Pre-Christmas Party and New Beginnings - Peater vs Peater

Christmas comes early as all of us would be in various states of overseas-ness over the Christmas period. So, early drinks, and finally opening the Talisker 25 from 2007. I've been waiting ages for this grand opening. So exciting. It's older than I actually am! Amazing that The Whisky Distillery was selling this for the price of 2/3 a Yamazaki 18. They probably bought it at a much lower price several years ago, but frankly, $600 for a 25 year old whisky from 10 years ago, still great.

There were other drinks on the table too, and I'm actually going to review the Kilchoman 2008 vintage first, and save the best for last. I've also not reviewed the Highland Park Harald, but that's easily done some time later. It's a much less exciting dram anyway.

In any case, a young, new Kilchoman and an old Talisker. The Kilchoman was probably still malting when the Talisker was bottled. So that's some nice continuity there. Nothing screams Christmas like peat and chimney smoke, with songs of white Christmases and snow. Never mind Jesus, we'll let the Church celebrate that. Those who're not Christians, let's just spend and drink yourselves silly. Or something more classy than that please. And, of course, never mind the fact that we don't have chimneys nor snow in Singapore.

Let's start with the young upstart.

Kilchoman 2008 Vintage (45% abv)

Colour - Gold

Nose - Peat. Fairly intense peat, but always kept in balance by a great depth of fruits. Citrus, peaches, vanilla, a healthy dose of American oak. Apples and honey. Wood smoke.

Palate - Peaty, but more smoke than peat. Fantastic. Soft peach and apple, and some coconut shavings. Vanilla and oak. Mmm. Figs, and even slightly spicy - clove and nutmeg, with a suggestion of parsley.

Finish - Not very long, though the peat does linger a bit. Smoke too. Spicy at the finish on light pepper, and maybe one teaspoon of malty sweetness and one shred of coconut.

Overall - Some people call this the best Kilchoman to date. I've not had the limited edition releases, so am unable to verify this, but this Kilchoman is pretty top-notch. Better than the Sanaig and the Machir Bay and Loch Gorm and 100% Islay...you get the picture. DW rated this higher than the Talisker 25 (heresy!!), and I can sort of see why. This has a good depth and intensity, great development (without the age caveat), balance, poise, character, etc. I think the Talisker 25 edges this slightly (personal preference for the clarity of the T25, but the Kilchoman is actually more flavourful up until the finish), but frankly, for a 7 year old to take the contest with a 25 year old classic down to the wire is astounding. This goes onto the favourites list. Very reasonably priced too, at about $170 or so at LMDW. Reasonable for its quality, that is.

So, what's the competition like? I'll put it up next week. Gonna head to the airport soon to travel to Taiwan. The day that I'm planning to visit Kavalan distillery in Yilan county, Master Distiller Ian Chang is actually here in Singapore on some promotional event with whisky/food pairings. Such terrible timing. Shall try everything at the distillery cafe to make up for it.

Friendships and Impulse Purchases (Part 3)

Time to round up this series of posts. Hedonism was bought at the airport, so not really an impulse buy by DW. The Yoichi, yes. It was probably overpriced (I think I paid $20 or $25) for 50ml, but I wanted to try it. And I did. Kikori...well. DW had this bright idea to try something different, and whiskey from rice somehow sounded like a good idea.

The Kilchoman reviewed here was a bit of an impulse buy too. After getting the Sanaig from LMdW, DW went online to buy a couple more Kilchomans, so impressed was he by the distillery.

Braeval was a bottle as part payment for photography services rendered by JE to me. Buying a bottle was not on impulse, but the specific bottle was - I just couldn't resist buying a bottle with an aeroplane (a Spitfire!!) on it, with proceeds going to charity. Too good to pass up on!

Kilchoman 10th Anniversary Release (58.2% abv)

Colour - Gold

Nose - Peaty and ashier than the other Kilchoman's from the regular bottlings. This smells closer to Ardbeg. The ash is pretty heavy and dark. Or at least, I found the ash heavier - several reviewers found the ash lighter than usual. Odd. Slightly salty, and the fruits take some time to emerge. But when they do, there's smoked apples, smoked pears, smoked oranges...

Palate - Light bitters...mm. From burnt sugar. There's some over-ripe fruit. I said mangoes, and JE said peach. Basically, an over-ripe mushy fruit. Peat is more subtle on the palate, but still presents itself in its ashy form. Fairly spicy too, which is ramped up even more by the high alcoholic strength. Nutmeg, and a touch of pepper, I believe. A wee bit of oak.

Finish - Ash and spice. There's some lingering over-ripe fruit - lush and sweet, almost like honey. But I think the sweetness retreats first, to leave the ash and spice as the dominant notes on the finish.

Overall - Good stuff. If you can find it. I think DW paid more for this than when it was first released. Kilchoman is consistently great. Amazing. How do you do that? This was released as part of the 10th Anniversary, and we are still waiting for a regular old bottling from Kilchoman.

Braeval 12, Douglas Laing's Clan Denny series, for the RAF Benevolent Fund (46.8% abv)

Look look! It's a plane!

Colour - White wine

Nose - Quite alcoholic on first nosing, but gives way to a leathery, sulphury note, and austere fruit - barely ripe apples and maybe a green banana.

Palate - Fairly sweet on entry. Maltiness, and I think the apple and banana was maybe a little riper than I gave it credit for. There's always an underlying note of sulphur (or camphor as advertised by Douglas Laing). Minerality - a touch of maybe tar and iron. Or did that come from the Spitfire?

Finish - Malty and rather drying, with lingering sulphur notes.

Overall - Straightforward, distillate driven malt. Doesn't quite take flight, but it serves very well as an "average" whisky that is not too tempered with by fancy wood. Just a good, old fashioned (probably refill) sherry cask, and whisky.

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.

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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...

Quick notes on two Kilchomans

Kilchoman is the newest distillery on Islay. Apparently, the 'c' is silent. So it's Kil-ho-man, rather than something that sounds like a familiar Japanese soy sauce. Started in 2006, it's yet to have a 10 year old whisky. A really young distillery. But that doesn't stop it from producing good stuff. Kavalan's young too, and they've been winning prizes everywhere. Kilchoman looks promising, from what I've tasted. The two, Machir Bay and the Sanaig were tasted side-by-side at LMDW, who're generous with their tastings. Special thanks to Khai, who graciously poured tasting glasses and made good recommendations. Here are quick notes on the two Kilchomans:

Kilchoman Machir Bay

This is the first standard OB from Kilchoman, and I can see why. It displays strong Islay characteristics, yet also tries to distinguish Kilchoman from the other more established Islay brands like Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, etc.

Nose: Immediately smoky. It's ashy, and doesn't come across as peat immediately. The ash smells like cigar ash, which is nice. Vanilla rises up, as well as a trace of coconut. I'm fairly certain this was matured in bourbon wood. Which makes for a safe first offering from a new distillery.

Palate: Fairly robust, with cigar ash, coconuts, a touch of pineapple...vanilla sweetness adds balance. Though the sweetness does grow - feels a little like marshmallows. But this doesn't get cloying. The strong smoke sees to that.

Finish: Fairly short, on ash/smoke, a trace of coconut, and oaky.

Overall: Pleasant, and retailing at $120 from LMDW, worth a pop.

Kilchoman Sanaig

This is the second time I've tried the Sanaig, but I think I didn't write down anything for the first tasting. The Sanaig is a newer offering.

Nose: The smoke is much more restrained than the Machir Bay, or perhaps, the competing scents tames the smoke a bit. This one was matured in sherry casks, and it tells on the nose. The sherry influence comes across as citrusy red fruits - berries, and maybe black currant. Smoke comes back - cigar ash again, but this feels a little more...vegetal. Perhaps that's the sherry cask's influence on the spirit? Or perhaps it's a touch of rubber, fruit, and cigar ash mixing together.

Palate: I like this. Clean and precise. Sherry sweetness and cigar smoke goes well together, but this isn't very complex. It's got more depth than Machir Bay, for sure. Berries appear to be the main fruit in this, and the piineapple in the Machir Bay isn't really present. Or maybe the citrus just blends well with the berries. The smoke and peat grows. Yes, now that it's a bit more vegetal and less like cigar ash, I think it's easier to identify the peat in this. Some spice on the way down, but nothing too big.

Finish: Smoky finish that doesn't last too long. A little drying, and a light touch of rubber and wood.

Overall: Again, fairly pleasant, but this is not in the same class as the Ardbeg Uigeadail, if you're looking at a sherried Islay. The Lagavulin DE is probably the best sherried Islay I've tasted, and this is far from that. But it knows what is supposed to be, and it does its job well.