.

We got a real buttery, pastry taste. Like an almond croissant. But also butterscotch and, when some drinkers put a bit of water in anyway, some notes of creme brulee. At £70 we felt this was pretty good value. A bargain, even!

5yo rye

Dram two was the first of a couple of visits to Edinburgh-based indie bottler Fragrant Drops, run by erstwhile club members George and Rachel. We had an Indiana rye which, for those in the know, means distilling giant MGP. A 5-year-old, this was particularly rye-y, like rye bread. "Big caraway vibes" someone suggested. Grassy, minty, with notes of black pepper too.

This one divided the room a bit. Someone thought it tasted like carpet, but I was in the camp that absolutely loved it. It was 57.1% and cost us £68.

D Taylor Speyside

 we were heading to Scotland and a Duncan Taylor bottling from an unknown Speyside distillery. Part of its Octave collection, the expressions are all finished in smaller casks giving the whisky more contact with the wood over a shorter period of time.

This was a nice colour and smelt sweet. There was cereal on the palate, which came out a bit more with water. The thing that maybe lingered the most was a toffee apple taste, ideal for the time of year. It possibly paled a little in comparison to the others we'd already had, and there were mixed views in the room again. The suspicion was this may have been a Glenfarclas, although it curiously didn't really taste all that much like it. Just 89 bottles of this were produced, it was 54.2% and cost £86.

Grapefruit sour finish!

Following a half-time break to recharge our glasses downstairs at the Britons, we were back for four more drams.

Rich dubbed the second half 'trick or peat' and we kicked off with a bottling from Murray McDavid, with the liquid inside a Ledaig unusually finished in a grapefruit sour cask. The grapefruit came through more on the nose than the palate, but the finish really lingered for an absolute eternity. There was a peaty hit followed by a fruity, citrussy bit at the end. Fresh and zingy, we felt this worked well all round.

Some polarised views again but I have to say, I thought this was terrific. Good value again at £59. It clocked in at 54.4%.

An 18yo Highland

Closer to home for whisky number five, and Manchester's own indie bottler Chorlton Whisky. We had an 18-year-old from a Highland distillery to try. Smooth and creamy, this reminded someone of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. The best all-rounder of the night so far, we felt.

This was most likely to have been a Ben Nevis. It certainly tasted like it, according to the real whisky savants in the room. Very nice in general. It was 54% and there are still some left at £120.

10yo Orkney

It was back to Fragrant Drops for dram six, and this was a 10-year-old peated Orkney, which meant a Highland Park we thought. Fully matured in a red wine barrique, there were certainly high hopes for it.

Ooft, this was something. At 64.1% though, was this just a touch too much? It was extremely chewy but some felt it was a little too strong and not actually all that easy to drink. Some picked out an oiliness, for others on my table it was a bit confusing with the nose more satisfying than the palate. Lots of people really, really liked it though, so it was perhaps just my corner of the room that was a bit sceptical. It certainly cut through well, which is no mean feat at the end of the night.

Big Peat Hallowe'en

Well, it wasn't quite the end. We had one bonus dram left to enjoy, a Hallowe'en special Big Peat, a blend of Islay whiskies from Douglas Laing.

This was good but it was a bit late in the evening to take a real view on that, especially following the powerhouse last dram from Fragrant Drops. It was a 2021 version and cost £50 at the time, with an ABV of 48%.

This brought us to the dram of the night voting, and it was a narrow victory for...  the Fragrant Drops 10-year-old Orkney! The sixth dram picked up 11 votes, just two ahead of the Chorlton Whisky bottling, with the Murray McDavid grapefruit sour finish third. Perhaps no surprise that three big peaty drams would dominate the evening, as there are plenty of peat fans in the club, but three very worthy drams nonetheless.

Thanks to all club members for coming and to the Britons for hosting us once again. And special thanks to Rich for running such a great tasting!

 

Regional Malts

Johnnie Walker

For February's tasting we were online again, before a planned return to the Britons for March. And we marked the occasion with another trip right around Scotland, with Adam taking us to all five of the officially recognised whisky regions: Highland, Lowland, Islay, Speyside and Campbeltown, plus an extra stop at an island distillery for good measure.

We started off in the Lowlands, the southernmost region which roughly speaking covers Edinburgh, Glasgow and everything below. We got dried apricot on the nose of this one, with a light bit of vanilla and flowers, too - there was definitely something floral going on. The taste was quite soft, a Lowland all over in fact as someone suggested. Light, easy drinking, and a good session whisky, with a subtle and sweet aftertaste.

The Gauldrons

This was a blend, the Johnnie Walker Lowlands Origin. Given the relative ownership of those distilleries, we think this was probably a mix of Cameronbridge and Glenkinchie. A 12-year-old at 42%, this was £52 for a one litre bottle (so £36 for means of comparison with the usual 70cl bottles). Other tasting notes included biscuits and even a bit of rose Turkish delight. Not bad at all.

Next to Campbeltown, once the home of Scottish whisky and well on the road to a recovery thanks to the powerhouses of Springbank, Glen Scotia and Glengyle. We had a good try of these at a tasting last year, and were keen for another. This particular dram was very pale, and didn't have all that much on the nose. A bit of marzipan maybe, there was certainly an almondy vibe. The whisky was quite different on the palate though. Much more distinctive than the nose would have led you to believe. A bit of smoke in there somewhere, with coconut and banana too. Maybe even a bit of fennel.

Hector Macbeth 1997

What we had in our glasses turned out to be a blended malt, a term used to describe a whisky that is a blend of various single malts. It was The Gauldrons, from indie bottler Douglas Laing. Billed as 'the marriage of the finest Campbeltown malts' (and let's be honest, there are only three so that does rather narrow down the options as to what that might involve), it's 46.2% and £49. Again, a good drop.

Speyside may be the best-known whisky country in Scotland. It's certainly got the most distilleries in it, clustered around the banks of the fast flowing River Spey on its journey north from the heart of Scotland to the Moray Firth. The Speyside we had was a bit bitter on the nose, maybe cacao or green apples too. Quite a contrast to the floral notes we'd had earlier in the evening. The taste wasn't all that strong and it didn't need any water. A rich sweetness, "one note" as someone suggested, albeit one note that it does really well. Not the most Speyside of Speysides some thought, but others thought it was a 'classic Speyside' which just goes to show it's basically impossible to get anyone to agree on anything.

Meet the Beast

This was a Hector Macbeth. Another blended malt, this time from Hunter Laing, a company created as the 'other half' of the Laing business when the brothers when their separate ways almost a decade ago. A 24-year-old distilled in 1997, it was 51% and cost £128. Bourbon cask, which came as a bit of a surprised as we'd assumed a sherry cask given the rich colour (sadly I can't show this to you as I had drunk mine before remembering to take the photo, as you can see).

To the Highlands, a large whisky region including just about 'the rest' of Scotland that isn't covered by one of the other named areas, whether or not there are any actual hills nearby. Toffee and butterscotch on the nose of this one, almost like Werther's originals.

Mossburn

Certainly a bit of sweetness, almost like that heather honey so beloved of National Trust for Scotland gift shops. An easy drinker, it soon stopped being as fiery as it was at the start on the palate. A good one for round the campfire, someone suggested, with notes of dark chocolate, and a creamy, thick, mouthfeel. Others were less keen, though.

Another Bourbon cask, and another from Douglas Laing, this was an expression under their Timorous Beastie brand, called Meet The Beast. A no age statement blended malt, it was 54.9% and just £50. Great value, we felt.

That left just an island and an Islay to try, and with the peatiness of Islay inevitably kept for the end, it was off to a different island first. Still smoky though, peaty but very drinkable. It had a pleasant softness. As someone commented, "people who don't like peat would tolerate it." Better without the water we felt, with a hint of sweetness overall.

Big Peat Black Edition

This turned out to be a bottle under the Mossburn brand, from Torabhaig, the Isle of Skye's long-awaited second distillery (after Talisker). Called Signature Casks 1, it involved three different bits of cask wood in the ageing process. Another blended malt it was a no age statement dram at 46% and just £42. Really nice, we thought.

And so to Islay. To no great surprise, this had the typical medicinal character straight from the off. We also got salty, cough syrup, but perhaps not a wide range of sensations on the palate. "Not bad but not amazing" said someone, and others felt it was a touch one dimensional, by comparison to a few of the earlier drams.

This was a Big Peat, another of Douglas Laing's range of brands. Specifically, we had the Black Edition in our hands, a blend of Islay malts and a 27-year-old that was certainly different from the Big Peat we'd had previously. At 48.3% but a costly £185, we probably wouldn't necessarily be queuing up to buy it again.

That left only the dram of the night voting, and it was an easy win for... dram number 4! Meet the Beats took more than half the vote, with the Mossburn in second.

Thank you to Adam for preparing another great tasting for us, and to all club members for attending remotely and continuing to support us!

Whiskyology: The Science of Whisky Tasting

The evening's six main whiskies (bonus drinks not pictured)

After another highly enjoyable Christmas party for the members, during which we brought back all of the unfinished bottles from 2018 and had a decent go at putting that right, we had to wait until the last day of January for the club's first tasting of 2019.

11yo Dalmore - with water

And it was chairman Adam who presented an evening dedicated to two of his main interests - chemistry and top quality booze - as introduced us to a tasting he called Whiskyology: The Science of Whisky Tasting. With the weather outside below freezing,  this was something we were all looking forward to evening more than usual.                                                                                                                Adam explained that he wanted us to reflect a little on how the appearance of whiskies can influence how we perceive their taste: whether that's to do with the marketing, price tag, or even just how it looks in the glass. And with that, he kicked us off with a pair of whiskies tasted blind.

The Dalmore again, but with caramel

The first looked light and tasted "a bit creamy" according to some early tasting notes. While the second appeared to be a totally different proposition. A much darker colour, as if it had been sherried or, as someone suggested, "it's certainly been in something" and was a lot sweeter than the earlier dram.

Adam revealed that they were both the same whisky, more or less. An 11yo Dalmore from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, called Chocolate Melting in the Greenhouse, Adam gave us the first with water already added, diluting the strength down to 43%.

Our third Dalmore in a row

The second had a drop of caramel for colour and was also 43%. Despite their shared origin they certainly seemed to taste very different, underlining Adam's point about the visual effect making such a difference.

As a bonus whisky we then had a drop of another similar dram, so similar in fact it was bottled from the same distillery on the very same day. Also from the SMWS, it was Gardener Takes a Break. This was much stronger tasting, again sweet and spicy, and certainly packing all of its 60%.

Next came something completely different. Or rather two things, as we had a pair of drinks from one of the few distilleries in the world known to produce both beer and whisky from the same brew.

It's Belgian whisky!

This producer in question is in Belgium, probably nobody's idea of a whisky heartland, but we're all about exploring new things at Manchester Whisky Club. The drinks came from the Het Anker brewery in Mechelen, under the Gouden Carolus brand.

On tasting them both, you wouldn't have them pegged as being from the same source. The whisky had a bit of a punch on the nose but was at 46% was quite mellow when compared with the beer, which was 8.5% but didn't really taste it. Instead, it was dark, juicy and highly drinkable.

The beer.

If we were going to have one of these again it would probably be the beer to be honest.

After a half-time break it was time to return to Scotland and some highly peated whiskies. The next drink was one of the Big Peat blends produced by Douglas Laing, marrying together various whiskies from Islay. This particular bottling was the 2017 Christmas edition, an 'all-Islay' edition featuring at least a bit from each distillery on the island, including the long-shut-but-soon-to-restart-production Port Ellen.

About half of the whisky was Ardbeg, and more or less everyone loved it: "spicy" and "gorgeous". With Islay going through an expansion, and other new distilleries joining Port Ellen, there'll be plenty more peated whisky where this came from in the future.

The Big Peat.

If there's one distillery most associated with the peaty taste of Islay, it's Laphroaig. The classic 10yo, traditionally considered a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it dram, is usually likened to TCP. But for Adam it brings back linseed oil, putting him in mind of his grandad who used to enjoy a drop: the taste of a particularly whisky can vary for each of us, depending on times and places we associate with it.

The Laphroaig we were enjoying here was the 2017 Cardeas quarter cask, one of an annual series of releases the distillery does under that name. We very much liked this too, although so did plenty of other people as you'll be lucky to find a bottle anywhere online for less than £180.

The evening ended with something out of the ordinary: a little bit of homebrewing, or at least home spiking. This involved taking Aldi's standard Islay single malt, apparently a perfectly reasonable 7yo Caol Ila, with phenols.

The Aldi whisky with added phenols.

This is a chemistry thing that has something to do with making something taste peaty, although by this stage of the evening my notes were becoming even less extensive than usual. In fact, beside this drink I've only written: "wheeeee!" so I'm afraid what it actually tasted like may well be lost to history.

There was just time for some dram of the night voting, and the winner was the bonus dram from SMWS, Gardener Takes a Break.

Huge thanks to Adam for such an expertly-led evening full of information and fun, which I've only just scratched the surface of here. There's much more on Adam and Kate's blog. Thanks also to everyone who attended plus the Briton's Protection for hosting us once again.

The line-up of whiskies, mostly drained.