E-pistle #08/01 - Sound Advice
by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland

Sampling a single malt whisky is so much more than the mere ingestation of a liquid.
The experience tickles all our senses - smell, taste, touch, sight and yes, even sound...

Let's take a moment to reflect on those senses, shall we?
Starting with SMELL of course. For me, it's the most important issue when it comes to single malts.
The diversity in character and style between different single malts is just so amazing. I like the taste of some blends and vatted malts just fine, but few of them ever achieve the nasal personality and individuality of a single malt like Ardbeg 10yo or Aberlour A'bunadh. Even though I don't care much for the style of some malts (the 'oily' ones in particular), I'd rather drink them than your average middle-class blend because they do have a style of their own. Even on a bad nose day, each malt reveals its own unique profile.

Of course, the TASTE is an important sense as well.
Personal taste is a big factor here, if you get my drift. I like powerful, peaty malts myself. Or deep sherried and fruity malts. A touch of sweetness, salt or smoke doesn't hurt either. Usually, the 'bolder' the taste, the more I like it. And if it's up to me, I'd like to keep tasting the whisky for a while after I swallowed it. If the profile of the whisky develops over time, that's all the better. I personally don't approve of grainy or oily elements in my malts, but I respect the fact that there are some strange and deranged people out there who do. I guess it all comes down to... personal taste!

The sense of TOUCH comes into play when you take a sip from your glass. Of course, you could put your finger in the glass to 'feel' a malt, but that's not quite as exciting as it sounds. Believe me - I've tried. No, when it comes to single malts your mouth and tongue are the most important organs. (Granted; some more exotic whiskies can affect other parts of your digestive system as well, but it might be best not to dwell on that right now.)  I admit this is a bit of a long stretch, but I've always felt single malts have their own 'mouth feel' and texture that can be detected by your tongue and palate - and sometimes even by your lips, throat and stomach.

When we look at the sense of SIGHT in relation to the malt whisky experience, we see that it is most important at the beginning and at the end of the whole experience. At the beginning when we look at the colour of the whisky and its behaviour in the glass, and at the end when our blurred vision tells us we might have been a tad too excessive in our drinking. When you've reached that point, you can be pretty sure you've already lost most of your taste and smell - and probably quite a few braincells as well.
In any case of serious and responsible dramming, all that matters is the colour and viscosity of the whisky.

That leaves SOUND. Your average innocent bystander might think there's little more sound to the malt whisky experience than the 'plop' of opening the bottle and the 'gloo-gloo-gloo' of the whisky filling the glass. Like so many others before him, that innocent bystander would be wrong - so very wrong...  Were that bystander to visit an average whisky festival, for example, he would very likely be exposed to the tortured wailing of a bagpipe in distress. I'm a lover of nearly all things Scottish, but regrettable that doesn't include the sound of a Scotsman fondling his instrument. In fact, I wonder what depraved prehistoric Scotsman ever came up with the sick idea to jab a few hollow sticks in a sheep bladder and blow on them. And when I take this train of thought a little further down the track; I have to assume that the rough spirit distilled in those days didn't just cause blindness. People who mistake the squeals from a bagpipe for proper music must surely be tone-deaf, wouldn't you agree?

But I digress...
Those prehistoric Scotsmen were right about one thing: music and malt whisky blend very well.
In my humble opinion, the best MUSIC to enhance the enjoyment of a single malt even further is classical music. Arguably there's plenty of 'contemporary' music that works great with just about any malt, but when I'm seriously sampling a malt a prominent beat often distracts me from the 'rhythm' and development of the whisky. Can you imagine quietly sipping a fine old Ardbeg, hopping up and down with Offspring or Cypris Hill blasting from the speakers? No, I didn't think so...

Don't get me wrong; a lot of my log entries and e-pistles are written with some relatively recent music playing in the background. Just to give you an idea about my (current) preferences - in alphabetical order; 10,000 Maniacs, Annie Lennox, Ashra, Bløf, Bruce Cockburn, Bush, Calexico, Camel, Candy Dulfer, Carla Bruni, Chet Baker, Chicane, Chris Rea, Clannad, Cranberries, Cultured Pearls, Deacon Blue, Delirium, Diane Schuur, Dire Straits, Donald Fagen, Dream Theater, Echolyn, Edie Brickell, Electric Light Orchestra, Flower Kings, Frank Sinatra, Genesis, Gordon Lightfoot, It Bites, J. J. Cale, Jacques Brel, K's Choice, Laura Fygi, Madrugada, McCalmans, Natalie Merchant, Oleta Adams, Paolo Conte, Peter Gabriel, Philip Glass, Poe, Queen, Randy Newman, Robbie Robertson, Robert Cray Band, Roy Orbison, Ry Cooder, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Sade, Seal, Sigur Ros, Simply Red, Steely Dan, Stranglers, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Total Touch, Vangelis and Zero Seven - just to name a few. Phew... Quite an eclectic selection, eh?

But that's neither here nor there - for this E-pistle I will focus on CLASSICAL MUSIC.
More to the point, I've been rummaging through my CD collection to try and find the 'perfect' musical matches for a selection of widely available single malts from my Track Record. The selection of the malts was quite random and depended mostly on the available bottles on Dutch shelves. For reasons that were not always clear, I felt that the compositions mentioned below were somehow 'appropriate' combinations of two of my passions. They are nothing more than suggestions for your consideration - 'sound advice' if you will.

Looking over my Track Record the first 'big' malt that meets the eye is Aberlour NAS A'bunadh (+60%, OB).
This is a sherry monster brimming with youthful optimism - maybe even slightly over-confident. I've sampled five different batches so far and all of them scored between 85 and 90 points. The A'bunadh may not be extremely complex, but it's powerful and has lots of heart. May I suggest you give 'Canon in D Major' from Johann Pachelbel a try? My favourite version of the piece combines subtle wood instruments with silky strings. The canon shows that you don't need a lot of complexity for a mind-boggling experience.

The next touchstone malt would be the Ardbeg 10yo (46%, OB), I guess. A powerful, yet transparent Islay malt that starts off deceptively soft and light before the mayhem kicks in. Such a powerful malt needs some powerful music. The allegro from Antonin Dvorak's symphony #9 'Aus Der Neuen Welt' has a 'sneak attack' just like the Ardbeg. Or how about Wager's 'Walkurenritt' from the Nibelungen Ring cycle - it's powerful but 'light' and transparent at the same time. The style of the Ardbeg 17yo (40%, OB) is more 'baroque' than that of the 10yo, at least on the surface. Beneath the subtle sherry surface there's a melancholic undercurrent of organics and Islay traits. Just like the Lagavulin 16yo produced by the neighbours, the powerful peaty character is always present but never dominating. Here's a single malt whisky that combines strength and refinement. Once again I think of Wagner - but for the Ardbeg 17yo I'd prefer a more subtle composition like ' Verwandlungsmusik' from Parsifal or 'Brunhildes Erwachen' from Siegfried.

I'm not a big fan of the Auchentoshan 10yo (40%, OB) myself, but it undeniably represents one of the extremes of the single malt spectrum. It's light and transparant, silky smooth with high-pitched grainy elements popping up. A whisky for a slow summer morning on the terrace. Mussorgsky's 'Ballet of Chickens in their Shells' might be an appropriate piece to illustrate my own feelings for the malt, but if I had to select a piece to accompany the malt I'd personally go with 'Sonata A Tre' by Tomaso Albinoni.

Despite strong French opposition to multi-matured malts, I still love the Balvenie 12yo Doublewood (43%, OB). Complexity and balance are two qualities of the Doublewood. The subtle fruity and woody 'overtones' in the DW somehow remind me of the fairy-like choirs in 'Messe Basse' from Gabriel Fauré. The Balvenie 21yo Port Wood Finish (43%, OB) is a bit richer and fruitier than the Doublewood - and more mature, obviously. It feels saturated and complete, a perfect after-dinner dram. And the perfect music to serve alongside it would be another beautiful piece by Gabriel Fauré, 'Cantique de Jean Racine Opus 11'. Ideal for chilly autumn night in October with the wind howling around the house and the rain beating against the windows.
Throw another log on the fire and just enjoy the richness of life...

I used to be a fan of the Bowmore 12yo (43%, OB) in the early 1990's, when it was one of the very few Islay malts you could get apart from Laphroaig 10yo and Lagavulin 16yo. I especially liked the combination of sherry, peat and smoke. But as my nose and palate grew more acute (and more alternatives became available) I found that the Bowmore 12 didn't hit the spot like it used to. When I craved peaty power I was usually better off with something from the Kildalton distilleries (Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig) and when I was in the mood for a slightly milder Islay malt I could find as much satisfaction and distraction in a Bunny or a Laddie.
Maybe George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' would reflect my mixed feelings the best.

Sliding down the alfabet we find the Dalmore 12yo (43%, OB). This has been a solid performer ever since I discovered it over a decade ago. Malty with just enough sherry influence to make it interesting. Throughout the 1990's it has been one of my very favourite 'low-budget/high-value' malts, together with Glen Ord 12yo and Longmorn 15yo. The Dalmore 12yo may not be very complex, but it's a very well-crafted and accessible malt. I guess the 'Mondschein Sonate' by Ludwig van Beethoven fits a similar profile.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the Dalwhinnie 15yo (43%, OB) but many people are.
In fact, one of my best friends still swears by it, even after I introduced him to the likes of Macallan, Ardbeg and Laphroaig. I can see why, because he doesn't like 'extreme' smells and tastes in a whisky - and Dalwhinnie happens to have none of those. It's a very light Speysider, so I tend to go for 'light' music with these kinds of malts - One of the 'Nocturnes' by Frederic Chopin, for example.

The Glendronach 15yo 100% Sherry Casks (40%, OB) is a completely different story. It doesn't look like they were aiming for balance or subtlety when they designed this profile. This is sherry - in your face and proud of it. The woody and fruity notes form a potent cocktail that really comes to life on a chilly autumn night. It's a malt suited for moments of contemplation, so we'll need some serious music to go with that. The cello is one of my favourite instruments and I find that the deep harmonious vibrations go well with woody malts. In this case I'd like to suggest 'Cello Concerto Grave' from Guiseppe Tartini or 'Cancona Opus 55' from Max Bruch.

It's hard to single out any particular favourite from the huge Glenfarclas range. I personally prefer some of the more outspoken limited releases (like the Family Reserve #4 or the 22yo Millennium) over the bottlings in the core range, but if I had to pick a favourite from those it would have to be the Glenfarclas NAS '105' (60%, OB). It may not be as refined as some of the older bottlings, but it offers plenty of power at a pleasing price. I've always regarded the 105 as a fruity, 'optimistic' whisky so I often go for baroque music with this one. Baroque music has a similar feeling of short-sighted optimism to it, don't you agree? There's plenty of compositions to choose from, but in this case I'd say 'Scotch Tune' from Henry Purcell's Amphityron seems appropriate. Or, if that's not optimistic enough for you, may I suggest 'Welcome, Glorious Morning'? Decidedly less cheerful is another piece from Purcell, 'When I Am Laid In Earth' from Dido & Aeneas. But it's quite beautiful and I imagine it would go well with one of the older, more complex expressions of GF's main range, like the Glenfarclas 25yo (43%, OB) or the similar 30yo expression. In fact, Purcell must have been drinking an old Glenfarclas when he wrote 'Sweeter Than Roses' from Pausanias... So sweet and subtle...

Some people seem to think that I hate the Glenfiddich 12yo Special Reserve (40%, OB).
Well, I don't. In fact, I think it beats almost every 'deluxe' blend in the same price range. At the same time, I think it's not very expressive and for me expression is what I look for in a single malt. I think the 'Spring Allegro' from Vivaldi's Four Seasons fits this one; it's light and accessible but after a while it grows a tad boring and you start looking for something meatier. Well, the good news is that Big Fiddich does indeed offer something meatier, the Glenfiddich 15yo Cask Strength (51%, OB). The extra proof lifts this one right into the 'recommendable' range of my Hit List . The bad news is that it's (officially) only available in duty free shops. As for music to go with the c/s 'Fiddich, how about the prologue from Benjamin Britten's 'Paul Bunyan'? It starts of deceplively light and simple but every now and then it indulges in flights of fancy that take it to surprising and unexpected heights.

What can I say about the Glenlivet 12yo (40%, OB)? It's a light type of Speyside whisky, similar but slightly more refined than Glenfiddich 12 or Dalwhinnie 15. To me Glenlivet has always had a smoothness that set it apart from many other malts in this style, a smoothness I also find in the music of some English composers - like ' Esurientes' from John Rutter's Magnificat. Another beautiful piece that should go down well with the Glenlivet 12 is the 'Nimrod ' from Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations.

I would never turn down a dram of 10yo or 18yo Glenmorangie, but my personal favourite 'Morangies have always been the special wood finishes - well, two of them at least. I've never cared much for the ordinary Sherry Wood Finish but the other two wood expressions are rich and interesting whiskies. The Glenmorangie NAS Port Wood Finish (43%, OB) may be not quite as refined as the 21yo Port Wood expression from the competitors (or copycats, if you will) at Balvenie, but it offers an affordable look at the amazing possibilities that exist beyond sherry and bourbon. Given the revolutionary nature of this bottling, I guess music from an revolutionary composer fits the bill. And believe it or not, but Claudio Monteverdi was sort of the Jimmy Hendrix of his day - well, minus the wild afro, presumably. 'Lamento d'Arianna' and 'Adoramus Te' are beautiful and rich compositions, just like the 'Morangie Port. Equally rich and maybe even further off the beaten track is the Glenmorangie NAS Madeira Wood Finish (43%, OB). This is about as weird as a whisky can get without offending me in some way - it's almost an alien whisky. These days they finish whisky in anything from Bordeaux to herring casks, but when I first sampled the Madeira in the 1990's I was moved in much the same way I was moved when I heard 'The Planets' from Gustav Holst for the first time. Especially 'Saturn' and 'Neptune' are quite spacy...

Obviously, I can't leave the Highland Park 12yo (43%, OB) out of my selection of 'evergreens'.
Even though it comes from the rough and rugged Orkney islands, the HP 12 has a smoothness and sophistication you wouldn't expect from a malt that was born and bred under such primitive conditions. The music of medieval composer Josquin Desprez (1455-1521) fits the HP perfectly; both the malt and the music show amazing complexity and depth beneath a deceptively smooth surface. I could mention any number of compositions, but 'La Déploration de Johannes Ockeghem' and 'O Virgo Virginum' are two of my favourits.

The 'White Horse' bottlings of Lagavulin 16yo (43%, OB) have been on the top of my Hit List ever since my search for the perfect single malt started with my very first dram of Lagavulin. It's so complex and overwhelming that you'll need some pretty complex and overwhelming music to match it. Well, as far as I'm concerned many works from Johann Sebastian Bach fit the bill. And I suppose it won't surprise anybody that his 'Johannes Passion' is one of my favourite compositions - the choir pieces in particular.

The Laphroiag 10yo Original Cask Strength (57.3%, OB) is my current favourite malt in the 'affordable' price bracket. At a price of 50 Euro's for a litre of cask strength Islay whisky it must be the whisky that offers the most bang for your bucks these days. And don't let the friendly price fool you; this is a seriously good malt that deserves some seriously good music. Power, complexity and a whiff of melancholy are the defining qualities of the C/S Laphroaig, and those qualities might be attributed to the music of Arvo Pärt as well. Once again I feel a special connection with his 'Johannes Passion', but Arvo Pärt has written numerous other heart-wrenching pieces; 'Magnificat Antiphonen', 'Berliner Messe', 'Silouans Song' and 'Miserere' are just some of the highlights.
If you decide to seek out anything I mentioned in this 'sound advice' E-pistle, seek out Arvo Pärt.
Music that reaches parts of your body other music can't reach...

The Longmorn 15yo (45%, OB) has been a long time favourite of mine. It's a fine example of a classic Speyside malt, without too much sherry influence masking the distillery character. It's heavier and maltier than light Speysiders like Glenfiddich and Dalwhinnie, which makes it the perfect dram for a chilly evening - early in Spring or later in autumn perhaps - when conditions are not quite harsh enough to bring out the Islay malts. The Longmorn 15yo is a beautifully balanced dram and you can drink it all night without growing tired of it. It'll comfortably last you through lengthy pieces like 'Mass for Saint Anthony of Padua' by Guillaume Du Fay.

Even with some of the lastest expressions not quite up to former standards, Macallan is still one of the biggest names in the world of single malts. If sherry is your thing, Macallan is your malt. There's plenty to whine about (the body of the standard 10yo and 12yo releases has been slipping for a while now, their 'replica' releases are below par, etc.) but their older expressions still reign supreme. If I had to pick one favourite Mac from the current range it would have to be the Macallan 10yo Cask Strength (58.8%, OB, Europe). 'Multi-layered' and 'expressive' are the keywords here. It's an almost 'theatrical' malt that blossoms when exposed to that most theatrical of musical forms: opera. There are many opera's I could mention but Giacomo Puccini's 'Madame Butterfly' and Giuseppe Vedri's 'Nabucco' spring to mind. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's beautiful 'Requim' also fits this sherry monster like a glove.

The last 'major' malt I'd like to mention is the Talisker 10yo (45.8%, OB).
As one of the 'classic malts' I don't think this one needs further introduction and you'll have guessed by now I'd select a pretty heavy piece of music to accompany this powerhouse whisky from the isle of Skye. In fact, many of the composers I mentioned earlier have written pieces that would go well with a stiff dram of Talisker 10yo - Arvo Pärt, Holst, Mahler, Monteverdi and Pergolesi all have written some powerful stuff, but in this case I'd vote for Richard Wagner's Ouverture from 'Der Fliegende Hollander'.

And that it from me - I could go on for hours and hours but I won't...

Johannes
 

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E-pistle #08/02 - What Happens When A Good FOAF Goes Horribly Wrong
by Peter Silver, USA

The term FOAF stands for 'Friend Of A Friend', but the connotation is to find an usual or rare malt at a very good price, preferably an old, dusty forgotten bottle that still has its' original price tag on it from years ago.  (For the origination of this term please see Dr. Entropy's excellent website article on this topic at www.smwhisky.com/foafing.htm.)

Recently I had the opportunity to travel with my wife Erica north of New York City to an area named Westchester.
We were attending a jazz festival at a lovely place called Caramoor and we didn't have to be there until about 1pm.  I was aware that we would be passing through some very wealthy neighborhoods and felt that there might be a good chance of finding some great whisky.  So, I began to plan.  Using my computer I researched exactly where we were going and looked at all possible routes to get there.  My favorite site for this is www.mapquest.com.  Of course, no Internet mapping programs are 100% correct, so always have a back up map handy.  I made sure to pop into a local Barnes & Noble bookshop and purchase some fine maps of these areas, as well.  Some time was spent conducting multiple searches on single malt scotch and Westchester and searching for listings of liquor stores all over the area.  Some ads actually mentioned single malt.  Those stores were, of course, included in my list!

Then I sat down with my list of stores and my maps and I began to chart out what areas we could hit in one morning.  I also called stores ahead of time to find out when they opened.  I did not ask them about malt, because I was looking for their forgotten, leftover bottles.  Maybe this was a mistake.  Then, back to mapquest.com where one can get complete street-by-street directions to each store, as well as directions from one store to another.  Also included was the suggested time it would take to travel the distance.  After all this calculating, it came down to eight stores that I hoped to be able to visit that morning. Normally, when I go on a trip, I bring along some mini bottles and my favorite malt glass.  After all, how many bars are going to have a selection that I will find interesting?  This time I did not pack the malts.  This may have been my second mistake.  One last thing was to print out the latest copy of my complete collection so that any unwanted duplication could be avoided. 
It is wise to not always trust ones own memory of which malts you own.

Finally the day of trip arrived! 
We had all our trip stuff packed, included suitcases since we were staying overnight in the area.  We arrived at the nearby car rental place on time and picked up our vehicle and headed out into city traffic.  Soon we were cruising north and headed for the first liquor store and possible FOAF! We made it to our first destination within a reasonable amount of time, even though the traffic was heavier than I had anticipated on an early Saturday morning.  Parking right near the store, I got out and prepared to stride in quickly for a fast look around, when Erica said that she would like to come along.  She went to look at wines and I headed over to the malt selection.  As it turned out, they had a decent little selection of about forty to fifty malts, a few new ones, but nothing special or worth buying.  Erica did manage to find a wine she liked and she bought a few bottles. 
Ok, we put them in the trunk and zoom - off we were to liquor store #2.

By the way, as any malt maniac who is married or in a relationship knows, you must have a partner who is willing to wait in the car while you run in to check a liquor store for finds.  Either she understands your obsessive behavior or you must bribe her or something, because it is important not to let resentment build up.  This could result in divorce or very expensive gifts, like furs.  This, of course, would have to come out of your malt money!

Store #2 had even fewer malts, about twenty. 
Ten seconds later I was back in the car, heading for Store #3.  I was just beginning to feel a little disappointed that this was not panning out just yet.  Little did I know that this was the foreshadowing of a truly depressing weekend.

Store #3 was a complete wash, about six run of the mill malts on a deserted back shelf.  My wife was intimidated by the crowd of unwashed men hanging out by the front door and implored me to hurry back, as well as to lock the car door.

Store #4 looked promising from the window display and once inside, I was right!  They had an entire malt section and the owner turned about to be a former liquor distributor who knew about malt and more importantly, knew about the other stores in the area!  I chatted him up a bit, while looking over his selection.  Unfortunately, while he did carry about seventy malts, none were needed for my collection.  I showed him my list of other stores I planned to visit and he gave me some valuable advice.  One store he said had little to no selection of malts, because their focus was on wine.  He told me about two other places that might have what I'm looking for and gave me directions on how to get there.  Happily, I thanked him, gave him my card and told him to call me if he got anything unusual in, and jumped back in the car.  Little did I know that my enthusiasm would dissipate soon with the rest of my luck.

Store #5 was a wash as well as store #6. 
To make all matters worse, we got hopelessly lost between the two stores and ending up wasting at least forty-five minutes and pissing off my wife, because I resisted stopping to ask for directions.  Typical male behavior, I believe!

At that point, we stopped for lunch, which made us both a lot happier.  In a lovely diner we tasted the worst matzoh ball soup we have ever had and a lovely turkey dinner that my wife gobbled up happily.  I had a very reasonably priced lobster salad, by the way.  I also made sure to ask the waitress where the nearest liquor store was.  I shouldn't have bothered -- it was also a wash.  By this time, I was beginning to sense the pattern of the day.  A lesser or perhaps smarter man would have quit at this point.  Not I!  Being a true Taurus by nature, I merely put my stubborn head down and dug in harder!

Store #7 in lovely Armonk, was the nicest store we had been to so far.  They had a large selection of the Mackillop's Choice at reasonable prices.  Recently I had purchased two of their selections and was disappointed by both.  I was not tempted to buy another.  The salesman agreed with me, saying that they were too woody and had been aged too long.  I thanked him for his sincerity, but for the life of me, could not find a bottle that needed to be added to my collection. The storeowner from #7 had tipped me off to a relatively nearby place that had, in his opinion, a good selection and was known to carry some unusual things that no one else had.  This sounded like my kind of place.  This time I wasn't going to be caught off guard.  I called the store and spoke to the owner, getting explicit directions, as well as asking him about the malts.  I was reassured that he had a large selection and it would be worth the thirty minute or so drive to his store from where we were.  However, it was now 12:30 pm and we were out of time!

We headed up to Caramoor and got there in plenty of time to catch the opening act.  Erica was very aware of my deepening depression over my failed FOAF.  The music was excellent, but the weather was oppressively hot.  Unfortunately, we were in an outdoor tent-like structure that did not allow any breezes to come in.  So the high temperature and high humidity combined with the complete lack of moving air made our time there unbearable.  Three hours later, we were heading out the gates, back to the comfort of our air-conditioned rental car.

As we pulled back out onto the highway, Erica turned to me and completely out of pity asked me if I wanted to hit that last liquor store.  With one last glimmer of hope; I headed towards our last stop.  On the way there we hit one more store, but it was another miss. Less than an hour later, we pulled into the strip mall where the last liquor store was located.  I walked in slowly, holding my breath, realizing that this was my last chance to redeem this weekend.  Glancing about, I located the whisky section and began to scan the selection.  It was about forty malts, nothing special.  I looked about in disbelief and asked an employee if they had any other malts anywhere else in the store.  Some places put the really expensive bottles under lock and key in a glass case somewhere.  No, I was told, this was it.  I went over to the owner and reminded him of our phone call.  Apparently, according to him, this was a large selection for the area.  I walked out, defeated and sad.  It was 7pm and tomorrow was Sunday and no liquor stores would be open.

My search was over.
We stayed overnight at a nice hotel and on Sunday did a little shopping, then headed home. 
How could such a well-intentioned FOAF go so horribly wrong?

Post script:

About two months later, when I realize that every bottle of Springbank 21yo disappearing off the face of the earth, I decide to go on a search for the Holy Grail.  On a day off at the end of September, I head uptown on foot to hit at least eight liquor stores that I know of and any I see along the way.  I am a man on a mission - to get some great walking in and to find that Springbank!
Along the way I purchase a bottle of Talisker 25 year old, since I didn't own any of the American version and wanted to compare it to the European edition.  I also find three other bottles that spark my interest: an Old Malt Cask Macallan 11yo 1988/2000, a Signatory Vintage 5yo Campbeltown malt (vatted I believe) and a Glenrothes Mackillop's Choice 16yo 1978/2003 Madeira Cask, something I had never seen before.  I arrange to have these delivered to my home, rather than carry them around all day.  Before my mission is over, I will have had lunch in Central Park and logged over eight miles. On the Upper West Side, I have no luck at two well-known stores, but trudge on anyway.  I see a small place that was not on my list, but I pop in anyway.  As soon as I locate the very small malt section, I see it.  Up very high, on the tip top shelf is a familiar faded yellow box.  Yes!  It is the Springer 21!  I can't read the price, but I am hoping that it hasn't been marked up too high.  All right, it has been marked up, but only to $125.   I have learned recently that on the West coast, the price of a bottle is now $268!!!  I agree to purchase it and hopefully ask for any more.  Nope, it's the last bottle.  I am very happy to have it.  I place it gently into my backpack and head out a WINNER!

Four days later, I hit Midtown West and the West Village.  The penultimate liquor store that I stop at has been very, very lucky for me in the past.  I stroll in and start scanning their extensive selection, well over one hundred malts.  YES!  There is one left and at $114, a real bargain.  I snap it up, claiming my second Extinction FOAF of the week!  It may be wrong, but it feels so right.  The last shop that I stop in on my way home has one bottle left, but it has been marked up to $249.  I wave goodbye to it and head home.  It's been a good week.

Peter
 

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E-pistle #08/03 - Highland Style
by Craig Daniels, Australia

The latest meeting of the Earls of Zetland looked at the many faces of Highland Whiskies.
Historically, the regions or appellations applied to scotch single malts were Islay, Lowlands, Highlands and Campbeltown. Of course the Highlands was the geographical grab-bag as it included everything that didn't fit the others. Islay, Campbeltown and the Lowlands were all easily defined, the former by actual physical location and the latter by the Highland tax line to the North and the English border to the South. Of course what this means that of the 88 or so currently operational distilleries only 12 (Auchentoshan, Glenkinchie, Bladnoch, Springbank, Glen Scotia, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig) AREN'T in the Highlands, so there's plenty to choose from. The Highlands includes Speyside as well as all the other more recently designated sub-regions such as Perthshire, Northern, Eastern, Midlands, Islands and Western. There are boundary issues around some distilleries such as whether the defunct Inverness distilleries are Speyside or Northern Highlands and whether Glendronach is a Speyside or Eastern Highland. It doesn't really matter too much as regional origin confers less overall character to the final product than a whole stack of other variables: consider Brora and Longrow or Bruichladdich and Scapa. This month looked at Tullibardine as an example of a Perthshire whisky, the Glendronach as an Eastern Highland and Highland Park as the Island representative.

The Highlands appellation does contain the odds and sods of the single malt world.
Of the three distilleries represented only Highland Park has been in continuous production over the last decade. If memory serves, Tullibardine has been mothballed since 1995 and Glendronach was out of action from 2000 until May 2003. Tullibardine is one of those distilleries where releasing an 'self' appears to have been a hassle and not really core business. No real push was ever put behind it nor did any older expressions find there way to market, which is a shame, because like a lot of Highlands (but not all) it usually gets better as it gets older. The best Tullibardine I ever tasted was an 18yo from Cadenhead bottled in the mid 1980's. The standard 10 is light and undemanding - sort of in the same general profile as Dalwhinnie, Scapa and Bruichladdich with a soft creaminess.

Tullibardine 10yo (40%, OB).
For a whisky that doesn't try too hard, it does a nice job. The nose starts creamy with some fruity notes and a bit of syrup or honey. There is definitely a hint of baked apples discernible after a while. The palate is slightly sweet and again fruity but well balanced. The finish is solid and warming. A bit more robust and fuller in the palate than I remembered. Good solid highland without any bells and whistles - Score 76 points.

Glendronach is a weightier dram and with a bit more interest. When I first became acquainted with malts from this distillery they had two expressions, both at 12 years old and one in 100% oloroso sherry and one with mainly bourbon wood influence, but I could always find some sherry in it, called the Original. It was a nice pair and provided a nice educational opportunity as to wood influence on make from the same stills. They replaced the two expressions with the traditional, which muddies the waters as the sherry is definitely there, but not as prominent as in the old 100% sherry version. They also released a 100% sherry matured malt (and a beauty it is too) at 15years old. Glendronach is very close to Macallan in style (as plenty of competitors in blind whisky tastings have found to their cost), but it tends to be more earthy and a little more sour and with a bit more of the struck matches that you get from Spanish sherry oak.

Glendronach 12yo "Traditional" (43%, OB)
Hooley, dooley, I know I said that the 'old' Sherrywood 12 has more sherry than this, but it's like saying that Laphroaig has more peat than Lagavulin. This is a serious sherry nose with lots of those typical oloroso wood lactones and tannins along with sulphury, cordite, spent matches behind the usual raisins and boiled fruitcake. The palate is also big and sherried with burnt nuts, fruitcake and a bit of dried fruit. There's also a hint of boiled sweet suet pudding and a reprise of chocolate and nuts in the finish. The tannins give it a nice grip in the mouth, but the sulphury notes do tend to come forward over time. Very solid whisky. Score 82 points.

The Tullibardine and Glendronach are official releases, but the Highland Park is from Lorne MacKillop, who has a independently bottled range called MacKillop's Choice. According to people who've met him, Lorne dosent' like sherry wood too much, so I figured that for him to choose a sherry wood matured malt it must be (1) American oak and (2) pretty good. I know the program says that I'd put a Cask Strength 21yo on the table, the transaction didn't happen so I went out and found the MacKillop instead. I think Matthew bought a bottle and from what I recall it was pretty good, although I wouldn't have guessed the distillery if I didn't know what I was drinking.

Highland Park 1988 (61.4%, Mackillop's Choice)
I have had this before, but have never subjected it to the rigours of analysis that one applies in the formal club setting. On its own and given cursory scrutiny, the nose is all spirit underpinned by honey toast and creamy, scented notes like frangipani or lily. Left to sit, there is lots of cream; almost like sago, tapioca or creamed rice gradually revealing an insistent woodiness that eventually gets out of hand; lots of school rulers and sterile dressings. The finish is of stripped pine and rock candy, with the reprise of school rulers hanging around too long. There is quality spirit there, but the wood's not great. Scores extra for strong flavours. Score 84 points.

Our traditional 'Blind' was the Highland Park 8yo (40%, G&M)
Nice uncomplicated nose with fruit some choux pastry, a hint of liniment, liquorice, bandages and the dryness of mustard cress. The palate had quite a lot of smoke, with that curious dryness like coke embers. The finish had a bit of ointment and was creamy. I got this one right, but wouldn't have been surprised overly much if it was Highland Park 12, Clynelish 14 or Oban 14. Sort of indicates that I thought it might be older than it was, but for me the dead giveaway was the coking coal embers in the palate and finish. As I only get this effect in less than ten whiskies and none of the other 9 were on the list, I was pretty sure that it was a Highland Park, but it had too much smoke to be the distillery 12yo. I also think it has a slightly more interesting nose than the OB 12 but the 12 wins in other areas. Score 81 points.

Craig
 

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E-pistle #08/04 - The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse
by Serge Valentin, France

A few months ago, I did send a very tricky set of blind samples to Johannes, and he stroke back with a small blind "punishment package". Being not that masochistic, I let these four mini-bottles rest on my shelves for a while, and then I forgot about them, until I re-discovered these little monsters a few weeks ago while putting away a bottle of Macallan 18yo 1972 on my upper shelf. So, I put forth all my courage, and decided to have a go at those. Johannes warned me several times about the fact that it was really intended to be a punishment set, so I wasn't expecting much. And I was right, I'm afraid...

Anyway, I still decided to taste these four oddities properly. I took my favourite copitas, some glass lids to prevent the few aromas that were supposed to be exhaled by the liquids from vanishing in the air, my pre-printed tasting sheets, and put Norma Munro's CD in my player. Yes, I'm a sticker for etiquette, but at least, nobody will feel allowed to claim I didn't taste these properly, don't you agree?

So, while being ready to endure the most horrible tasting experience, I opened Johannes' four little bottles much ceremoniously, and poured each whisky into its glass. By the way, if you're reading this on your computer, perhaps it's time to ask the children to stand a little further back... Okay, now you're ready for...

Punishment Blind #1 - Colour: White wine / First Nosing: Quite light, fruity.
Nose: Very estery, very Lowlandish. Pear drops, pineapple, peach, bubble-gum. Seems to be the perfect summer-dram.
Mouthfeel: Light and sweet. Maybe a grain whisky.
Palate: Again, very fruity and spirity, and then it gets a little dry and indefinite.
Finish: Short. No further development.
Comment: This one could be a Lowlander, or a malt made with some Lomond stills, or even a generic Irish.
Not really bad, but don't consider having it anytime except during the Summer season. 65 points.
Answer by Johannes: It was Clan Campbell NAS (40%, Blend). Very good - you spotted the grain whisky on the palate! I very much agree Clan Campbel 'feels' a bit like an Irish whisky. Funny detail: It was by far the cheapest bottle in this flight.
My reaction: Yes, that's a rather good blend. I just compared your sample with the remaining drops from a bottle I just had on my shelves, and I must say mine was a little maltier. Now, here are my notes for #2...

Punishment Blind #2 - Colour: White wine / First Nosing: Weak. Not that great, I must say.
Nose: Quite aromatic, but guess what, it doesn't smell whisky. Muscat wine, pineapple, yeast, dust, varnish.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, sweet/bitter
Palate: Really indefinite. Broiled cereals, grainy, banana. Very weak. Gets bitter with time.
Finish: Almost none.
Comment: The nose says it could be a light single malt, but the mouth is just too weak.
It must be a blend, and not one of the bests. 55 points.
Answer by Johannes: It's Drumguish NAS (40%, OB). Well, now you know why I gave just 44 points to the latest batch of Drumguish! If you have some left and can get a rating from Olivier we can add the distillery to the matrix. It's not a blend officially, but the owner has already pulled some crazy stunts in the past so who knows... Anyway, it's not my cup of tea either.
My reaction: Well, that Drumguish really isn't worth the try. Can't they improve it a little? I don't know, perhaps they could buy some malt from another distillery to do a vatting, or perhaps they could add some pepper, some paprika, a little corn syrup, or even some peanut butter. It just won't get worse! Imagine the people who are used to drink some blend switching to a single malt because they've heard it's better...  And encountering this Drumguish. Tell me about a disappointment! Frankly, I'm not sure I should involve Olivier in this experience, even for the sake of the Matrix! But could another single malt be worse than Drumguish? My answer was "no way!", before I went for the...

Punishment Blind #3 - Colour: Almost white / First Nosing: Quite peaty, but weak...
Nose: The peaty notes are replaced with fruit, wood... And nothing else. This one could be a "foreign" attempt to make some whisky...
Mouthfeel: Very light.
Palate: Dry woody notes, some sugar... And ah, yes, some alcohol. Molasses, anyone?
Finish: Extremely short. Stops before it starts.
Comment: Well, what was that? Can't be a blend, or not an official "big" one... Can't be a single malt... Can't be a single grain either (they would never have bottled this)... It must be a "foreign whisky". But which one? 25 points.
Answer by Johannes: It was Springbank 1997/2002 (45%, Signatory Vintage 'Stills of Scotland').
Wow; I gave this one 74 points. My lowest scoring Springbank, but I didn't think it was THAT bad.
But I think these were selected by LMDW, right?  So, I guess it's a 'foreign' attempt' ;-)
My reaction: What? This is a Springbank? It really lacks a lot of years in wood! I could only get the peat, but otherwise, I think it's really un-balanced. This may prove that some malts really need a lot of maturing, and I must say I always thought Springbank is a prototype of that kind of malt. Just compare the 10yo OB and, let's say the older 21yo. There's a whole world in-between those two. Could you just re-taste this 5yo, and confirm that you think it's really worth 74 points on the Johannes-scale? This makes think we should try to detect each distillery's ideal age one day. Remember, we already found out that Mortlach, for instance, needs up to fifteen years, but no more. This should be an interesting work, don't you think? I'll check whether I can do some data-mining on this topic in our manifesto... Anyway, 65, 55, 25 points... What will the next one be? A putrid rotgut? Let's check it out...

Punishment Blind #4 - Colour: White wine / First Nosing: Mellow.
Nose: Not bad, actually. Yeasty, grainy, bread, mashed potatoes... But rather weak.
Mouthfeel: Ouch! What's that? A lot of sugar.
Palate: Banana, bubble-gum... Is this whisky?
Finish: Medium, but only alcohol and sugar.
Comment: Now, that's odd! Makes me think of the Indian whiskies (sorry Krishna).
Again, it must be a "foreign" whisky. 15 points.
Answer by Johannes: It's Filliers 8yo Oude Graanjenever (50%, OB, Belgian jenever).
Hehehe... I was hoping the nose would convince you it was a bottom shelf grain whisky. But it didn't!
You're right, it's crap - but I don't like jenevers anyway. I can see your point about the Indian whiskies - too weak.
My reaction: Yeah, I remember somebody asking "Is this whisky?" And foreign it is, no doubt. Perhaps the Belgians should stick to making beer, which they do brilliantly. As for jenever, I must say the Rutte&Zn Oude Twaalf Jenever (whatever that means) I picked up in Amsterdam last year is better, even if even weirder considering the taste...

Okay, Johannes, I guess I deserved this treatment, and get this: I won't strike back.
I haven't got any proper weapons on my shelves, and after all, you're a friend ;-).
Okay, now I feel like if I were Gandhi, peace to his brilliant soul.
So, thanks for this decrescendo, Johannes! But couldn't you have started a little higher?

Hehehe.... I love playing mind games... ;-)
Obviously I couldn't have started much higher - it was a PUNISHMENT package, remember?
Maybe we should call a truce before we start poisoning eachother?

Oh yes, peace please!

Serge
 

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E-pistle #08/05 - Trick Or Treat
by Michael Wade, USA

It's that time of year again!  Time to put the tarp over the grill, pull in the lawn furniture and watch your beautifully manicured lawn die a slow and agonizing death.  That's right it's Halloween!  The trees are turning colors all around; nearly every morning brings a hard freeze that puts an extra zip in your step; and you quickly find that it's time to rifle through that old box at the back of your closet to find your winter hat and gloves.

As the summer dies and gives way to the icy grip of winter; the month of October slowly and casually draws us closer to the coldness; and occasionally refusing to let go, the summer gives off it's last dying breath; refusing to be defeated.  Aside from being both the last vestige of summer and the first inkling of winter; Halloween is a crossroads; a time when we shed our selves and begin anew.  In fact, Halloween traces its roots back to the Celtic Festival of Samhain; a celebration of the end of summer and the beginning of the harvest; a time when the spirits of the dead returned to the living; and had to be appeased.

Ok… Ok…. What the hell does all this have to do with whisky?  Well, simply put; for us Malt Maniacs; Halloween often represents a return to the full time drinking season… Dusting off all our peat monsters; pondering what Ardbeg to open next and planning what malts are best by a warm fire…  It all got me to thinking about whisky and Halloween.  Here in suburban northeast America, during Halloween, we dress up  in ridiculous costumes; parade around the streets in sub zero temperatures; and fill our bags full of candy and then gorge ourselves for several weeks on the vast stockpile.  This process is not unlike the one a Malt Maniac goes through during the beginning of the drinking season.  We have a tradition here, when we knock on the door, and it is answered, we say "Trick or Treat".  Now, in all my years of "trick or treating" as a bobbin, I've always gotten treats, never tricks.  Candy is the preferred method of payment during these tense situations.  Nothing is more embarrassing than running out of candy and offering something vile such as fruit or vegetables.  Even worse; no one wishes to be seen as the old miser in the rickety house who scares kids away and stores his teeth in a cup by his bed.

Oh yeah, the whisky, right. 

Well, it got me to thinking about how flooded the market has become with premium whiskies; and how spoiled we've all become by our patronage of the industry; our contacts; our knowledge of whisky and by our own desire to learn and to feed our voracious appetites for the amber nectar.  I consider myself lucky to have tasted so many fine and rare whiskies; but now I realize just how much I; and perhaps others, may have overlooked more commonly available and less expensive malts in favor of rare Macallan, Ardbeg and Springbank.  So, is there any merit to the lower priced official bottling you see in every grocery store and liquor store?    How about that 12 Y.O. "Glen-whatever" sitting right next to that tempting Signatory Caol Ila sitting on top of the bar?  Which one do you reach for first?  The real question is posed- Is it a trick or a treat?

Let's find out.

Our Journey begins with what many consider to be the Grand Daddy of single malts, Glenfiddich.  Let's face it.  Everywhere I go, if I am in some kind of place where food or beverage may possibly exist; I am on the lookout for malts.  It's an instinct that's been bred into me; it's a sickness, a disease with no cure, a fire which can only be quenched by the thrill of the hunt itself.  Oftentimes, in restaurants, bars, liquor stores, homes and businesses I would see the ever-present Glenfiddich 12 y.o. Over the years, it's gone through some changes in name and look; but it's always been there one way, or another.  Because of the omnipotent nature of this venerable whisky; one would assume I had tasted it, probably early on in my malty career.  Truth be told, I have tasted it a few times; but always informally, never taking notes or thinking about it.  So I thought it was time to bite the bullet, so to speak.

Glenfiddich 12yo Special Reserve (40%, OB). Color: Pale gold.
Nose: Fruity, some citrus, grassy and herbal. Pleasant and light.
Palate: Nutty, a hint of peat, citrus and vanilla, slightly creamy.  Very soft.
Finish: Short, but sweet.
Comments:  Very pleasant, straightforward and enjoyable.
Score: 74 points . Trick or Treat:  This is a treat!

Well it's pretty clear that Glenfiddich lives up to its hype.  I guess there is a reason it can be found virtually anywhere, and appeals to such a broad market, after all.  But what about more esoteric malts?  It's pretty well known among the whisky circles that for a while Seagram tried to push its single malts in America to try and capture some of the success that the Classic Malts from UDV/Diageo had gained.  Among the malts was one unassuming malt from a now mothballed distillery called Glen Keith.
You can find out more about the distillery here.

Glen Keith 10yo (43%, OB). Color: Light gold.
Nose: Dry, herbal, stony, a bit of cut grass, sweet fruit, a hint of smoke.
Palate: A bit more oily now, tongue coating, full of ester notes, a dollop of smoke mingles with grassy notes.  
Finish:  Somewhat bitter.
Comments: Not bad, not great.
Score: 70 points. Trick or Treat: A treat, barely.

And if that wasn't enough, a magnificent distillery which long formed the heart of the Chivas blend (and their source of income via a lovely visitor center) produced a whisky called Strathisla.  Luckily this one is still producing; although I have no idea if it's presently still being bottled as a single malt or not.  I'm sure somewhere in America an importer's warehouse is filled with hundreds of cases of this malt; waiting patiently for years.

Strathisla 12yo (43%, OB). Color: Full gold.
Nose: Rich and full, brown spices, hay and perfume; grass.
Palate: Full bodied, oily, warming.  A hint of herbs, mint and licorice, but not cloyingly so.
Finish: Long and pleasant.
Comments: Nice.
Score: 75 points. Trick or Treat: Treat me again!

There have always been a few whiskies that scared me.  I have long discovered that with names like Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain, whiskies of distinction could still be found despite the ominous nomenclature.  However, there were always a few with interesting names that escape me for one reason or another.

Tullibardine 10yo (40%, OB). Color: Goldish.
Nose: Harsh and bitter, some notes of ester, a bit earthy and piny.
Palate: Burn on the front palate, followed by some dark earthy and vegetal notes.
Finish: Harsh and short.
Comments: Gack.
Score: 67 points . Trick or Treat: This has to be some sort of cruel trick.

Tomatin; there are not many other names in the world of whisky that conjure such horrible and pejorative specters in our mind.  It is the ultimate in whisky myths; as sure as the sun rises every day, Tomatin is an inferior whisky.  I did have the chance to taste a Cadenhead's cask strength Tomatin (18yo 1979/1997 60.8%) which was quite nice; but it seems wherever I go; whomever I talk to; this malt brings with it a special kind of apathy and despondency.  I decided to bite the bullet and finally figure out for myself- scared out of my wits I approached the bottle with all the reverence of a druid at Stonehenge.  I uncorked it reverently; frightened by the possibility of releasing some dark spirit trapped within.  As I poured it into my glass, I swear I could hear a disembodied voice, laughing darkly.  Or was that just indigestion from the Tullibardine?

Tomatin 10yo (40%, OB). Color: Gold.
Nose: Dark earthy notes, resin, red grapes.
Palate: Oily, chewy, dark fruit and rye bread. Somewhat astringent at the end.
Finish: Long lasting, leaving a slight acidity.
Comments: Drinkable, but not my cup of tea.
Score: 69 points . Trick or treat:  I'd rather take the candy. Trick.

So, as you can see, there are perils to be found in your local haunt.  I always thought there had to be a good reason why these whiskies haunt our daily lives.  Was the reason quality product or aggressive importers?  I suspect the true answer lies on an individual basis.  With regard to many malts such as Glenfiddich, I am sure public demand drives supply.  However with other products such as Tullibardine, I would not be surprised if a gout of product shipped several years ago and retailers had trouble moving it.  In fact, I know that Allied's abandoned "Defenders of the Malt" program and also Seagram's failed venture into the pseudo "Classic Malts" market suffered from this.  To this day, dusty old bottles of The Glendronach, Benriach and Strathisla from this era in the nineties can still easily be found just about anywhere.

As always, the answers are subjective.  But I offer you this- there are gems to be found out there at an everyday price.  Here I've only tasted things I've not tasted before; and found some pleasant surprises.  They join a host of regular achievers such as Ardbeg 10yo, Laphroaig 10yo, The Macallan 12yo, Balvenie 12yo, Dalmore 12yo and many others.  So, next time you reach for that $125 independent bottling you're going to by on a whim; take a look lower on the shelves, or further across the bar; that familiar label you see every day may hold some secrets after all. 

Michael J. Wade, 2003
 

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E-pistle #08/06 - Macallan Vertical 2003
by Craig Daniels, Australia 

Macallan is a distillery of renown and while I think that it might be bathing in the light of past glories a little too much, one can't deny that they make a good and sometimes great whisky. The ones we have on the agenda are interesting, as they represent the very recent past of Macallan as all were released and/or purchased in the period 1999-2001. Up until about 2001, the official release 12yo was at 43%, it was changed to 40% after then. The difference in alcohol wasn't the only detectable change: the new 12yo was thinner, more spiritous, despite the lower alcohol and more spikily woody. Luckily, we saved one "old" 12 for the Club.

The 15yo, au contraire was introduced to meet demand for the 18yo when they didn't have the stocks.
It is a much better whisky than the 'new' 12yo and probably a step up from the 'old' 12yo, which around 1994-1996 was probably the best commercial sherry-wood malt you could buy for under $70. It certainly was a walk up start to inclusion in any seriously thought out "Beginner's Dozen". If I had to compile that "Beginner's Dozen" now, then Macallan 12yo 40% wouldn't make the starting line-up. The 15yo came out in (at least) two vintages, 1984 and 1985. We have a bottle of the later version.
Lovely stuff with all the richness you'd want and expect in a Macallan.

The 1983 18yo was originally donated by Maxxium for an EoZ Macallan night in March 2002, but it actually arrived the day after the tasting, so it has stayed in stock until this month. The 18yo's from the 1970's were rippers with 1974 and 1977, standouts in my opinion. Something went wrong in 1981 and 1982 and they started to get back to the standards set in the mid 1970's with the 1983. Interestingly enough, the very best Macallans (the 1874 Replica, the 1974 and especially the 1977) don't have a big thumping oloroso sherry treatment and are all the better for it; more subtle, more interesting drams.

Macallan 12yo (43%, OB, bottled circa 1999) - One of the last lot of 12's bottled at 43%.
The nose has the typical raisins with a little bit of beeswax and a hint of sulphur, (spent matches, marsh gas). The palate is fruity with some good tannic wood phenols in the tail. There are also some leafy, ferny notes and the nose starts to get some soggy paper and pastry notes with some tart fruit acid after a long time in the glass. Pretty good, but the wood isn't quite as good as the 'wee beastie' bottled around 1992-93, lacking the classic marker of royal Dutch chocolate icecream. Score 82 points.

Macallan 15yo 1985 (43%, OB) - The nose has lots of brandy soaked fruit, then toffee and slightly sour fruit. The nose develops some nice creamy notes as the wood fights through the sherry. The sour fruit note resolves into dark red cherries and there's also a hint of freshly polished leather. The nose holds up remarkably well with nice muscatty notes coming through after 30 minutes. The palate and finish aren't quite as good as the nose, with some bitter herbs in the tail and some fudge along with increasingly strong tannins. Gives it structure but probably dries out the finish a wee bit too much.  Unlike the 12yo, no suplhury notes detected.
Very solid whisky & good value for money. Score 86 points.

Macallan 18yo 1983 (43%, OB) - The more recenly released 1984 is better, but this one is no slouch either.
Certainly better than the efforts in 1981 and 1982. Nose is immediately spicy with cinnamon, raisins, good oak wood. The palate is richer and fuller than either of the 12 or 15 and the aftertaste is classic Macallan with lots of woody, winey notes, star fruit, apricots coming in waves and then more intense oloroso notes. The tannins are big too, but the balance is better than the 12 and 15. There might even be hint of gunpowder, but no soggy paper. The finish is superior to the other expressions too: soft and mellow to start but with a bit of burnt nut bitterness balancing the sweetness. Score 88 points.

The traditional blind dram turned out to be the Balvenie 12yo Doublewood (40%, OB)
I didn't get it right, but wasn't surprised when the identity was revealed. Nice nose with some good sherry wood, toffee, a hint of hard rock candy and even a wee touch of liquorice. The palate is sweet, clean with lots of apricot jam, slight hint of trifle and sponge cake then later flavours of hazelnut and nougat. Pretty damn classy and when I found the apricot jam I thought it was Aberlour.
I still scored it as I usually rate it; score 84 points .

Craig
 

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E-pistle #08/07 - Cadenhead's in New York
by Peter Silver, USA 

On a recent cool fall evening, John Hansell of Malt Advocate Magazine conducted a tasting of Cadenhead single malts distilled in the 1970's and 1980's.  He brought eight malts from his personal collection to be opened and tasted.  About a year ago, John decided to not let malts in his collection go to waste.  He didn't want to sell them to collectors who would just put them up on a shelf and never taste them.  John wrote a column about this in his magazine.  He decided to select unopened bottles and bring them to tastings in Manhattan and Philadelphia, at some of his favorite bars.  The event was held at a bar in the East Village in Manhattan, called D.B.A.  The name of this place comes from the new business application form where you enter the name of your business next to the phrase "doing business as……."  So they either couldn't decide on a name, or they just liked DBA!  This friendly bar is located on First Avenue, just a few blocks above where the Avenue starts, just above The Lower East Side, famous as a home for immigrants to the New World.  A fitting location because there is an incredible melting pot of whiskys and beers from all over the world in this little space.  They have a sister bar in New Orleans, but they started here first just over thirteen years ago.

Loch Lomond (Rhosdhu) 9yo 1985/1994 (60.5%, Cadenhead's)
Nose: caramel, rubbing alcohol, fennel, minty. Palate: strong fennel fading to rye. Finish: short.
Overall mostly unpleasant, one-dimensional malt. Score: 60 points.
I'm not a big fan of mint, fennel or rye in my whisky, and to have them all in one malt is quite distasteful.

MacDuff 14yo 1978/1992 (57.8%, Cadenhead's)
Nose: caramel, shellac.
Palate: light caramel, lemon/lime, maltiness, developing into ginger spice. Finish: long, tingly, spicy - almost hot!
Overall nice, but a simple one-note whisky. Score: 72 points.

Auchroisk 12yo (58.7%, Cadenhead's, Dumpy bottle, no details on year of distillation or bottling)
Nose: malty, citrus, toffee. Palate: malt, citrus, cherry, toffee. Finish: long, malty, sweet.
Overall, an average dram, nothing special. Score: 64 points.

Caperdonich 14yo 1977/1992 (60.5%, Cadenhead's)
Nose: sherry, plums, small apples, peachstone nuttiness, almond. Palate: dark cherry. Finish: medium long.
Overall a lip-smacking good malt, the best so far. Score: 82 points.

Springbank 8yo 1985/1994 (61.6%, Cadenhead's, Sherry Cask)
Nose: tropical fruit, lime, coconut, cherry.
Palate: rich mouthfeel with a dullness midpalate. Finish: medium length with a noticeable fade.
Overall it tastes more like a 12 year old, very impressive for so young a malt. Score: 83 points.

Talisker 15yo 1978/1993 (56.4%, Cadenhead's, Sherry Cask)
Nose: sherry, very little Talisker characteristics - some brine and pepper, but no peat.
Palate: sherry overpowers the Talisker. Finish: medium long with spice and pepper.
Overall the Talisker is lost in the sauce, just to much sherry influence. Score: 62 points.

Linkwood-Glenlivet 19yo (46%, Cadenhead's, Sherry Cask, Dumpy bottle, no details on year of distillation or bottling)
Nose: heavy sherry, burnt butter, toffee, a little smoke. Palate: bitter and dark chocolate, dark cherry.
Finish: medium length. Overall an "orphan" whisky, it no longer tastes anything like Linkwood.
Yet it is still very nice, not too woody, well balanced. Score: 77 points.

Clearly the best whiskies of the tasting were the Caperdonich and the Springbank.  Since John has not tasted these malts beforehand, he is in the dark as to how they will taste.  It's such a wonderful opportunity to try malts that I will probably never get a chance to buy on my own.  The incredible part of the deal is that D.B.A. only charges $25 for the whole thing!
This was the end of the tasting, but another sample from a whisky enthusiast came out and….

Mannochmore 15yo (67.8%, Adelphi)
Nose: sherry, caramel. Palate: light sherry.
Finish: medium length, spicy. Score: 74 points.

Peter Silver
 

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E-pistle #08/08 - An Interview With John 'Compass Box' Glaser
by Louis Perlman, USA

It seems that 2003 is the year of John Glaser. He managed to create quite a 'buzz' about some of his 'Compass Box' creations and he has traveled all around the world to promote them. Although they are not single malt whiskies (some of them aren't even whiskies, legally speaking) his philosophies on blending and the significance wood are provocative and intriguing.
Click HERE to read the interview Louis Perlman had with John Glaser.
 

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E-pistle #08/09 - Big Bruichladdich Blast
by Craig Daniels, Australia 

When I went to Scotland in May before hooking up with the Maniacs in Speyside, Serge had arranged an appointment at Bruichladdich for someone to show me around.  However when Rosemary and I turned up no-one in the office seemed to know anything about it and the name I had wasn't there, stuck on Jura by bad weather.  I guess I was a bit discomposed by the complete lack of recognition, but I've never really thought I was important enough to make a fuss so I joined the normal tour and had a good time.  The fact that a film crew was there on the morning I turned up might have had something to do with it.

I think Bruichladdich is a great place to visit, not least because they have a genuine love for the cratur, a commitment to developing the local economy and creating local employment opportunities (witness the new bottling line) and they really do care what malt connoisseurs think.  The Valinch is spot on the money 'smart' as the kind of thing that the most obsessed collector, amateur malt aficionados and die hard whisky anoraks are hanging out for. Because you have to go to the distillery to get it this is smart in lots of ways, not the least of which is to make Islay an even more irresistible whisky destination than it is already.  If the other distilleries don't have a Distillery Reserve Cask Strength whisky that is only available for sale at the 'cellar door' then they should organise one post haste, not because of the "me-too-ism", but for the boost it would give local tourism.
However the main reason for recommending a visit to Bruichladdich is that, for any true whisky industry scholar, the venerable age of the equipment and logical layout of the processes, give a pretty accurate picture of how whisky was made in the era 1900-1950 - not a computer in sight in the production process.  To me the opportunity to observe the prosaic details of whisky production preserving traditional methods (in the true sense of the word) is worth more than all the romantic drivel spewed out by the soap powder peddlers.

Anyway to cut a long story short, Mark Reynier made amends for the misunderstanding at the distillery by sending me a nice big package of samples from Bruichladdich.  They arrived in September, but because I was spending 85 hours a week on work and organising the Inaugural National Malt Whisky Convention held 3-5 October 2003, I didn't get the chance to sit down and devote the requisite time to do the malts justice.  I finally got around to convening the tasting panel (fellow MWSoA executive committee members Matthew and Graham and one of Graham's friends, Steve, a fellow malt traveller; Tim, Paul and Martin couldn't make it) so there was four of us to put our collective efforts into assessing the whiskies.

We assessed 6 Bruichladdich blinds; 4 distillery samples, one G&M Cask Strength and the 15yo OB that Steve brought along.  The tasting order was random and we tasted them all in 12cl sherry copitas.  We had a long discussion about whether Sample A or Sample D was the oldest. All of us plumped for Sample D, but we were all wrong.  Sample A was in the death seat - first tasted in a big tasting usually means that the malt scores lower than if it was sitting in a different spot as the noses and palates take a while to get adjusted.  Nevertheless none of us thought Sample A was the best whisky on the table. None of the first four blinds showed any peat at all. Anyway, the results (my scores and the averages across the four of us are included as well.)

Sample A - Bruichladdich 1970 (??%, OB) - The sample did not have an alcoholic strength - but if it is the OB then it is 44.2%, which makes sense as it did seem lighter in alcohol than the others.)  Nice nose with floor wax, cream and wax flowers, some frangipani flower perfume, some orange blossom, then develops an off citrus note - like the grey/blue penicillin mould that grows on rotting oranges.  Left in the glass it also develops some of those dry, old papyrus/papery notes.  The palate was quite mild, subdued and light-with a touch of richness and a bit of candied orange.  Predominantly malty, smooth with a hint of honey.  Mouthfeel was good, but wasn't particularly rich. Didn't have a lot of depth and the age was only really evident in the wax flower, papery notes and mouldy oranges.  Score: 80 points (MWSoA 72)

Sample B - Bruichladdich 1984 (46%, OB) - More honey and toffee in the nose, a hint of dry spice and a bit of spirit bite as well.  Develops some subtle soft chalk and plasticine notes.  More aggressive than the first one and the palate was both thicker and more fiery.  Less development in the glass, suggesting relative youth. More impact but less solid in the finish which was slightly woody and a bit short.  The aftertaste is slightly bitter - reminiscent of lots of bourbon wood speysides. 
Score: 78 points (MWSoA 75)

Sample C - Bruichladdich 12yo (46%, OB) - Honey cream, malt biscuits, fresh linen (which I like), a bit of varnish but has a slightly hot woody edge as well. Left in the glass it develops some soap flakes & plastic (which I don't like) and a hint of liquorice.  The family resemblance is very strong and closer to A than B.  The honey in the nose is reprised in the palate - which has some hard candy, then a slight sweet and sour note, like slightly sour cream.  Lacks the bitterness of Sample B in the aftertaste - just slightly woody and maybe some woody rather than peaty phenols.  Score: 78 points (MWSoA 71)

Sample D - Bruichladdich 14yo "Links" (46%, OB) - Varnish, celery leaves, sweet cream, some more of the wax flowers that were in A and C and then a dry tobacco leaf note.  The palate was similar to A but the finish was better - more length and a nice warming woodiness and a touch of that tobacco leaf bitterness.  The mouthfeel is soft, fat and smooth - very classy. 
Score: 83 points (MWSoA 76)

Sample E - Bruichladdich 1988 (58.4%, Gordon & MacPhail Natural Cask Strength) - Sweet bread dough, lots of floral esters, a faint hint of bandages.  Then antiseptic ointment and even a hint of peat - the latter three descriptors scream Islay but none of the first four samples had a smidgen of any of these classic Islay markers.  This is the sport in the batch as there is an atypical cheesecloth note that gets stronger over time, which becomes more like dirty socks over time; like the ammoniac in a soft white cheese mould.  Starts great but gets progressively cheesy.  I'm not keen on brie in my whisky, but the rest of the guys liked it a lot more than me.  Score: 78 points (MWSoA 80)

Sample F - Bruichladdich 15yo (46%, OB, Bottled +/-2002) - Nose: malt, honey biscuits, sweet cream, touch of ginger, cinnamon and some fresh cut meranti or sandalwood.  Gets a bit drier with some tobacco leaf and more dryish wood.  The palate is nice and rich - (that's more like it) with some nice smoked fruit and burnt garden leaves, more tobacco.  There's definitely some peat in the mix.  Not obviously Islay, but indisputably Bruichladdich and the best of the bunch. Score: 86 points (MWSoA 84)

So the best-to-worst rankings are interesting: the MWSoA panel ranked them F, E, D, B, A & C.
On my own I ranked them in descending order F, D, A and couldn't split B, C and E.

On the same evening that we rated the Bruichladdich samples sent by Mark Reynier, we also had a good look at the Murray McDavid samples sent in the same package.  I'd had a look at them before and reported a few comments to Serge and I always distrust my scores when I know what the whiskies are, so I made sure that I threw a couple of Benchmark malts into the flight where I was happy that I knew what they always scored and made sure that we tasted them all blind. We assessed 5 Mission Series II samples and included the Glenfarclas 25 and Douglas Laing OMC Port Ellen 28 as reference points.  We tasted them all blind and we tasted them all in 12cl sherry copitas. Anyway, the results (my scores and the averages across the four of us are included as well.

Sample A - Linkwood 1973 (46%, Murray McDavid Mission II) Nice nose with lots of apples and baked apple pie, some cedar shavings, quite malty, some toffee and some more stewed fruit. Palate is fruity and the finish is quite woody. The wood wasn't as forward as when tasted in a balloon as opposed to a copita. Because the wood didn't become dominant I scored it higher than before. The rest of the guys liked it a lot. Score:  85 points (MWSoA 87)

Sample B - Glenlossie 1975 (46%, Murray McDavid Mission II) - lots of cream and soft stone fruits locquats, sour cherries, then some lemon oil and a fruit syrup - all bourbon wood, hay and cut grass, then some menthol and mint. Nose gets sweeter. The palate is firmer, with a nice warming finish, burnt nuts, fruit syrup and a wee bit of peat. The copita dumbs down the nose a bit compared to the balloon.  Score: 83 points (MWSoA 84, all four scores between 80 and 88)

Sample C - Caperdonich 1968 (46%, Murray McDavid Mission II) Was the pick of them in the balloon but performed less well in the copita.  The copita made it nose very, very creamy with a hint of varnish and coconut. The balloon showed more character, with mint toffee or mint caramel nose. Considering the age, the wood is pretty subdued and not showing any overextracted notes.  Good mouthfeel, nice fruity finish with some roasted nuts and a bit of sour cream.
Score: 83 points (MWSoA 84 - bigger spread but two scored it 87)

Sample D - Strathisla 1976 (46%, Murray McDavid Mission II) - This was clearly the best of the flight in the copita, but didn't do so well in the balloon, where the wood was too forward, with oak fighting through sherry. In the copita the nose has lots more soft fruits, especially ripe berries like blueberry and boysenberry, with whipped cream and is exceptionally well balanced between the wood, sherry and malt. The palate is peppery in the balloon, more creamy in the copita.
Score: 93 points (MWSoA 92 - all scores over 89)

Sample E - Lagavulin 1979 (46%, Murray McDavid Mission II) - this one was interesting, the scores in the copita and the balloon were very similar, but the balloon made the nose seem drier and more balanced than the copita. In general more wood showed in the balloon than the copita. There was some sour cherry and sappy wood notes in the balloon and tended to repress the peat.  In the copita, the rubber, chalk/plasticine, liniment, peat and ointment are more forward.  The palate is very good, with sweet ointment with lot of burning leaves in the finish.  The rest of the guys didn't like it quite as much as me and there was a big spread of scores.  Score: 90 points (MWSoA 87)

Sample F - Glenfarclas 25yo (43%, OB) - Nose: lots of furniture polish, plum pudding, sherry and some soft stone fruits, with beautiful creamy oak fighting through the sherry. Very solid in the glass and doesn't fall apart at any stage. 
Score: 87 points (MWSoA 84)

Sample G - Port Ellen 24yo 1978 (50%, Douglas Laing OMC) - I included this because the Lagavulin would've stood out without something else with a decent whack of peat.  Plus I think it is a grand whisky easily worth over 90 and hence a fair test for the Lagavulin. Nose starts with some peanuts, then soft peat, a hint of soft fruit, then burning leaves and fresh resin. Lots of peat in the palate, yet impeccable manners, lovely balance. Had more of the ointment and smoked kippers than the Lagavulin.  Lovely balance with the classic austere wood notes. We all loved it, the lowest rating was 88.  Score: 93 points (MWSoA 92)

I'd be interested to see what other people thought of them and, especially whether they tasted them in balloons or copitas.  The difference that the copita made to the Strathisla was awesome - score went from 81 to 93, which is amazing.  The copita is definitely worth considering if the age of the whisky indicates that it might be on the woody side. It was a lot of fun and I was privileged to put the rarities on the table, so thanks very much to Mark Reynier who made it all possible by sending out the package.

Craig
 

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E-pistle #08/10 - Whiskyship Zurich 2003: Malt Frenzy In Switzerland
by Serge Valentin, France 

November 29, 2003 - Zurich, Switzerland, isn't very far from Turckheim, and if I missed last years' editions because of the pre-Christmas frenzy, I decided to make it this year. Fellow maniac Olivier Humbrecht also thought it was a good idea, especially because when the Swiss do something, they always do it somewhat differently. Well, I guess we could say that about any other country in the world... Anyway, as it's getting riskier and riskier to drive after having sipped a little alcohol – the French or the Swiss can put you into jail just like that – we even hired a driver who drove us from Turckheim to Zurich and return, thus allowing us to dram just like we wanted. Which means a lot, no need to say!

While we were driving there, we were just wondering how big the event would be, and I must confess that after having seen Andrew Symington's picture with the caption stating 'A. – not I. - Henderson' on Whiskyship's brochure, I was getting more and more sceptical... After an hour and a half drive, we finally reached Zurich which, honestly, is quite an ugly city, and like many middle sized cities in Europe, they managed to make it almost impossible to find your way and to park. So, we needed almost twenty minutes to find a parking spot, plus another twenty minutes to make it by foot to the pier on the Zurich lake where the event had been organised. But hey, nothing stops two malt maniacs on their way to a few nice drams! And frankly, it was really worth it!

When we reached the pier on Burkliplatz, we found out that the
event was to take place on six small cruising ships, which were
all berthed at the quay. How nice, but we feared it was to be
quite a small exhibition, just because of the lack of room.
And just between us, I couldn't imagine tasting dozens of malts
on a ship that would pitch...
You know, feeling you're drunk even if you're not and all that...
But happily enough, there wasn't any wind, and the ships were
as stiff as possible. That was the first piece of good news.
The second piece of good news was that there was a little
restaurant on one of the ships, so we decided to have a
little food to prepare our stomachs. A mushroom risotto,
some bauern soup, some wurst, a few ribs, and we were
ready for some heavy dramming. Well, that's what we hoped,
because we didn't have a clue about the line-up yet...
But we were to find out soon!

The first surprise was, well, on the first ship. As soon as we entered the front cabin, we spotted a huge stand, carrying hundreds of different bottles. Yes, that's right!  And the first bottles we spotted were approx fifty different Cadenhead's. Wow! By the way, let me explain how they organised the way you could sample the malts. In fact, right at the entrance, you could buy some stamps, each stamp being worth one Swiss franc. Both Olivier and I bought forty stamps each. Would that be enough for two hardcore drammers like us? We'll see... Anyway, each bottle that was available for tasting - again, there were hundreds – was carrying a number, from 2, meaning they did cost two stamps a dram, to... 10 and more. It was like at the Club Med! A very clever idea, really.

So, like I said before, we started with a few Cadenhead's. All did cost two or three stamps a dram, which makes from 1.3 to 2 Euros, roughly. Quite interesting, isn't it? Both Olivier and I were eager to taste some special malts, and that's what we did almost all day long. So, here are the first two Cadenhead's we had. Both came from the core range, which is called 'the Original Collection'. No distilling or bottling year is stated on the labels, just the ages, but you can find them on Cadenhead's website. That's odd, if you ask me. Okay, here we go...

Ben Nevis 17yo 1986 (46%, Cadenhead's Original Collection) 
Nose: clean and fresh, very flowery, very fruity, like a nice Lowlander, but without any citrus. Freshly cut apple.
Palate: great freshness, very fruity again. Apple, white melon...
Then a lot of light honey (acacia honey) and herbal tea (lime, camomile).
Finish: medium, getting just a little oaky.
Very interesting, quite the opposite of most Ben Nevises I already tasted, which are usually more on the sherry-toffee side. A well deserved 85 points for this nice baby!

Inchgower 19yo 1984 (46%, Cadenhead's Original Collection, sherrywood)
Nose: a lot of sherry and quite a lot of wood. A little sour, Christmas fruit cake, not unlike a good rum.
Palate: powerful and very rich, very sherried. Huge sweetness.
Finish: long and sweet, always on the 'sherry mode'.
This is a genuine sherry monster, and both Olivier and I like it a lot. Not sure whether the spirit itself plays a real part here, but I felt this Inchgower deserved 85 points, just like the Ben Nevis. Plus, it's not that often that you can taste an Inchgower! And speaking of rather rare malts, we went on with a...

Mannochmore 21yo 1982/2003 (61.3%, Cadenhead's Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 168 bottles)
Nose: caramel, vanilla, young rum. Nicely fresh.
Palate: nice mouthfeel, coating. Quite sweet, and quite woody. Then some salt, pepper and spices.
Finish: medium, getting mellow, with some herbal notes popping on the tongue
Well, this Mannochmore is a curiosity, but I didn't find it that good, and I went for 82 points, just because it's 'special'. But I was far from thinking 82 points were to be... the worst rating of the day. Yeah, that's right! Only one other bottling was to be rated as low (low?) as the Mannochmore, and it was a malt we chose to taste just because we were still wondering if any IB can match this distillery's splendid old OBs...

Bunnahabhain 24yo 1979/2003 (50.6%, Cadenhead's Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 234 bottles)
Nose: sharp, maritime, fruity (apple) and quite oaky. Spirity.
Palate: powerful, with heavy liquorice. Then gets very grassy. Bitter orange, cinnamon, clove... Very special, but not that interesting.
Finish: quite long but too oaky, I felt.
Too bad, it's not today that we'll discover and independent alternative to the stunning 'Auld Acquaintance' and the likes. This Bunny makes me think of the Signatory cask strength from the same vintage. It was to be the second – and the last – malt of the afternoon to be rated only 82 points . But now, let's switch to some rarer distilleries again, and taste a...

Glencraig 22yo 1981/2003 (57.5%, Cadenhead's Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 216 bottles)
Nose: a lot of vanilla, really smells bourbon! A little spirity, with a lot of dried raisin and honey. Very nice.
Palate: wow! Superb, creamy, mellow and sweet, cooked apple, heather, lavender ice cream, quite spicy.
Finish: long, rounded, beautifully balanced.
This one's a winner. Highly recommended, 89 points. Glencraig was distilled at Glenburgie distillery, and I can tell you no Glenburgie I tasted before – but I didn't taste a lot – ever came close to this one, which is very satisfying. Glencraig was a malt made out of a pair of Lomond stills built within the distillery in 1958, and which were removed in 1981, so this one comes from the very last year of distillation. But hey, what do we spot next to this