CNY Drink 1

It's been yet another long hiatus. I have a bit of a personal principle to not drink when stressed, so that I don't accidentally get myself hooked on alcohol as a destressant (that's not a word, I know). The downside is that this blog moves slowly, and then often in spurts. But it's been a loooong weekend with the Lunar New Year break, so here's the first new dram in a long time.

Looks like I won't be breaking last year's record of 14 new drams in 15 days of CNY.

CO went over to the Metropole for a bit of training, and very kindly popped by Whisky Exchange's store to get me a Glenfarclas sample gift set. Many thanks! This set contains three whiskies - the 15 year old, the 21, and the 25. Of course, we're starting with the youngest of the three.

Glenfarclas 15 (46% abv)

Colour - golden.

Nose - Spicy, on cinnamon, cloves, a touch of something herbaceous, like rosemary. Apples. Malty and a bit of oak. There's some liquorice, as well as a little bit of peanut oil. A light hint of something smoky and fishy...kelp? That's strange...There's that sherry we've come to expect, but it's a little muted. Some vanilla cream. This isn't a sherry bomb. Just a normal, sherried whisky, with a strange twist.

Palate - Fruity. Grapes. Apples are still here, but it's now the part of the apple that's closer to the core. A little more acidic, a little less bright and sweet. A hint of acidic, black coffee. The Singaporean Kopi-O variety. A bit of ginger and pepper. A faint, faint whiff of smoke. The sherry influence is more present in the fruity, grapey flavour, then in velvety smoothness. The creamy vanilla comes in after 10 minutes to give a bit more roundness to this.

Finish - Oooh. Big burst of raisins on the way down. After that, there's a bit of a peppery feel, slightly bitter too. Hmm. Wood tannins lingers all over on the inside. Fairly drying. The finish isn't very long, but the dryness stays for quite a bit.

Overall - This is fairly nice, but it stings a little - maybe, at 46%, it required a little more time in the wood. But then, if it did, it won't be a 15 year old anymore, would it? Perhaps the blenders ran out of older stock to even it out. But if they did, this won't be as affordable anymore either. So, pretty decent, on balance. Nothing to shout about, but a competent dram to sip away. I actually do like it, and don't really mind the sting, though the bit of bitterness (is it artificial caramel??) detracts from the overall enjoyment.

Islay Legend - Port Ellen

This was supposed to be the whisky that started the year, though it was not to be a couple of weeks ago. The legendary Islay distillery that closed down - Port Ellen. After closing in the 80s, the remaining stock was bought by Diageo, and released annually as part of its yearly Special Release. Prices of the Special Release vary between a thousand to several thousands, if you can even find them at all. The Whisky Distillery at Ion carries a few of the Port Ellen Special Releases, if you're interested. Costs a bomb though.

This particular Port Ellen was distilled in 1982, just a year before the distillery closed. It's bottled as part of Vom Fass's Fassination series, though the label says that it's from Hunter Laing and Co. Did Hunter Laing buy the stock from Port Ellen 30 years ago to mature it themselves? Or did they buy it off Diageo after maturation? So...Vom Fass bought it from Hunter Laing? Why didn't Hunter Laing sell it themselves? Mystery.

This baby is 30 years old, and there are only 30 bottles available worldwide. If you've read my blog from its very beginning, you'll know this bottle - it was the one I saw at Vom Fass, but walked away from. Really glad that my friend DW bought it instead of some random rich Indonesian businessman. I was really excited when DW decided to open this as part of his housewarming celebrations. Cue mass horror, paralysis, shock, stasis and gnashing of team when the cork broke in the bottle. DW did not have a corkscrew in his new home, and thus, the Port Ellen was literally one inch away, but we had to pass it by.

After going home, DW unplugged the bottle, and decanted its contents into a wine decanter temporarily. The stopper wasn't airtight though, so better bottles needed to be sought quickly. I went back to Vom Fass, and this is the result:

It filled two 250ml bottles and about 3/4 of a third. I licked the funnel and the spare drop from pouring, and it was excellent. And rather unglam.

We sealed the two full bottles with tape, and tried the whisky from the last one.

Port Ellen 30, bottled by Vom Fass, 16 of 30 (53.1% abv)

Colour - Rich gold. The cask is a refill hogshead. It looks fairly viscous.

Nose - My goodness. Ok, let me get this down in order. Lemon citrus, really fresh. How? This is 30 years old, right? And that's the first wafts that comes up too. Smoke behind the lemon, and really salty. This is a beach! Salt, and suggestions of algae. Fairly sharp sea breeze with the saline levels and citrusy touch. Oak, liquorice, freshly shaven wood. Subtle fruits here, though I can't quite pin it. I would say something like...ripe peaches. But it's subtle. Some spices - pepper and ginger. The peat is somewhat muted, more vegetal than medicinal. Give it some time, and it gets a little malty and meaty - oatmeal porridge with a bit of salted fish-infused ham. No, that doesn't exist. 

Palate - This texture is unique. Like nothing I've had before. It's so fat and viscous, it feels like gel rather than liquid. A blob of whisky instead of a sip of liquid. Really, really full on the mouth. Leathery and chewy, as advertised. This is mind-boggling. Initial burst of smoke, and a lot of sharp lemons, before settling down. The spices - pepper and ginger - are there throughout. Oak is fairly present, but a really nice support for the smoke. Salty and savoury, though not bacon territory. Maybe a lightly smoked ham that's been blanched or soaked in soup for a while - reminds me of the ham they put in your macaroni with soup in Hong Kong's cafes. But with smoke. The fruits are, as they were on the nose, fairly subtle. Pears, peaches, and a hint of...chiku? That'll be sapodilla, for those of you in colder climes. There's a touch of sawdust on this palate. There's a growing minerality - copper and limestone, that somehow goes really well with the viscous texture. That's an amazing development. 30 years well spent.

Finish - Long, lingering smokiness. The lemony citrus stays too. Fairly drying, and strong hints of tea tannins. Salty and gingery/peppery. Somehow, still somewhat metallic. There's wood too. Metal and wood - that's basic materials for Civilizations building.

Overall - Mind-boggling, and amazing. I hope that this isn't the last Port Ellen I will ever taste. And, many thanks to DW for sharing it so generously.

2017's first notch - Benromach 10

Happy new year! The year end passed by in a flurry of activity and gatherings. Not many whisky parties, and hardly any new drinks to show for it. Except this one: the Benromach 10.

We were supposed to try DW's 30 year old Port Ellen, but the cork broke, and we didn't have the tools to dig out the cork, or to decant the bottle, at that point in time. He's now decanted the Port Ellen, so, let's hope we manage to get down to it soon. So disappointing though. I guess I'm really not fated to try this one.

I brought the Benromach 10 to the party, more as an aperitif, or starter. But instead, it became a poor substitute for the main striker who limped off injured in the warm-up. Benromach 10 is a solid player, mind. Just not star quality.

Benromach 10 (43% abv)

Colour - Gold

Nose - Pencil wood, oak, then soft sherry notes - that'll be dried fruits like raisins and cranberries. Some herbal, leafy notes too, though these aren't too distinct. Lightly smoky, though it smells more like smouldering leaves than a proper wood fire. A little smouldering damp leaves. There's something savoury at the back too, though I'm not really managing to pick it out.

Palate - Gentle landing, you hardly feel any alcohol. Fairly sweet. That'll be some caramelized sugar and sherry. A slight tanginess that reminds me of mustard. More leaves and oak - the oak's rather big, and gives the sherry a bit more of a vanilla and oaky balance. More pencil shavings. Mouth feel is oily, and there's also something that reminds me of cod liver oil. Hmm. But on the whole, oak and sweetness would be the main stuff. The wood helps to prevent this whisky from being too one dimensional, and it is solid. But it's also clearly young due to relatively short development. To be fair, I didn't try this with water. Maybe it'll get better.

Finish - Oaky again, light whiff of smoke, a leeeeeettle bit of spice. Some tea tannins here, and a bit drying.

Overall - solid, value for money, but not the bang to start the year I was hoping for.