Whisky Review: SMWS 3.243

Dark, smouldering flamenco gypsy

Feis Ile is undoubtedly one of the key events in any whisky lover's calendar, with thousands converging from around the world on the beautiful island of Islay to celebrate all things whisky. For the first time this year, the folks at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, already renowned for their unique bottlings of a huge variety of Islay drams, are plunging into the festival atmosphere with their very own Feis Ile release. Bottling 3.243, 'Dark, smouldering flamenco gypsy' is a 17 year old peated Bowmore, aged in refill ex-sherry butts and bottled at 57.1%.

On the nose, the sherry cask is hugely prominent. Sweetness abounds, with festive dried fruits - raisins and figs - and just a hint of fresh raspberries. There's some gentle smokiness which doesn't overpower, just enough to give a real meatiness to the aroma. Reminiscent of a summer's BBQ, at that point of the day where the sun is just falling below the horizon, and the embers are all dying down.

The palate has a blast of spice, and a more intense meaty nature, but always balanced by that sumptuous sweetness - like dipping a chillied chorizo in a sherbet fountain. The combination of 'meat and sweet' is wonderful... tempted chuck a few chunks of smoked sausage in our Christmas cake this year with the aim of recreating it. As we continue to sip, a dark chocolate note starts to come through, with pink peppercorns that tingle on the lips.

The finish leaves behinds lashings of sea salt, with that unmistakeably Islay coastal brininess and a peaty nature which lingers on long after the last sip has been swallowed. Glorious.

The SMWS Tasting Panel recommended drinking this whisky 'between dances at a Spanish barbeque party' - whilst we didn't quite have the music available for our own flamenco masterclass, we couldn't resist spending Bank Holiday Monday cracking out the BBQ. Our salsa verde lamb shoulder was a great accompaniment to this hearty dram - especially the somewhat more chargrilled pieces!

'Dark, smouldering flamenco gypsy' will be available for members and non-members alike to get their hands on at the SMWS Feis Ile Open Day, 22nd May 2015, at Islay House. Well worth a visit if you're lucky enough to be attending the festival.

Slainte,

J&L


Thanks to SMWS for the sample!

Whisky Review #5: Bowmore Darkest

Having visited Islay twice, most recently staying in Bowmore itself with a view of the distillery chimneys through our bedroom window, their whiskies are always going to have a special something about them for us. Darkest is absolutely no exception - bought just over a year ago as a Christmas present "for the house" having been one of our favourite drams from the 2013 Drinks by the Dram whisky advent calendar, purchased from Master of Malt - you can read our initial ponderings on this lovely drop here.

Aged for 15 years (with the final three of those being in Oloroso sherry casks) before being bottled at 43%, Bowmore Darkest is definitely a multi-layered dram. Because of this, it's also been one of our favourites to pair with food - it goes with cheese, dark chocolate, Christmas cake, and a splash even found it's way into some homemade smoked salmon pate.

Without further ado, here are our thoughts...

Colour: A richly sherried deep bronze.

Nose: Robust, with dried fruits bursting forth - dark cherries and plump raisins. A savouriness lurks in the background, but in the year we've had the bottle open the peaty nature of the aroma has faded a tad.

Palate: Loads going on here! The Oloroso cask provides a fruity yet woody sweetness, whilst balanced peatiness allows waves of sea salt and smoked fish to crash over the palate.

Finish: The combination of smoky and sweet continue to fight for attention in a long, lip-smacking finish.

Cheers,

J&L

Caturday Saturday #8

My tasty whiskies 

Love,

Tosin

Favourite Pubs: The Lochside Hotel

We're spoilt at home having The Sheaf View as a local - a mere seven minute stumble away from the door. Being on Islay is like being in a miniature, more concentrated version of the world, however, and The Lochside Hotel was about 45 seconds stroll away from our little holiday cottage! It became a much-frequented haunt during our stay in Bowmore, with an enormous whisky selection, great food, and an incredible view across Loch Indaal to boot.

Loch Indaal at sunset: view from our table at the Lochside Hotel

The Lochside Hotel, run by a passionate bunch of Ileachs and fronted by the charismatic David Brodie, has a frankly bewildering array of whisky behind the bar. Comprising drams almost solely from the island, the selection includes at least 6 varieties of Port Ellen and a bottle of Bowmore Black aged to 42 years, down to more reasonably priced whiskies, including the core range of all the Islay distileries as well as some of the great blended whiskies that have featured the peaty joys produced here.

Enjoying an Islay Mist 17 and a Bunnahabhain 12

The bar is also stocked with a range of beer from Islay Ales, the only brewery on the island, with 2 cask ales and a larger selection in bottles. This variation is great to see, as sometimes you're just not quite ready for a whisky, especially with food.

Talking of the food, the menu is ever-changing and filled with local and seasonal dishes. The starter we chose was one of the best things we ate on the island - goats cheese topped black pudding. The portions were generous throughout, so it was a good job we shared! Laura went for the steak and ale (Islay Ales Black Rock) pie for main course, with Jim selecting the lamb shank. Absolutely massive, the meat was rich, melt-in-the-mouth, and well complemented by the blackcurrant-doused red cabbage side. A dessert of Islay malt whisky cranachan completed the meal. Neither of us had tried this traditional Scottish pud before, and we were pleasantly surprised by the light creaminess of the dish, and peaty hit from the whisky-soaked oatmeal.

We enjoyed many a cosy evening in this wonderful pub, filled with locals sharing stories about their home town with the whisky pilgrims of Bowmore! Just a shame that it's ordinarily 396 miles away...

Slainte,

J&L

Islay 2014: Bowmore Open Day

Having stayed in the middle of nowhere during our first trip to Islay, we decided that this time we wanted something a bit more central, and chose a lovely little cottage in Bowmore. On our first morning, we took a stroll down to the distillery - it would have been rude not to, seeing as we could see the chimneys from our bedroom window - and discovered that we'd arrived on a good day.

The view from our bedroom

Shrouded in the smell of delicious whisky wash the distillery was hosting an open day, with complimentary tours and a few added extras, in exchange for donations to local care home Gortanvogie and Islay Hospital. Whilst we waited for our tour, we relaxed on the balcony with a Bowmore Surf and ginger beer. A lime slice in your dram is probably frowned upon in many a distillery, but this little cocktail worked perfectly in the sunshine alongside a mini lemon drizzle cake.

The tour was hosted by Heather, a genuine Ileach and certainly a woman with Bowmore running through her veins. Bowmore is the oldest distillery on the island, and the tour demonstrated how they maintain a stout commitment to tradition, still carrying out every part of the whisky-making on site. We were led through the Old Maltings (where Jim had a little go with the grubber) to the kiln, before going on to the mash house, past the six enormous wash backs named after previous distillery owners, to the still room and the incredible No. 1 vaults.

Amongst their 28,500 casks on site, the warehouse holds a cask of 49 year old bourbon aged whisky, that the angels have had far more than their fair share of. With strong suspicions that this may be due to be bottled on its 50th year, look out for it as it will no doubt be something a little bit special.

Inside the No. 1 vaults

A Bowmore Darkest hot chocolate and a few wee drams back in the lounge rounded off the afternoon. There's something about a tour that makes you feel that bit more attached to the distillery - as Heather put it, "you have a passion for the whole island, but for only one distillery" and Bowmore certainly had won us over.

Slainte,

J&L

Old and Rare Whisky at the Broadfield

With the heady wafts of five fine whiskies in front of us, we arrived again for another tasting in the upstairs room of the Broadfield. The evening was a warm one, due to both the weather and the extreme popularity of the soon to be international tasting events run by Ed Daly (@whiskycurator). As well as the excellent whisky on offer, there was also a selection of exquisite food planned by chef Rob, to complement and contrast with our drams.

We opened with a spectacular whisky from Bowmore: the 16 year (1989 release). This bottling is a limited release that due to its excellence has sold out from most places, but can still be purchased for almost double its original price from auction sites. The whisky hums lightly of the sea, coupled with a smoked lime sherbet. Even more of the salty, iodine flavours came out on the taste, which paired perfectly with the sweetness from the bourbon cask. The whisky is bottled at 51.8% but doesn't have the heat expected from cask strength. It is a whisky that does everything you would expect from a Bowmore, but on a level not often seen.

Seared king scallops with candied leek, served on a bed of truffle polenta were served alongside: the food managed to find a careful balance of sweetness in the leek and sea-saltiness in the scallop to enhance the flavours of the whisky.

Yamazaki Mizanara is a truly rare whisky, and one that has not yet been released in the UK, but had been acquired for the evening by our host. This whisky is aged in a Mizanara cask, a kind of Japanese oak not often used as it is a slow growing tree and very temperamental in casks (it expands and contracts erratically and leakage is often inevitable), which makes it the most expensive bottle of the evening (around £250 a bottle). It has the smell of lingering minty incense and apricots, that continues to grow on the palate to a flavour unlike anything else we've ever tried, with flavours of malted fruits and a sweet woodiness of tobacco. The finish is of a light fruitiness and subtle smoke.

The food accompaniment in this case was potted rabbit, hazelnut tuille and woodland pesto made from nettles, garlic, sorrel and lovage. A great earthiness from the pesto intensifies with the flavours of the Japanese oak. The rabbit itself is bold and rich and the hazelnut tuille provided the perfect level of sweetness.

The next dram was a Fettercairn 24 year. The smell was of a Victorian retiring room during tea service: wafts of old leather, fruit scones and a small sherry. A little further into the smell came the tickly heat of black pepper and walnut. On the taste was the same retiring room, this time late evening with a large glass of sherry and a toffee pudding, plus a lovely spice creeping in on the finish.


Pan fried pigeon breast with a summer berry kebab and a strawberry balsamic jus was the pairing here. Pigeon is one of my favourite pieces of poultry and this was a fine example of how good game can be.

The oldest whisky of the evening came second to last in the form of Glenfarclas 30, which has an incredibly rounded nose of sweet toffee with treacle that gives way to citrus punch. The sherry finish is exquisitely sticky and rounded across the mouth but steps up a notch with delightful spiced dried fruit. Whilst this whisky was awesome, its age means for me that there is a little loss of a certain characteristic - the flavours all marry together so well that we both found it almost bland.

This was served with an ideal accompaniment: venison tortellini with sautéed wild mushrooms. The richness of this dish worked really well with the hearty nature of the whisky.

The final dram of the night was undoubtedly the most special. We were initially taken by surprise by the colour - blush pink! This turned out to be Bruichladdich 10 year "Duplex" - a private cask bottling, with 244 bottles produced. Finished in very rare Petrus wine casks and personally bottled by Jim McEwan, this is certainly a whisky with a story to tell. A robust wine-y nose gives way to a rounded flavour of red fruits and delicate sweetness. At 62.3%, this is a whisky which fills the head rather than the stomach with warmth. It is a marvellous dram that tickles all the palate with a rounded depth from the fine red wine finish.

This was served with a goat's cheese semifreddo, apricot puree and summer berry candy: a delightful pud and a wonderfully sweet way to draw the evening to a close.

This was a splendid end to the tasting series, with some of the finest whiskies we've sampled throughout the tastings and easily some of the best food pairings.

The next round of tastings are already planned, and we're sure to be booking on to a few!

Jim

Advent Calendar Update - windows 2-9

I think it's fair to say we are having an excellent advent, thanks to our fantastic Gin and Whisky Advent Calendars from Master of Malt. (You can find out more here if you missed our earlier introductory post.)

Day 2
Laura - On the 2nd day of Ginvent, my calendar gave to meeee... Dorothy Parker American gin. A crisp, clean, fresh tasting spirit with refreshing hints of grapefruit.
Jim - Talisker Port Ruighe is peated, like a smoky orange on the nose with a definite flavour of the port casks its been aged in and great hints of demerara sugar, ending in a strange note of grapes.

3
L - Today's offering was Monkey 47 - a gin from the Black Forest, comprising 47 botanicals, and bottled at 47% ABV. Quite distinct from yesterday's, it was warming, with hints of sherbet and berries.
J - Nikka From the Barrel 51% - a creamy, very lightly peated whisky from Japan, with a custardy vanilla flavour. It works well as a festive beverage with a lovely hint of Christmas spice. Its strength doesn't purvey the sometimes felt heat, and feels smooth across the palate.

4
L - Tarquin's gin, from Cornwall, was behind my little window today. It was very nice, but not the most exciting gin I've ever tasted. Traditional flavour and without a doubt a bloody good gin, but it was the first one so far that I've added tonic to.
J - Glencadam 21 year. Spiced apple/raisin flavour, containing all the smells that come with mulling cider, it tingles across the tongue bringing with it an oaky vanilla taste.

5
L - Two Birds London Gin today. Citrussy and soft, it had a rounded flavour with a delightful tang on
the finish. Having looked up the bottle, I've discovered it is a bargain at under £30 and the bottle has a cute design too. Very tempted.
J - Glen Garioch 12 year - The sherry aged cherry sweetness was coupled with a light oaky taste to finish. There is much more to the flavour that than one dram can give, I might need a bottle.

6
L - Professor Cornelius Ampleforth's Bathtub Gin. Today's Ginvent offering definitely wins the prize for most fun name, and it's a fantastic gin to boot. Felt a bit like a Victorian drinking it. A rich and unusual spirit.
J - Chivas Regal 18 year - an award winning blend that sings of spiced toffee and fruit, and a palate of dark chocolate and oak, that skips across the tongue and down the throat.

7
L - Geranium gin - this was my favourite of the week, a very different gin. Heavy juniper scent but a floral flavour, reminiscent of Turkish Delight. Jim was not a fan due to it's perfumed nature, however this perhaps makes it a better investment for me as no need to share!
J - Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7 year Bourbon - almost a caramel flavour, hints of brown sugar, and a lovely change being the first bourbon in the calendar, that is lovely and smooth.

8
L - Cold River gin today - another American one. I have to say I've been mightily impressed so far by my first three tastings of US gins. This one seemed a little harsh at first but got more delicious the more I sipped. Delightful caramel aroma too.
J - Blue Hanger 9th release - has a fruity sweet nose of the sherry cask, with hints of orange and caramel and a very light smokey flavour, and a warm finish down the throat.

9

L - Cream gin, made with ACTUAL CREAM. No surprises in the flavour of this one - it starts off in the mouth as the classic juniper and citrus combination, but this is quickly overpowered by a beautiful, rich creaminess that lingers on the palate. Yummy.
J - Bowmore 15 year old, Darkest - a warm sweetened light peat smell, that grows on the palate and ends curiously with the heat of Arbroath Smokies. With flavours of treacly fruit, it is definitely a highlight so far.

We'll be back next week to share the next batch of drams with you!

Slainte,

L and J