A Dying Revival - Glendronach 15 'Revival'

Given the reputation of Glendronach as a fruity sherry bomb, I often categorise it as a Speysider in my head, and thus, have to frequently correct my pre-conceptions when approaching a Glendronach. Glendronach is, in fact, a Highlander, though it does produce very well-sherried whiskies. The Highland characteristic is more obvious in the less-sherried offerings, such as the 8 year old 'Hielan', and the 12 year old. However, it is the sherry bomb that makes the Glendronach, and I was able to try the whisky that relaunched Glendronach original bottlings some years back - the 15 year old 'Revival'.

The 'Revival' came out circa 2009, and immediately was received with much acclaim. It was excellent whisky, garnering a score of 92 from Serge Valentin of whiskyfun.com (this review is written independently, in case you were wondering). That's massive for a regular OB. What cemented its cult status was its pricing - it was available for between $130 to 160 in Singapore, which translates to...roughly...50 sterling pounds or so, back in the day. Great price for great stuff.

Naturally, it flew off the shelves, and became discontinued. Probably due to the drying up of old stocks that go into the Revival. So, the Revival is dead, and we await what the new owners will do to Glendronach distillery.

This dram was tasted at, where else, the Auld Alliance. They had previously ran out of Glendronach 15, but it's suddenly back on the menu. I checked the bottle, and found a Japanese label on the back. Did they buy this from Japan? Wow. Such dedication. It's sold out in Singapore already.

The whisky itself!

Glendronach 15 'Revival' (46% abv)

Colour - Almost mahogany. A rich darkness that immediately reveals its sherry influence.

Nose - Rich sherry notes. Give it some time to breath, and it reveals a stunning depth. There's a light wood influence, a hint of saltiness and toffee notes. Raisins, as expected. Light spice...cinnamon. And slightly herby too. Think...cumin? Malty and slightly sulphurous as well. How do you pack so much into a 15 year old nosing? This is astounding. It develops and grows and opens up, and floors you with great complexity, depth, development, variation...I could sniff this all day.

Palate - Rich sherry notes flood the senses. Give it some time...it's a little spicy and sulphurous. Cinnamon...and a little peppery. Parsley and cumin stay around too. The spices keep the whisky fresh. That's important in a heavily sherried whisky, as they can become too thick and brooding. Rich raisins and prunes. Reminders of dark chocolate. Light wafts of orange zest, and a little charred wood.

Finish - Big fruitiness on a long finish - raisins and jam. Pretty sweet. Spices grow - same profile of spices as on the palate. Finishes on a light smokiness.

Overall - This is great. While the stated age is 15, I think the average age is much higher - closer to 20, if I were to hazard a guess. The use of old stock would partially explain why it's no longer in production, a conjecture proposed by EP which I agree with. Such a pity. Thank goodness I got to try this at least once. Great whisky that used to be at a great price.

More on Whisky Live 2016 - The Highlights

Whew, that was one long break. Work was madness. And it's now been more than 2 weeks since Whisky Live. Oh how quickly time flies when you're preoccupied with meaningful stuff, like work. Yes.

Instead of giving tasting notes for everything I tried, I figured I should just put down a few of the highlights, partially because it's been too long and the quick notes I took during the event don't make much sense anymore. And partially because, well, it's really a lot of whiskies tried, but many that I probably don't find too memorable. In any case, here's the list of everything:

Bolded are the ones that left a good impression, italicised are the ones that left a bad impression. The rest were...well, normal.

1) Carsebridge 50 years, from the Sovereign series by Hunter Laing
2) Glendronach 12 Sauternes finish, 18 Allardice, Cask Strength batch 5
3) Amrut Fusion, Intermediate Sherry
4) Dalmore 15, 18, King Alexandre III
5) Gordon and Macphail Connoisseur's Choice Caol Ila (2004/2016)
6) Lost Distillery Co Lossit, Gerston, Auchnagie, Stratheden, Towiemore
7)Signatory Cambus 24 years, Tamdhu The Ten series 8 years
8) Benromach 15
9) Paul John Bold
10) Port Charlotte Scottish Barley
11) Glenrothes Vintage, 2001, 1998
12) Kavalan Solist Fino Sherry
13) Highwest Campfire blend
14) Auchentoshan 18 year, Old Particular by Douglas Laing
15) Talisker Port Ruighe
16) Oban Little Bay
17) Kilshoman Bourbon Single Cask for LMDW
18) Arbelour 12, 16
19) Glen Scotia Double Cask, Victoriana

32 Whiskies. my goodness.

So, some quick notes on the highlights.

Carsebridge 50 years, Sovereign, Hunter Laing

My goodness. This was bloody amazing. I think Hunter Laing's reps did not initially intend to open this bottle for tasting at the event. It was only opened at 8, and I just happened to walk past the Hunter Laing booth after the rep poured a wee bit for someone. The rep was trying to quickly put the bottle back on the display shelf behind him. Sensing the opportunity slip away, I asked for a taster, and the sales rep who poured the 50 year old glanced sheepishly at the ang moh beside him, and quietly poured a little bit of the Carsebridge 50 for me.

Smells really smooth. Vanilla, butterscotch, toffee, sweet. Rich. Really rich. Slightly sherried, I believe. On the palate, this is sweet vanilla, honey, very ripe apples, some citrus notes, and very very very smooth. This is seducing whisky. The wood hardly figures woodily, but you know that it's done an excellent, thorough job on the whisky. Some cinnammon spice, slightly coconuty. Finish was long, and the wood comes through, together with light spice, very slow, warming heat, and more toffee and butterscotch.

I used to not think very highly of grain whisky. But this just blew my brains out.

Glendronach Cask Strength batch 5

Fairly hot on alcohol, but really big on raisins. Dry raisins, rather than the rich juicy ones in the Allardice or Parliament. A little sweeter, on honey, and not as straightforwardly sherried, I think. Palate is nuttier and with more spice. The alcohol heat stays, and this translates to some pepper and continued heat on the finish. Having said that, some sherry juiciness stays on the palate for a long time. That was kinda cool.

I like this. The guy at the booth, who's a LMDW customer rather than a sales rep, was also really generous and allowed us to pour whiskies ourselves. Yum. He also said that the new owners of Glendronach might discontinue the Allardice, and the entire current core range, in fact. Boom. Time to hoard.

Amrut Intermediate Sherry

Rich sherry, with a hint of smoke. There's also some nice bourbon touches, like...coconut and toffee. This whisky is rich, thick, and sweet, weighs heavily on the palate, and is actually a little sticky. The spiciness lifts the whisky though, with cinnamon, nutmeg, and...chai (cultural appropriation blah blah blah)?!?!? But, on the whole, as my first foray into Indian whisky, this is pretty impressive.

Benromach 15

On the nose, this is sweet and frankly alluring. Rich sherry, backed by a thick maltiness. Some suggestion of other citrus fruits too. On the palate, the whisky stays richly sherried, but there's a touch of sulphur, smoke, toffee...mm. Good stuff, really. This is smooth with little hint of alcohol, though the spices do leave a light warmness. Very pleasant and good. Not out of this world, but a significant step up from the 10. Lingering smoke on the finish, sulphury and smoky, with continuing maltiness. Spice lingers on the finish, on light pepper and cinnamon, and something that reminds me of parsley.

The G&M rep was keen to impress upon us that this is old style Speyside, with a light smokiness that stays in the whiskies, as the Speysiders only stopped using peat to dry the malt more recently. Good stuff, this, too. And fairly priced. Yum yum.

Things that I didn't Like

Glen Scotia

Cambeltown's other distillery. Tried both the double cask, and the Victoriana. Both tasted a little soapy. Not quite my thing. And, the alcohol burn was too much man. Some citrus and pleasant touches of peat, but the soapiness was too much.

Lost Distillery Auchnagie, Stretheden

These were light and unmemorable. Nothing offensive, but...something off about the floral notes.

Dalmore KA3

This wasn't bad. Just really not quite worth the money. Six different casks, according to the pretty lady in high heels who stood for so long, she had stiff shoulders and an awkward gait. Poor soul. Any case, the Dalmore 15 was pleasant, the 18 was good with its 3 casks, but I felt that the six casks in the KA3 was just too much and messed up the original spirit. Too woody, and missing the usual Dalmore notes. Or maybe it was just too subtle.

Flights before a flight

I'm currently writing this from Chiang Mai, staying alone in a room meant for 3. Lets hope I understood the room rates correctly. The communication was a bit sketchy.

Before flying off today afternoon, the usual suspects met up for drinks at La Maison, though a large part of the reason behind the venue was so that DW could finally go to La Maison, and stop asking me where's a good place to buy value-for-money whisky. LMDW is, probably, the best place in Singapore for that. Some other shops may have some whiskies cheaper, but LMDW, on the whole, brings the widest range of affordable whiskies, and has a deep enough selection to surprise even those who're looking for something expensive and rare. So, with the aim of introducing him to the place, we went there for drinks, not intending to buy any bottles, but just to browse the selection, and maybe get one dram or so.

Needless to say, we perhaps got more than we intended to.

Things tasted yesterday night: a Kilchoman flight (that included a Machir Bay, Sanaig, and the Loch Gorm 5th edition), a Highland flight (Glendronach 8, Balblair 2005, Old Pulteney 17), a Green Spot highball, and a beer for XW. And so, 2 flights before my flight from Singapore to Chiang Mai, as it were.

Starting with the beer review...it was ok. Not bad, not memorable. Next please!

No pictures because lighting was bad. Not my fault that bars generally have bad lighting.

Green Spot Highball

JE wanted a highball, and was asking for suggestions on what whisky to put in it. The most expensive option on the menu was the Nikka Coffey Malt, but I dissuaded him against it. The Coffey malt was pleasant enough on its own, but I wasn't sure if it'll be fragrant, sweet or distinctive enough to rise above the soda, or pack enough flavour to not taste bitter after all that fizzy dilution. That's the problem with diluting whisky so much, I think. Not all whiskies can take that much water and not break apart. Anyway, long story short, we settled on Green Spot, so that the Irish pot still vanilla and honey characteristics can stand out with the aid of the soda (or in spite of the soda, depending on how you see it). JE liked it, I thought it was a pretty successful (and budget) highball, and all was good.

Kilchomans

I've reviewed the Kilchoman Machir Bay and Sanaig before, so I won't add too much here, except to say that I closed my eyes, and asked JE to pass me the Kilchomans in random order for a nosing test. I'm proud to say that I guessed all three correctly. It helped that the Machir Bay was the cleanest and most straightforward of the three, and the Loch Gorm was perhaps the 'dirtiest', with dusty sherry notes on top of the peat. The Sanaig is sweeter, and like I mentioned previously, not the best sherried Islay I've had. But, it is NAS, cheap (only $130 at LMDW) and a regular bottling to boot (unlike the Lagavulin DE, which changes every year, and is a bit more expensive). What it does, it does well.

And DW promptly bought a bottle of the Sanaig, and asked XW if she'll allow him to try to buy a stake/invest heavily in Kilchoman. How do these things work? Hope I can chip in if the investment does happen.

Of the three, DW's order of preference was: Sanaig, Machir Bay, Loch Gorm, though he did caveat that all three were very good, just that the Sanaig stood out. I personally would perhaps place Loch Gorm first and Sanaig second, but that could be something that changes with mood. The Loch Gorm is more complex, but the Sanaig is more precisely crafted. Nothing else to add beyond this for the Kilchomans. Will update if I end up as a share holder. Hur hur.

Highland flight - 

Glendronach 8 'The Hielan' (46% abv)

This one comes at 46%, which, in my mind, is a little high for a young whisky. Will we get something that burns and burns? How much influence will the sherry have on a young Glendronach, which has become so well-loved for the deep sherry influences in its older whiskies? Time to find out!

Nose - Whiffs of sherry, rather than the full raisin treatment you get from the 18 'Allardice', or the 21 'Parliament'. After the whiffs of sherry, it becomes more...oak and...spirit driven? There's quite a bit of oak behind the sherry, followed by honey, vanilla, and malt. A touch of something meaty, almost sulphurous too.

Palate - The whiffs of sherry become mere suggestions here. The sherry fades quickly, and something that tastes either like spirit or bourbon-cask whisky comes out. Vanilla and oak, followed by apples, and something like...toffee, but not savoury like toffee can be. So that's caramel, right? And maybe a bit of coffee bitters. Maybe burnt caramel. Mm, I like burnt caramel ice cream. Malty too, so that's like an oatmeal stout?? The 46% has perhaps given this malt more flavour, but I think my fears about it burning are partially warranted. This is rougher - more alcohol burn, though, mercifully, the flavours are just about enough to justify working through the burn.

Finish - Tannins, and leathery. I'm not sure I was expecting the leathery feel to come out so prominently after the weak sherry influence on the palate, though perhaps the sulfurous notes I was getting on the notes should have prepared me mentally for this. There's a bit of spice and oak. So, we're back in familiar territory after all.

Overall - Good for an 8 year old, different from its older siblings, and cheap. That's always good.

Balblair 2005 (abv 46%)

I'm dealing with this flight in ascending order by age, not preference. Which should be a good enough clue that I'm not really digging this Balblair. This was distilled in 2005 and bottled in about 2015. So an age of between 9 to 11 years, depending on which part of 2005, and which end of 2015.

Nose - Something fishy. I like maritime malts with the salt and sea spray, but this smells almost fishy. Tuna, I would say, if I had to pick one specific fish. A fish that smells a bit stronger, so not cod. But it is salty. And orangey. Which was an odd mix. It smells oily. Interesting. Vanilla influence comes out gradually.

Palate - Tastes oily and fat. Which isn't bad. I mean, look at roast pork. This tastes a little salty and fishy, so it carries on with the maritime influence, which is a bit odd, given that this is the Highlands rather than an Island whisky. Didn't expect the maritime feel to be so strong. Well, what do I know. Oranges stay on the palate, but is joined by a bit of...vanilla. Vanilla and salt - is that a sea salt toffee?

Finish - Spicy on the finish, with maybe one whiff of smoke. Orange peels.

Overall - No, I can't get over the fishy feel. Least favourite of the night.

And last but not least...

Old Pulteney 17 (abv 46%) (AGAIN!!)

The oldest in the highland flight. Old Pulteney calls itself the 'maritime' malt, due to its closeness to the northern coast of the Scottish mainland. Let's give it a shot.

Nose - Salty, tea tannins, and malty. A bit of liquorice and oak too. Hmm. And a ripe fruit that reminds me of mango or jackfruit. This is really nice, I think. Good balance and obviously more mature than the other two in the same flight. Age does help, it seems.

Palate - Slightly oily, but not as much as the Balblair. Tannins - more oak than tea now. Salty, and orange peel. Somewhat reminiscent of the Balblair, but without the disconcerting notes of fish. This turns spicy too - nutmeg and maybe a bit of ginger. Coconut flesh (instead of coconut juice) seems to be in the background.

Finish - This is fairly spicy - and something that feels like eucalyptus. Long on wood and a slight citrusy feel.

Overall - This is quite different from the Glendronach, and this feels, to me, more like an Island than a Highland, while the Glendronach feels closer to being a Speyside. Maybe that's the plan from the folks at LMDW - that would be quite cool, actually, to show the range of how highland malts can swing. I prefer the Old Pulteney to the Glendronach, mostly because, if I want a good sherried, malty, sulfury whisky, I'll go with Craigellachie or maybe Benromach, instead of the Glendronach 8. Meanwhile, its older siblings and Glenfarclas (among many other things) does the sherry part better. The Old Pulteney gets the balance better, I think, probably due to good casks and a longer maturation. Not the best comparison, granted, but that's LMDW's fault for putting them together in a flight.

****************************************************************

And that's all, for now. Got to try a couple of whiskies at Changi Airport's new whisky and spirits shop, which is a DFS creation to ride the whisky boom. House of Hazelwood 18, 21, Craigellachie 19, and the William Grant and Sons' Araid 21 year blend. It was just a small tasting, and I ended up not placing a reservation for any of the 4, but maybe I can write some quick notes for them in the next couple of days, while I seriously consider if I want to complete the purchase for the bottle that I did place a reservation for - the Lagavulin 12... For now, I think it's a toss-up between the Lagavulin 12, the Craigellachie 19, or maybe some Auchentoshan to fill the 'Lowland' hole in my collection. I've got 2 more days to decide...

Birthday Drinks (Part 2) - Glendronach 21, Glenfarclas 40 Family Cask for Silver Seal, Highland Park 18

Three whiskies tasted at the Auld Alliance. Seriously, go check out their whisky selection. It's crazy the amount of stuff they have in there. Some really interesting independent bottlings and limited edition ones as well. This session was a couple of days ago. Let's hope my notes are sufficient to jog my memory.

The three new ones are the Highland Park 18, Glendronach 21, and the Glenfarclas Family Cask, which was about 40 years old, but I'm not sure which vintage it came from. Too excited about the drink to check the years. But it might have been the 1971/2011 vintage, bottled for The Whisky Shop Dufftown, since I remember the abv of the one we had that night to be about 51%. (Edit: It's the Family Cask for Silver Seal Glenfarclas 40 1971, bottled at 52% abv)

Note that I don't mention the colour for many of my posts. This is because, often, I drink my whiskies in places where lighting isn't the best. Since I'm not going to be able to even see the colour accurately, much less describe it, I usually skip it altogether.

Highland Park 18 - (43% abv)

Nose - Fresh ad grassy. A lot of oranges in this one. This is the first Highland Park I've ever tasted, but the big oranges seems to be in agreement with a few other whisky blogs out there. There's a hint of smoke in this one, and some rubber and tar.

Palate - Oranges, definitely. A bit of raisins and rubber. Does Highland Park use sherry casks? There's a touch of peat. The grass from the nose returns. The middle of the palate is drying on tea tannins. There's strong suggestions of honey too. On the whole, it's a little prickly, but fairly smooth.

Finish - A little bitter. Feels like burnt sugar and tea rolled into one. A bit of caramel, it seems. The finish is generally short, but the tannins last.

Overall, pretty good! Won't be the last Highland Park I try.

Glendronach 21 Parliament (48% abv)

Nose - Rich raisins, like the 18. Prunes. Seems like a more mature, riper version of the 18. Some fresh cut grass, which came as a pleasant surprise. Oak, and light vanilla.

Palate - Rather oily texture, and a bit of alcohol sting, but that goes away quickly. Raisins and grape seed tannins. Or maybe that's grape skin. Oak, vanilla.  A touch of something darker, like chocolate, but not quite. Honey too. A sweet whisky, this one.

Finish - Lingering grape tannins, like that you find in a good wine. A touch of spice, and some vanilla. Not so long, lest it becomes cloying.

Not very expensive, considering its age. I saw a bottle at Auld Alliance for just over $200.

 Glenfarclas Family Cask

Nose - Sherry. Grass. Vanilla that borders on icing sugar. Held together in a fine balance by a rich oak of the highest quality. The oak adds character and balance without dominating the nose. Very nicely done. A sherried whisky of the top quality, from the nose alone.

Palate - Amazing. Gives the Balvenie 30 a run for its money (and probably winning the race too, in my opinion). Light peat and grass o entry. The sherry then shows its power, building in rich sherry flavours. Just before it becomes sweet, the whisky turns to a slightly bitter touch. Feels like the dried orange peel that my mum used to tell me was a healthy snack. Vanilla too. A very rich and well-layered sherried whisky. Much deeper in complexity when compared to the Glendronach 21. The extra years weren't wasted. Must have been an amazing cask to give so much flavour.

Finish - Light spice, vanilla. Light peat. And then a small burst of eucalyptus and menthol at the back of the throat. Delightful.

At $100 a glass, this one is worth a try on a special occasion.

Quick impressions on the Miyagikyo 15, Glendronach 18 Allardici, Springbank 10, Laphroaig Triple Wood, Laphroaig 15 (tasted at Auld Alliance)

Went to Auld Alliance with a couple of friends, and these were what we tried on the night. With so many different flavours, I'm sure my tongue was desensitized to some of the flavours, and might have gotten some of them wrong. If you want to try stuff, head to Auld Alliance. It's one of the best whisky bars in Singapore, with a huge collection - the menu is 74 pages. Great collection of Japanese whiskies too, though many of the rare malts command a pretty penny. The managers of the bar love whisky, and are really knowledgeable about the market and the drinks. They're glad to chat if the bar's not too busy.

Miyagikyo 15 - It's been announced that production for aged Miyagikyos will be put on hold, and stock is dwindling around the world. This has driven prices up, up and away, out of reach of most normal consumers. Thus, when I found out that the Auld Alliance was selling it at $30 per glass, I took it as an opportunity to try something I'll probably never buy.

Nose: Some fruit comes up first. Deeper inhalations, and it feels like unripe bananas. Some flowers in there. Lavender? Not certain. A little nutty, sweet malt, some grass, and oak. Nothing that really stands out per se, fairly well balanced on the whole.

Palate: Well-balanced, but again, nothing really stands out. Same things on the palate as on the nose, with the addition of some wood spice. Pleasant.

Finish: Medium-short. Spice, a little bit of the fruit lingers.

Pleasant, but there's no way I'm paying current market price for a bottle of this.

Glendronach 18 - A sherry bomb. Not ranked as highly as the 15 Revival, but reviews still seem pretty good.

Nose: Rich raisins.

Palate: Initial burst of raisins, then it becomes somewhat leathery, rubbery, nutty, and a little bit of spice to keep the flavours interesting. The body isn't as heavy. Pretty smooth. A good whisky, though the sherry fruits are a little shy.

Finish: Some spice, wood, a little rubbery.

Not too bad, but I won't be ditching the Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask for this.

Springbank 10 - I loved it.

Nose - Something a little industrial. A little antiseptic, a little salty, machine oil, suggestions of peat, grass, and sweet.

Palate: Grassy and refreshing. The peat is light, and comes in waves, serving to refresh the palate to find new flavours after each wave of peat. Sweet. Did this spend time in a bourbon cask? A little salty, which weirdly works well with the industrial-like thing.

Finish: Not long, but the peat, sweetness and refreshing grass goes down well. Refreshing. This is getting me excited for my unopened Springbank 12 Cask Strength, batch 11.

Laphroaig 15 - 

Nose - Ashy, medicinal. A little...oaky? Almond. Smells sweet, though that is obscured somewhat by the ashy peat.

Palate - The peat takes over, ashy and medicinal. Not too strong a body. My friend felt that the Lagavulin 16 is much richer, and it only spent one more year in the wood than this.

Finish: Short. Ashy, a little smoke (like charcoal), a little spice, and no more.

Laphroaig Triple Wood - My friend's favourite out of his Laphroaig vertical, which included the 10 and Quarter cask as well.

Nose - More stuff going on here. Suggestions of fruit. A bourbon-like sweetness. The peat is less ashy and more medicinal, compared to the 15. Oak is present. Not that many new flavours, but this one is layered better, I feel.

Palate - I probably am wrong, but I think my first impression was that of jack fruit. Sweetness and peat finds a nice balance in this one. Medicinal, and a little spicy. A bit of nut and rubber. After tasting this, I guessed that the three woods are Bourbon, sherry, and probably a new cask, which made it sweeter. Checking online revealed that this whisky spent time in Bourbon, the Quarter Cask, and Oloroso. Not bad. It tastes like how it's made.

Finish - Nice balance of peat and spice. Smoke on the finish, which is nice. I tend to like light, smoky finishes that heavier, peaty ones. A bit like tea too. My friend says it's kinda like the drying effect of a good Oolong tea. I don't disagree.