The Gang at the Iron Horse

Some whisky-tasting nights leave you warm and fuzzy (effects of alcohol); others leave you warm and fuzzy (great host(ess), good friends). Wemyss Malts’ tastings do both.

We’ve come across these quirky whiskies at various whisky festivals, but had never had a tasting of our own until last year, when the worst winter weather in living memory (and Ian Black’s) decimated numbers and only a few hardy – or reckless – members braved the icy temperatures of the Iron Horse basement.

Fast forward to our May 2011 tasting and the warm and snugly upstairs of the Iron Horse was the perfect venue for a second outing. As whisky tastings go, it got off to a strange start – gin! Darnley’s View, to be precise, the London Gin Wemyss has brought out to its specifications. Containing six botanicals, it is four times distilled in the usual way, with a fifth in a pot still. Choc full of citrus, elderflower, coriander and some other stuff, it was actually very refreshing.

But the main business of the evening was whisky and our first dram was a curious concoction; a new blended product for the UK duty free market, which hostess Susan Colville wanted us to try. The Spice King is a blend of 12-year-old malts, at 40% and heavy on the Talisker and Highland Park.

Carrying on from the company’s habit of giving their whiskies names that resemble the taste of the ingredients, we next had Honey Pot, a 15-year-old Glen Moray, bottled at 46%. Orange Tree was next, a 22-year-old Glen Garioch, followed by Ginger Compote, a 1996 Benrinnes.

Treasurer Ian Black remarked that the drams seemed to be improving by the pour, and wondered if that was because they were improving by the pour, or if he was just getting mildly pissed! Answers on an email please.

But the fact is that the choice of drams by Susan did seem to lead to an appreciating in quality, and certainly the Dalmore 21, masquerading as Mocha Spice, was very pleasant. The Islay Smoke Stack delivered a 15-year-old Caol Ila with all that dram has to offer.

Facebook birthday boys Erik Burgess and your humble chairman were surprised by a couple of great bottles from Susan. Mine will featured Round the Barrel at the end of the month, along with another couple of birthday specials.

* A reference to one guess at the provenance of a dram which proved to be in an entirely different region. Thereafter every guess at the identity of the whisky being tasted inevitably led to a tentative: Is it Tomatin? Until Ms Colville broke ALL her mum’s rules and used a rather rude word to suggest there were very few, if any, Tomatins on taste this evening.

At home in our new venue

It looks like our search for a city centre venue for Glasgow’s Whisky Club’s tutored tasting may finally be over. The Springbank tasting was moved upstairs in the Iron Horse, and it proved to be near-perfect venue. Previously consigned to the basement bar, which was not really suitable due to ‘sight line issues’ (apparently), the upstairs room was just what we needed. A bit of space to spread out and a dance floor for those so inclined. Indeed, we had to tarry a while at the main bar while the ladies’ Zumba class was finishing up, treasurer Ian Black becoming a willing volunteer to check on the girls’ progress.

That our Springbank night was the first in the club’s history remains a mystery – it’s a distillery that is a bit like the club itself. It goes its own way, does things at its own pace and is quite proud of its slightly shambolic, slightly eccentric way of doing things. Oh, and it makes great drams. It also has Iain Scott, its UK sales chappie who pours an excellent drappie while spinning some extremely entertaining tales, few of which could be repeated outside the libel courts.

Iain Scott, pourer of drams, spinner of stories

We began the evening blind tasting three whiskies; the Kilkerran Work in Progress, the quite sublime Hazelburn 12 and the new Hazelburn Sauterne finish. I’m not normally a fan of finishes, but this was a cracking dram. The Kilkerran was the second release and will see continuing WiP until 2014 when a 10 year old will become the label’s standard. The Hazelburn 12 is Springbank’s unpeated whisky. Initially houses in bourbon casks, it spends the last three years in sherry. I first sampled it at Whisky Fringe last year and was blown away. A second tasting just reinforced my opinion that this is a great whisky.

Next was Springbank’s sister company, Cadenhead, which bottles other whiskies under its Duthie’s label. This was about as far away from Campbeltown as you could get – a 14-year-old Clynelish. Full of cream and honey.

Often a distillery’s core bottling gets overlooked at these tastings, but the Springbank 10 is well able to hold its own in any company. A quality whisky that underpins everything else the company does. The tarry biler Longrow 10, with its heavy peat and thick, oily presence, completed the ‘ordinary’ offerings, but we had a couple of surprises in store.

First was club member Peter Allen’s own cask, distilled in September 1999 and bottled at nine years old. It sits at a healthy 57.62% and was a big, beefy dram. We may get Peter to do a tasting for us next!

Peter talks us through his cask selection

Our final dram was donated by club member Niall Woods and provided much mystery. A Murray McDavid bottling from 1967, it boldly stated it was 31 years in oak casks, but the figures on the label suggested it was a youngster at a mere 21 years! However old, it was a cracker to end the evening.

Next up is a Wemyss tasting on May 11. Get your names in to Julie ASAP please. Susan’s nights are always a barrel of laughs.

Train trips with GWC have a certain similarity. There’s the One Who Almost Misses The Train, The One Who Brings The Cake and The Rest Who Bring The Booze. And so, as 9am was approaching, the first bottle came out, courtesy of Big Andy. We continued munching, sipping, enjoying the stunning scenery for the long haul to Fort William, where the distillery had laid on transport to get us the final 1.8 miles (thank you Duncan).

Fabulous setting for Ben Nevis Distillery

Visitor Centre Manager John Carmichael welcomed us with mushroom soup (with real mushrooms) and a couple of piles of sandwiches. Suitably replenished, the dozen and a half of us began the guided tour. First surprise was the appearance of managing director Colin Ross, who made us welcome with a few remarks. But he and John were candid about the state of the distillery, which is looking rundown and sad. They’ve been promised investment by the Japanese owners Nikka, and it can’t come soon enough.

A distillery in the prime heart of Scotland’s tourist industry, and sitting under the mighty shoulders of Ben Nevis, should be a showpiece for tourists and whisky aficionados alike. Sadly the air of neglect tells a different story. We don’t normally get political or controversial here at GWC, but some times you just have to call it: Nikka should be ashamed of themselves for allowing the distillery to fall into such a state of disrepair that people apologised for it every step of the way.

Time to splash the cash

Rant over and on to the positives. It’s a great, accessible distillery for the able-bodied, but obviously there are steep stairs to climb. However, there were no restrictions to us clambering all over the still house and the tun room, getting up close and very personal.

Still House

John is a witty and extremely knowledgeable host and had us in knots with stories of distillery life, some of which I’d need to run past the club’s lawyers before I published them here. Suffice to say, the image of the very hirsute Big Jim emerging naked from a mash tun looking as if he was a walking Weetabix will remain with me for a very long time. Sadly, libel laws prevent me writing about Eddie the Pole and his expertise with a (supposedly) tamper-proof Spirit Safe. Eddie came to the Distillery from war-ravaged Europe, having been helped to escape by a certain Roman Catholic priest who became Pope John Paul II.

John Carmichael with new member Matthew, while John looks on and Blackie looks away

After the tour, we repaired to the visitor centre (possibly being replaced as part of a promised multi-million pound investment) for a handful of drams and a plethora of tales so tall, none of us were really sure where fact and fiction went their separate ways.

One of the warehouses was used for interior shots for Local Hero, Braveheart and Highlander. The prequel of Ridley Scott’s Alien is also going to be shot there. We heard candid observations about Burt Lancaster and David Puttnam, high praise for new music sensations Mumford and Sons, who held a surprise gig for 200 then carried on in one of the local pubs.

But the drams were left to speak for themselves. First up was a youngster, barely four years old, then a 12-year-old De Luxe Blend, the rival to Chivas Regal, which has won awards. The familiar 10-year-old was next. This is the expression that won an international whisky event three years in a row. The first and only time this has happened, that prompted the distillery to never enter it again!

Next was a world exclusive – a dram so rare it doesn’t even have a name. John called it “their equivalent of a cat barking” so out of character with the distillery’s usual offerings. Very, very young and heavily peated, it came close to the original whisky Long John McDonald, the founder of the distillery, started with. Restricted to three casks only, it will never be for sale, so we were privileged to try it.

Blended at Birth

Straight from the cask we had a very dark, treacle and creosote offering with a fabulous nose, but sadly a bitter, woody taste and no finish. This was the 40 year Blended at Birth 50/50 single malt and single grain. I fear it spent too long in the wood. Matthew, one of our new members, described it as being like a stew with no stock.

Last up was a 25-year-old from a single cask and single maturation that was a gold winner in the Scottish Field awards. A cracking dram to end the day. Many thanks to Colin and John for their generosity. I hope their hard work gets the rewards it deserves.

And Mario?  A complete character from Portugal who shared our trip home as our train conductor. He refused drink after drink until he signed off at Crianlarich (I think), then availed himself of a Bowmore which he promptly elevated into his top ten. He got off the train, returned two carriages down sporting a huge pair of Sophia Loren sunglasses and sprinted back up to the club’s mobile HQ to up pick a wee cairry oot, before dashing into the night to huge cheers! Bonkers!

A Douglas Laing tasting is different. The last time Jan Beckers, the affable Belgian from DL, hosted a tasting for the club, we had a magnificent seven whiskies. Last night we had an entirely different seven, all carefully chosen to show the breadth and depth of the company’s bottlings.

Beer for the boys: Jan, Andy and Matt

A slight matter of the Dram! double booking our normal room meant we were evicted to make way for some dubious characters wearing dark glasses and peering at a TV screen which purported to be showing a football match in 3D.

The far end of the Dram! is a snug wee place and almost 30 souls stretched it to the limit. If we weren’t friends before the evening began, we were certainly much closer by the end.

Impressive line up

First up was a 12-year-old Linkwood. At 46% it had a rounded, sweet taste, with characteristic pear drops.

A Providence Braeval would have opened a few club members’ eyes. One key aspect of a DL night is the chance to try some of the more obscure whiskies, and Braeval certainly came into that category. Used as blending fodder by Pernod Ricard, this 11-year-old Speysider had sulphur on the nose, which puts some people off, but had a good solid mouthfeel.

An Old Malt Cask Glendronach was next, sitting at 50%. I liked this 16-year-old, which had fresh citrus on the nose. Everybody’s favourite, Highland Park, came next. Again at 50%, the 15-year-old version from a refill hoggy, had all the HP characteristics of sweet honey with an undertone of peat. One of the stars of the night for me.

The Double Barrel came next – an interesting experiment by Douglas Laing to marry two single malts. In this case it was a Braeval with a Caol Ila. A 9-year-old Caol Ila on its own was next and I much preferred this Providence version.

Last, and by no means least, came a 14-year-old Bowmore, not typically an Islay dram, with lashings of liquorice.

Many thanks to Jan for stepping in at very short notice after our scheduled Springbank tasting had to be postponed. We’ll get to that one next time

bill mackintosh

In full flight

Glasgow’s Whisky Club is privileged to have among its members a number of people who actually work in the whisky industry, and I consider it to be a compliment to the club that they feel comfortable enough to join us.

David Kier is one such creature and his Bruichladdich night at the end of February was the usual mix of political punditry, slightly indiscreet revelations about the state of the business and a handful of great drams.

Our tasting night differed slightly from usual since we started the evening, not with a dram, but with a gin. A new gin, in fact, made by Bruichladdich. The Botanist contains 32 botanicals, many from Islay itself and it was a fragrant, drinkable gin at a satisfying 46%.

We moved into more familiar territory with a head to head of the original Organic Multi-vintage (No Age Statement to you and me) versus the Organic 2003. Both sat at 46% and split the club members. Half preferred the first, while half plumped for the second. No accounting for taste was the verdict. By both sides. At both sides.

The Black Art 2 was next up at 51%, followed by the PV Multi-Vintage, at 46%. We ended David’s samplings with the Octomore Orpheus, at a brute-strength 61%.

Surprise of the night was an old ‘laddich from Gordon and MacPhail. The 1969 expression was bottled in 2000 at 52.5% and rescued from the flooded basement of an off sales in Great Western Road by Master Scrounger Ian Black.

A very different animal from the current offerings, David was gracious enough to recognise THIS was the standard Bruichladdich had to aim for now, but he was confident the Good Ship Bruichladdich is in steady hands.

There is a determination to cut down the number of expressions as older whiskies produced since the distillery was rescued, are heading for bottling. On the showing of David’s samples, we’re not that far away.

bill mackintosh

The Barrel before hostilities began

The first Round the Barrel Night of the year for Glasgow’s Whisky Club, and by acclamation, it was a cracker. A range of drams was chosen by the chairman from a selection lying around in his spare bedroom.

At the insistence of Mrs Chairman, the following bottles were liberated and placed on the barrel:

Glenfiddich Rich Oak, kindly donated by club member and GlenFid ambassador Jamie Milne. Matured 14 yrs in refill casks. Then the whisky was split and finished in either virgin american oak (85%, 3 months) or virgin spanish oak (15%, 4 weeks) before marrying back together and then bottling. It’s the first time virgin spanish wood has been used for finishing a malt. Only 4 weeks finishing required, as wood very active. This was released a year ago and was Brian Kinsman’s first global release having taken over from David Stewart as Glenfiddich Malt Master after a nine-year apprenticeship!

Next up was the 1980 Tamdhu first tasted at a David Stirk night last year, followed by a Provenance Royal Brackla, which earned oohs, and aahs, and smacked lips from around the room.

Fourth and into heavy sherry territory, the Glenfarclas 105 kindly donated by new member Colin Pratt. The Claret wood Springbank brought some more oomph, with a final bottle from Duncan Taylor – The Big Smoke at 60%. A couple of odds and sods of bin ends completed the line up – an 11-year-old Glen Ord and a Linkwood 18.

A snap poll (are you listening Colonel Gaddafi?) resulted in a democratic vote for the Springbank as the top dram, followed by the Royal Brackla and the Tamdhu.

Next up is David Keir’s Bruichladdich night on Thursday.

bill mackintosh

An' we hae meat ...

Burns Night 2011, and the Bon Accord was a fitting venue for the club. Bon Accord is, of course, a Burns toast

“Happy to meet, sorrowful to part, happy to meet once again. Bon-Accord”

Six drams were on offer to complement our repast of lentil soup, haggis, neeps and tatties and the eponymous steak pie for which the pub is rightly renowned.

They were a Single Malts of Scotland Clynelish 16. A Wemyss Malts Freshly Cut Grass (20 yo Mortlach), a brace of Big Peat and a pair of Glasgow‘s Whisky Festival Highland Park bottling. We opened with the Isle of Arran Rabbie Burns dram, officially endorsed by the World Burns Federation. We ended with a Glenfarclas 105, kindly donated by new member Colin Pratt.

The Chairman and Treasurer led the assemblees through the courses with a dram for each dish. Mr Black did the opening honours with the Selkirk Grace, then read a poem from the side of the Burns whisky. Even early on in the proceedings, I’m not sure anyone knew what he was on about.

The treasurer seeks divine intervention in an attempt to halt Toshie in full flow

Two dozen like-minded souls enjoyed the meal, then we werre joined by the refugees from John Lamond’ Whisky Trail course, some bearing gifts of raffle prizes won at John’s end of the evening quiz show. Thank god the High Commissioner didn’t make it.

bill mackintosh

Post-tasting and some general tomfoolery

The first tutored tasting of the new year for Glasgow’s Whisky Club, and it was a belter. A complete deconstruction of some of the malts that go into the making of The Balvenie Signature, led by the good Dr Andrew Forrester, brought us not only to the heart and soul of a great dram, but also to its very DNA.

On the way we had a trip round the solar system as Andrew’s unique style of presentation brought us a flavour map based on the planets. Sweet, if not Suite. We had Planet Sweet, Planet Spice, Planet Peat and Planet Fruit, and Andrew pointed out the characteristics of each Balvenie on that planetarium.

Of course, it’s not the first time Andrew has used that analogy. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Dr Forrester was one of the leading lights in the Easy Drinking Whisky Company, which spawned the Jon, Mark and Robbo series of whiskies. Andrew was the ‘and’, he told club members at a Sunday tasting in the Pot Still in June 2006.

The way we were. 'And' at a Jon Mark and Robbo tasting in June 2006

Our first dip into the Balvenie came with the finished product, the Balvenie Signature 12. The full gamut of the planets were in evidence; citrus, orange, raisins – in fact, a real honeyed sweetness that is the  … err … signature of the dram! I’ve often pondered the term ‘single malt’ which is a bit of a misnomer, as the end result  - and certainly in the case of The Balvenie – is a marriage of many hundreds or thousands of casks.

We nosed and tasted the new make spirit first, the very essence of the whisky. It had green apples, pears (as you would expect) and a malty, almost Shreddies finish. The perfect breakfast Balvenie.

The next component was a first fill American oak cask. It had the distinct vanilla, toffee and caramel you’d expect from a bourbon cask, along with coconut, marzipan, liquorice, cloves and aniseed. A sumptious dram.

A refill cask was out next taste and brought a freshness and citrus to the palate. Andrew considers this to be much more drinkable, as opposed to the heavy first fill. Not everyone agreed, but it was an interesting experience.

A big beautiful sherry monster was the third component; a real Christmas pudding of a dram. Again a brilliant drink, but perhaps too heavy to drink all evening.

Put them all together, and there it is – the Balvenie Signature.

A couple of us had been to a previous Balvenie night, for the unveiling of the new Balvenie Peated, and that was our last (official) dram of the night. A bold experiment and it certainly provokes conversation.  It offers the traditional Balvenie honeyed sweetness, with the addition of dry ashes on the palate. It’s not my favourite Balvenie, though I doubt I’d turn one down if you’re buying!

The whole evening was exactly the kind of tasting the club should do more of. Rather than simply drinking various expressions from the one distillery, it was a fascinating insight into how great whiskies are created and our deep thanks go to the forensic brand ambassador that is Dr Andrew Forrester.

Andrew and Toshie with Balvenie and the Jon Mark and Robbo bottle

As a wee thanks to ‘and’ Mark and I tracked down what most be one of the last few bottles of the Jon Mark and Robbo era. It was the first time Andrew had been given a bottle of whisky at a tasting.

Many thanks to Andrew, too, for his generosity at the end of the tasting, the results of which will be featured in an upcoming Round the Barrel night.

bill mackintosh 2011

Glenburgie 1966 - Glasgow's Whisky Club Dram of the Year 2010

It was the runaway favourite of both the committee and rank and file club members.

The runners-up were not so clear-cut, as befits a club with such a diversity of tastes. There was a two-way tie for second spot between the Glenlivet Nadurra brought by club founder Alex Robertson to our Glenlivet night and the Laphroaig Feis Ile.

Third spot was a highly contested affair, with no less than three vying for a place. They were the Whyte and Mackay 40-year-old donated by Richard Paterson, whiskywhiskywhisky’s Tamdhu Forum bottling and a young Glenfiddich cask strength that Andrew Torrance and Jamie Milne brought to our Glenfiddich night. This was a Glenfiddich cask sample – 7yo first fill bourbon and it was the success story of the night. Now it’s found itself among the top honours – a possible pointer for the future? Well done to all the winners. Next year I’d like many more club members to vote.

RESULTS:

GLASGOW’S WHISKY CLUB DRAM OF THE YEAR 2010: GLENBURGIE 1966

Second Equal: GLENLIVET NADURRA and LAPHROAIG FEIS ILE

Third equal: WHYTE & MACKAY 40 YEAR OLD , GLENFIDDICH CASK STRENGTH, TAMDHU FORUM BOTTLING FOR WHISKYWHISKYWHISKY.