Brexit and its aftermath

When the results of the referendum first came out, my first worry was whether Singapore's trade with the UK was through the Commonwealth, bilateral, or the EU. Thankfully, it seems that Singapore's trade with the UK would not be affected too much by Brexit. That means that the UK's supply of whisky to Singapore shouldn't be drying up.

However, one of the reactions to Brexit has been noises about Scottish independence. That is something to be concerned about! What would happen to our beautiful scotches?? Let's hope our trade with Scotland gets better!

So, to...commemorate? remember? mourn? celebrate? this historic referendum (and it is historic. The last time the UK left a continental association, Thomas Cromwell was still chief minister and no voting took place), we shall have a Scotch whisky that's independently bottled. Nothing like independent scotch to...er...quell our fears over an independent Scotland? 

Anyhows, I'm sure our friends in Scotland will sort out their own political future in due time. Funny thing is, the monarchy has been awfully quiet. I mean, Scottish independence isn't just about two peoples breaking apart - it also involves the dissolution of the Crown of the United Kingdom, which is, basically, the unification of the crowns of Scotland and England. Wonder how that'll work out.

Ok, enough spurious political speculation and bad attempts at linking my whisky drinkning to global events.

So, the whisky for today is...Mortlach 21, by Gordon and Macphail (abv 43%, bottled in 2014).

Mortlach is not the usual Speyside. Actually, I think the Speysides I have been drinking usually have all not been the "usual". Sure, they're sherried and fruity, but the ones I've had (and liked) are different - more leathery, rubbery, somewhat dirty, meaty, very spicy, etc. The Craigellachie and Inchgower, for example. Mortlach, again, is different from standard Speyside malts like Balvenie, Glenfiddich or Macallan. It's supposed to be meatier, and more complex. How exciting.

A quick search online suggests that the Mortlach 15, also bottled by Gordon and Macphail, is the go-to malt for people who want to discover Mortlach. The 21 is often deemed to be less flavourful, as if the extra years have tamed the whisky somewhat. I've tried the 15, and found it to be fairly nice and easy, but not big enough. We'll see how the 21 turns out.

(Picture taken from Master of Malt as I couldn't find good lighting to take a photo of my own bottle)

Colour: Light gold

Nose - Clearly a sherried speysider. Sherry, some sultanas, hints of leather, some suggestions of spices, but fairly assertive alcohol too. Is this really 21 years old? Feels somewhat younger. There's also a bit of meatiness/savouriness/umami in the nose. I'm sure this will get picked up again on the palate. After a while, there's some vanilla and honey, a few freshly pealed apples? This smells sweet. Thankfully, the bits of leather and savouriness brings some balance and complexity. Maltiness/porridgy notes come out after a while. On the whole, not unexpected, and fairly fresh and sweet!

Palate - A little sour on entry, more green apples than lemons. Sherry and leather makes the bulk of the body. Some nutty oils, and something that feels like a whiff of charred oak. Sweet malt comes to the fore on second sip, then sweet oak. That would be the vanilla notes then. Maybe some slight suggestion of a raisin - but on the whole, the palate isn't fresh fruit. There are a few dried leaves in this too - just don't ask me to name the tree species! The leather and sherry remains. A little spicy. I would say, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper, but nowhere near the Inchgower. Malty, bordering on porridgy, notes when left to sit in the glass for a while. Surprisingly, the texture feels fairly thin, though it coats well.

Finish - Charred oak comes back, and some smoke, surprisingly. Rather long, with oak and spices, and...barbecued apples?! Is there such a thing? Sherry notes stay for quite long too, which is nice. Minerals and tannins on the side of the mouth. A touch of floral notes too, which is pleasant!

Overall - Ok, this is good, but not amazing. It lacks an oomph that I thought would be present in a 21 year old malt from a distillery known for big meaty flavours. Tastes like a fairly standard (but good) old fashioned Speyside. The finish is pretty excellent though, and makes up for the weaker body.

Compared to the 15, the 15 is fresher and brighter on the sherry notes. Spicier as well, but with less of the leathery touch, and the charred/smoked feel of the 21 isn't quite there in the 15. But, at almost $70 cheaper, maybe the Mortlach 15 by G&M would be a better value for money buy. I think this whisky would be better at a slightly higher strength?

Aberlour A'bunadh (Batch 50)

It's been a slow moving month on the new whisky front. Haven't really tried anything new, so I'm pulling out old notes that never got published. Will definitely try something new in the next couple of days before the next work cycle begins.

This one was tried some time back. It was something I always wanted to get a sip of, largely based on the superlative reviews it garners on various whisky blogs and online merchants. A single cask sherried whisky, from Aberlour, a stalwart of the sherried whisky scene. This batch 50 was obtained from Auld Alliance, still my favourite place to get a dram.

The Aberlour 18 was pretty good, if a bit on the gentle side. Maybe this single cask one can top that and give a stiff fight to the Kavalan Solist Sherry (the a'bunadh was tried before I drank the Inchgower. Hence, at point of sipping, the Kavalan was the better point of reference).

Aberlour A'Bunadh (Batch 50) (abv 59.6%)

Oooh...Look at that high ABV. Almost 60! This is actually alcohol diluted by barley water, isn't it?

Nose - Rich, deep and dark. Rum and raisins to the fore, but that's not the only thing in the nose. There's quite a bit of spices behind the first big whiff of raisins, and a fair amount of wood as well. A deeper sniff...cinnamon...vanilla...suggestions of dark chocolate.

Palate - The raisins aren't as dominant. Instead, it's fairly drying on tea tannin, a touch of rubber. The raisins come out mid-way through. Maybe dried prunes too. A light bit of dark chocolate. Mm. Pretty hot on the alcohol, but that, I think, complements the softer spice well. The alcohol gives it a bit of an edge, which would otherwise be missing. I think this palate is fairly well-rounded, but lacking some oomph. Maybe the spices could be tuned up, or the raisins, or perhaps even the rubber or sherry sweetness. But as it is, it's good, but doesn't wow.

Finish - Not as long as I hoped. Some vanilla and spices on the back of the tongue. Maybe a short, thin strip of orange peel.

Overall - Nope, not as good as the Kavalan Solist Sherry. Maybe other batches are better...?

The old has gone and the new has come! Hibiki Japanese Harmony Master's Select

The Hibiki Harmony series was introduced to replace the aged expressions of the much-loved Suntory blend. There are the entry level Harmony, the Harmony Master's Select, Deep Harmony, and Mellow Harmony. The latter two are limited releases. The replacement of the aged whiskies with NAS has been the trend for Japanese whiskies, as demand has exceeded supply. NAS whiskies allow the distillers to be more creative in their cask selection. While age isn't an indication of quality, it often is one of the factors.

The Master's Select was released in Travel Retail. As usual, Hibiki's packaging is beautiful; you can't really be dissatisfied with a 24 faceted glass bottle. It's a work of art. In fact, people sell empty Hibiki bottles online! The 24 facets are supposed to represent the many seasons of the Japanese climate. If Singaporean craftsmen tried to follow the same principle, they wouldn't be able to make a bottle - we only have 2 discernible "seasons" - dry, and wet. You can't make a bottle out of only 2 dimensions. It wouldn't hold any liquid.

But enough of empty bottles. What about the stuff that's inside these beautiful glassware?

Hibiki Japanese Harmony Master's Select

Nose - Plum liquor is initially dominant. After the whisky has some time to breathe and open up, there's quite a bit of orange liquor and honey. There's something leafy and grassy in the nose as well. Some nice oak notes in the background. I read that some of the whisky that went into this blend came from Mizunara casks. Maybe that's what I'm smelling? I'm not getting any of the floral notes that were so pleasant in the Hibiki 12, 17 and 21.

Palate - Mm. Sweet and honeyed. Traces of vanilla, then a lot of fresh oranges and orange liquor. Slightly drying, and I think there's some sherry in here as well. The plum liquor is faint in the background, but that's a nice place to be. I don't think I like having the plum liquor being too dominant. JE says he got some chocolate, but they're elusive for me.

Finish - Fairly short. Light vanilla, oak, and a small sprinkling of spices.

Overall - No, this is not as good as the 12, which stood out for its honey and floral notes. This one is perhaps a little more balanced, but also less distinct. At just over $100 from DFS, this maybe counts as pretty value for money, but it's not great on quality. Still, smooth, pleasant, and easy drinking for those who hunger and pine for a Japanese dram.

Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008

Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008 (50% abv)

I believe this is a travel retail exclusive, so thanks to JE for getting this on his way back from the Philippines. Fairly affordable at just over $100 at Duty Free. I think the bottle's really pretty too - clear, transparent glass, light gold liquid, and white text. If only the text was better organized - this feels a little messy, like they had too much information to cram into too small a space. I think the words could be cut down since the information on the bottle is replicated on the tin can.

But maybe that's the way to flaunt hipster street-cred: by having all the information about source materials on the bottle.

Colour - a really pretty light gold.

Nose - rather sharp. Lemons and light smoke, or maybe charred wood. Very fresh lemons, I should add. There's a bit of some barley, perhaps slightly toasted. This is not a big nose, but what it does, it does rather well and very precisely, especially with the fresh lemons and citrus. Some light salt - lighter than, say, a Talisker 10.

Palate - It's youth tells, with a strong alcoholic attack. After that, there's quite a bit more of those lemons from the nose. Some nuts as well - a little like peanut butter without added salt and preservatives. A little bit of spice build up - nutmeg and maybe tumeric? I found this slightly bitter though. Hmm. Is that some toasted barley? Didn't feel sweet or rich enough to be chocolate or ccocoa. But maybe the bitter on a slightly overdone espresso...

Finish - Again, sharp. Citrusy fruits that are more acidic than sweet, a continuation of the same spices. Some lingering notes of charred wood, together with the drying effect.

Overall - This is a very consistent and coherent whisky. The nose, palate and finish are very closely tied together, and presents a very clean precise profile. But I'm not sure I like this very much. It's good, but maybe not quite my favourite taste profile.

New place for whisky retail

The whisky scene in Singapore is getting hotter. There are more retailers, and new releases are coming in here faster than they used to. Demand and supply, and stuff like that. Places that I've been to for whisky shopping: Duty Free (Changi Airport), Vom Fass (Orchard Ion and Westgate Jurong East), Fine Spirits by La Maison du Whisky, Liquor Bar, 1855 The Bottle Shop, Standish (Holland Village), The Single Cask (CHIJMES). I think that's about it...? For physical shops/stores, at least.

Things are about to get even hotter, with a new shop on the scene. (NB: This is totally not a sponsored post. I wish it were, but it isn't. Sad. Maybe if enough people visit and mention that they visited it after reading about the shop here...)

Introducing: The Whisky Distillery! (I hope they have a website or something up soon. The name of the shop makes it rather hard to Google-search for)

This store that specializes in selling whisky (duh!) just opened last weekend. And as you can tell, the floor is drooling with excitement, leading it to become wet, and hence, the cleaning staff.

The Whisky Distillery is situated on the fourth level of Orchard Ion, beside Oak (which sells whisky, wine and cigars) and Vom Fass (which sells whisky, wine, vinegar, oils, and other liqueurs).

The good thing is, The Whisky Distillery isn't actually really competing with the other two shops. It's on a whole different level when it comes to prices and quality of product.

The whiskies sold here are mostly old or rare, and in many instances, both. There are some affordable Ardbegs and Glenmorangies: The Ardbeg 10, Corryveckan, Uigeadail, and the Lasanta, Quinta Ruban, Nectar d'Or from Glenmorangie. These were selling for roughly $150. Pretty decent.

Slightly higher up the price scale are is Royal Lochnagar Selected Reserve (purple box). That's mid 300s. Pretty steep, but for something hardly seen in Singapore, maybe worth a pop if you've spare cash lying around.

Beyond that price range is where this store really shines.

Lots of really old stuff, and some very reasonably priced (for what they are). For example, there's a Glenury Royal 50 (50 years!!) selling at $8000, if age floats your boat. Not cheap, but I think the shop's profit margin isn't going to be very big with a price like that for a 50 year old. Another highlight would be the Port Ellen's, from several different releases. Glenfarclas 40 was also there, and a couple of other old vintages from various distilleries.

Some of the bottlings are at high prices, which Chris (the boss of the place and a chap who knows the drinks, knows the people in the industry, and has a sense of humour) told me are a result of the prices at which he was able to procure the whiskies. Whiskies that he was able to procure at lower prices, were offered at lower prices. Some of the whiskies were selling for prices that were more or less what I would have to pay if I bought them online from The Whisky Exchange and paid the levy and shipping fees. In particular, I was checking out the Talisker 25 and 30 that they carried, which were from the earlier cask strength releases. Alas, the Macallan 30 was rather...less affordable than the Talisker 30, due to the supplier that he got the stock from.

So, if you're searching for some rare and old premium malts, this would be a good place to go. Chris also shared some of his future plans, which sound like they are going to make the whisky drinking scene in Singapore even more exciting in the future.

Speyside Party

JE came back from overseas, and picked up a couple of bottles from Duty Free. This led to us having a Speyside party last night. The Speyside Party included the following malts: Tomintoul 12 Limited Edition, Balvenie 16 Triple Cask, Inchgower 16 (Old Malt Cask), and just for fun, the Balvenie 30 again. There was also a guest appearance by a young Islay, the Bruichladdich Bere Barley, distilled in 2008.

Tomintoul 12 (40% abv, Limited Edition)

This one was advertised as a "gentle dram". Let's see how "gentle" it is. Gentle isn't euphemism for weak, I hope?

Nose - Opens on marshmallows and icing sugar. Syrupy too. The sweetness calms down a bit to reveal sultana raisins, and some light spices. Doesn't seem to have much else behind it...Definitely gentle. Hmm. The opening was very sweet. Overly so, I think.

Palate - Sultanas, some vanilla. This is a sweet whisky - the icing sugar continues a little at the start. Light spice - a bit of cinnamon and something a bit prickly. A wee bit of leather. Smooth, gentle, but not very much, I'm afraid, even accounting for its age.

Finish - Eh...short and quick. When the official tasting notes describe the finish as "Mellow and Warming", you know that it's not going to be amazing.

Overall - Nice, smooth, inoffensive Speyside to start things off. Thanks JE! Next!

Balvenie 16 Triple Cask (40% abv)

This dram was also provided by JE.

Nose - Woooof. Not a good start. Reminds me too much of corn syrup aka Crown Royal North Harvest Rye. Behind the syrup lies some sherry influence - sweet sherry, but not enough to mellow out the bourbon/corn syrup notes. A bit of a woody influence, but the predominant note is the syrupy scent. Don't really like this.

Palate - This claims to be triple cask, but the bourbon cask seems to have had the strongest influence. The bourbon cask is especially active, while the mystery third cask is simply called a "traditional whisky cask" - "traditional" meaning...refill bourbon? Anyhows. Some wood, very very light spices, and the bourbon notes are the strongest. Coconut perhaps. I don't like. Honeyed, but the honey is too close to the syrup. Eek.

Finish - Eh...unmemorable. Some light spices, a bit of wood, and nothing much else, I'm afraid. The wood is quite robust. I washed this out with water quite quickly. It probably lasts longer that I allowed it to. Oops.

Overall - This could work, but I didn't like the type of notes that came through. Next!

Inchgower 16, by Douglas Laing's Old Malt Cask (50% abv, from a single cask sherry butt, distilled in 1995) (this has been updated since first publication, mostly to add in the effects of water)

Colour - dark gold

Nose - This is good. Marmalade, bitter oranges, orange peel, then raisin/sherry notes and robust spices. Nutmeg and cinnamon. A classic sherried speyside! Slightly herbal - say...thyme? Rosemary? More spice than herbal. Water brings out a touch of vanilla.

Palate - Big, big palate. The oranges aren't really present - just the orange peel and zest. Big raisins - rum soaked raisins. The raisins are countered by strong leather and rubber. This was a powerful sherry cask indeed. The spices build and build. My goodness. This is really, really big on spices. The spices start out quietly in the background behind the raisins and leather/rubber, then it becomes bigger and bigger. Ginger, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, saffron/papprika...wow. Spice party! There's a nice wood influence too - some vanilla to balance out the spice. A nice bit of menthol and mint rounds things up for a refreshing swallow.

A few drops of water drags out the raisins a little bit more, and lengthens the spices. There's some burnt/caramelized sugar as well. I think this was on the palate before the water, but a lot more discernible with water. There's also a bit of black tea which makes it a little more drying. The richness of sweet sherry is more present with water. It was probably hiding behind all the spice and rubber prior to dilution. And, oh my, is that one small puff of smoke when I swallowed?

Finish - Spices linger for rather long, as does the mint, menthol and wood. A touch of rubber and burnt sugar. Water drags the finish out. One hour later, I still taste a bit of this finish. Wow.


Overall - This is great. There's actually a story behind how I bought this bottle. Some time ago, I was at Vom Fass, and was recommended this bottle as the "best whisky in the shop". I did not take up the recommendation, and bought the Springbank 12 Cask Strength instead. No regrets, of course, with buying the Springbank, but I did wonder what the Inchgower would taste like. My next visit to Vom Fass, and, alas, the Inchgower was not on the shelves anymore. Sold out. However, thankfully, on my next visit, there was a bottle of this on the shelf again! Apparently, the folks at Vom Fass found one last bottle in their warehouse. Now, it's in my house. Muahahahaha.

At $150, this is, in my opinion, value for money. But, it's probably hard to find another bottle anywhere. Great stuff, really.

With or without water? Personal preference, really. Without water, this whisky is more intense. With water, the various flavours are dragged out, allowing some hitherto hidden notes to become more prominent.

Ok, that's all for the Speyside party for now. I've reviewed the Balvenie 30 previously, and I'll save the Bruichladdich for another time. Have a good evening!