Ok so I haven’t updated in nearly a week and there is a good reason for this, I have been busy with quite some extensive ‘research’. Anyway now that I have recovered from said ‘research’ there will be lots to write about. I just spent a heady and joyful weekend at Whisky Fringe in Edinburgh, lots of fun, familiar faces and great drams. In fact I spent a large portion of the weekend filling my rucksack with samples of the weird and wonderful so expect many new and interesting tasting notes in the coming days and weeks. However before we get stuck into the froth of whisky fringe there is the small matter of the official launch of the new Arran 14yo that I attended at Oran Mor in Glasgow last wednesday.

The men from Arran present their new 14yo. They look very proud and quite rightly so.

It was a hot day and Oran Mor on a wednesday evening can usually be quite a cool respite for the aficionado of whisky and beer. It has become quite a staple of west end chic in recent times with its wooden panelling, ancient church interior and cask laden bar. However on this day it was heaving with the crush of Glasgow and Edinburgh’s usual whisky suspects. Obviously the promise of free drams and canapes was just too much for many to resist, me included. The drams on offer were from a small, pin sized cask that had been drawn from the warehouse earlier that day and made its journey from Arran to the bar by ferry, car and ultimately, by horse and carriage up Byres Road. The whisky was the new Arran 14yo reduced to approximately 46%, I found it very tasty but I decided to wait till I could garner a sample from the general release batch. Luckily I would not have to wait too long for that to happen.

The new Arran 14yo, lets take it for a spin.

Arran 14yo. OB. 70cl. 46%. 2010.

Colour: light gold

Nose: immediately there is lots of honey and some classic vanilla, bourbony fudge notes. This malt is starting to show some delicate signs of age, very noticeable in comparison to earlier standard bottlings. The vatting is mainly fresh bourbon barrels with some refill wood and a small proportion of sherry and the bourbon dominance really shows here. However the good news is that there are no signs of overt wood technology at play, there is a lot of sweetness and bourbon character but it is clean and honest wood that speaks. No funny business thankfully. After a minute or so some notes of damp sackcloth and dunnage appear, these seem to be very common aromas in Arran. Lots of fresh pear fruit and something slightly varnishy and resinous at the back. Its not globally very complex but like many Arrans it has no obvious flaws and is quite pretty and charming in an unassuming way.

Palate: Some sawdust at first then baked apples and custard with freshly grated nutmeg. Some hints of morello cherries, olive oil and quite a lean saltiness, almost like a sliver of pancetta. More honey and vanilla, quite concise with the nose. Towards the swallow there is a little minerality and something slightly drying, it even displays a delicate waxiness, still quite polished.

Finish: Returns to the sawdust of the palate and has some granite like earthiness as well. The finish fades very nicely, good length.

Comments: Its quite a nicely composed malt I think. It has all the Arran hallmarks of freshness and delicate island character but I still really wish they wouldn’t rely so heavily on first fill bourbon, it just ends up tasting a bit too modern for my liking. Anyway its a worthy addition to the range and its always worth remembering what an epic amount of effort that is involved in nurturing a spirit to this kind of age from scratch. Well done Arran!

Score: 84/100

The Arran 14yo gets its first airing.

From the sunny evening delight of Oran Mor to the headrush of an Edinburgh in the midst and grip of yet another festival, in which whisky was once again about to play a serious role. I was fortunate enough to have been asked by Susan Colville of the excellent Wemyss Malts to lend a hand on her stand for the weekend, seeing as this meant free entry to whisky fringe I was only too happy to oblige.

The Wemyss Malts table at the fringe. Slaving over a hot dram all day long, its a tough job and all that yackety yack.

I had never been to whisky fringe before, sadly my recent summers have all too frequently been spent out of the country, so I was pretty excited to finally make it along. Even from the more generic perspective of being behind a stand pouring drams you could still feel that this was a very laid back festival, more about fun rather than enforced whisky geekery or the occasionally stalinist whisky live approach. It was nice to just enjoy the slightly reckless hubbub rather than feel like you were missing everything. As much as I love festivals like Limburg or Oostende there is always an overwhelming sense of frustration that there are just so many amazing, rare and wonderful whiskies at these festivals that you can never try them all. It can be daunting and annoying in equal measure. The fringe on the other hand feels like an event and a set of drams you can get a handle on, I was fortunate enough to have tried most of what was on offer before so I felt free to enjoy the more unusual and newer releases at a more leisurely pace. Like all festivals it had its frantic and flushed faced moments but in general my impression was of friends enjoying an opportunity to catch up, certainly amongst the reps and ambassadors who all seemed to be on fine form and often quite relaxed themselves, not failing to join in the revelry as well as dish it out.

The dramming masses congregate at whisky fringe.

For me it was exactly what a festival should be in terms of enjoyment, it was fun, it was easy and it was well organised. I would happily go back another year as a punter but who knows where I’ll be by this time next year. It wasn’t the best stocked festival or the most richly rewarding but sadly the whisky festivals we have here in Scotland will probably never be this, it was however a ‘great wee festival’ exuding exactly the sort of charm and care free attitude that so many of the European festivals will just never have. It was a grand wee weekend all in all and the gin and tonics we poured as our half time orange special ‘drams’ on the Weymss stand were well received by several over-drammed connoisseurs, ones like this one…

Ralfy Mitchel, the brains behind the renowned 'Gin Stuff' website. Here shows his pride in a fresh G&T.

Lets finish with a couple of tastings, here are two personal highlights from the festival. A marvelous Clynelish and a compelling Dalmore.

Clynelish 1982/2010 28yo. Berry Bros. 70cl. 46%. Exclusive for Royal Mile Whiskies.

Colour: Straw

Nose: One of these uber fruity, waxy, flinty, mineraly early eighties Clynelishes that bears a striking resemblance to its early seventies forbears. A beautifully polished, delicately spiced and fruity nose. Perhaps not as rich as some Clynelish can be but its so subtle and delicate, more honey and salt develops after a while. Its surprisingly similar to some of the great 71/72′s. Very fragrant and coastal, a beautiful nose.

Palate: Lots of wax and tropical fruit, some rich toasty maltiness with a great subtly smoky dryness. Some very delicate phenols in the background. Flowery white fruit character with more of that great coastal flavour, this really is very coastal, the saltiness is surprisingly dominant. Very old school, very highland and very fresh, this really is my kind of dram.

Finish: Long, creamy, honied, some gentle vanilla, a phenolic whiff and bags of coastal freshness. Just delicious.

Comments: I love Clynelish and this is a belter. It has everything that is good about the distillery’s character and it balances it all with beautiful poise. A dangerously drinkable atlantic belter. Well done Berry Borthers yet again!

Score: 91/100

Dalmore 1990/2009. 19yo ‘Tropical Spice’. Weymss Malts. 70cl. 59.4%. Refill Sherry Butt. 767 bottles.

This is an utterly rubbish picture. Sorry, I'm very lazy.

Colour: Mahogany. Suspiciously dark for a refill butt.

Nose: Immediately very concentrated, all on red fruits, plum and damson jam, stewed fruits, bags of classic but very clean sherry character. This smells like a very good cask. Something quite dusty and robust about the nose, a little old school in many ways. A lovely balance between dry and sweet, the sherry is rich and assertive but not overly aggressive, it complements the oily distillate so nicely. Something slightly mentholated and gently spicy as well. Very entertaining nose, surprisingly easy at over 59%. Starts to show some really lovely aged character, rancio, cigar tobacco, leather and something quite meaty. A very sinewy dram. Water makes the nose more meaty and oily, perhaps with less fruit and more rustic character, more tobacco and old parchment aromas.

Palate: Very big thick concentration again, berry compote, fruit eau de vie and something unusual like celery bitters. Very oily and mouthcoating, still incredibly clean sherry, lots of dark chocolate and a faint nuttiness, some jaffa cakes as well. It shows its strength a little more boldly now, lets try with water. Water softens it for sure and unearths some malty and very spicy flavours. More jammy qualities and quite a bit of quince jelly with some mulling spices. This must have been a very active refill, the first fill must have been very short or the cask was rejuvenated somehow.

Finish: Long and warming with something like gunflints, more hessian character, even a little tarry and more meatiness.

Comments: This is one bigass Dalmore. Well worth trying if you get a chance, it knocks the spots off almost all the standard distillery bottlings in this blogger’s opinion. A joy to have such a clean sherried malt for a change.

Score: 89/100

Many great drams no doubt but spare a thought for the boys from Royal Mile who worked the event and weren’t allowed to dram at all throughout the day. Here they are commendably making amends…

Staff of Royal Mile Whiskies engaged in an intense post festival 'research' session.

Douglas Laing's Premier Barrel series. Good whisky or just fancy packaging?

Douglas Laing have been bottling these premier barrel ceramic flagons for the best part of two years now and I must say my curiosity is roused. They admit themselves on their website that they were launched with an eye on the gift market and its easy to see where they’re going with this one. Full ceramic, victorian style, retro flagons, emblazoned with with enough alliteration to anesthetize an anarchic agoraphobe, all wrapped up in a tidy little plywood box. It screams NOVELTY like a tartan golf ball. The upshot is I never really took them too seriously, I saw that the whiskies were almost exclusively all quite young, many of them from distilleries like Braeval which did not fill me with an overpowering sense of desperation to taste them. Although I was intrigued by the amount of good young Laphroaigs that were appearing from Douglas Laing and Signatory these days, quite a few in the Premier Barrel range. Anyway I have noticed a few samples in my cupboard from this series so I thought I’d do some olfactory detective work and see what lies behind the mystical veil of antique furniture and mutton-chop mustaches.

Royal Brackla 9yo. DL PB. 70cl. 46%. code PBR0062.

Colour: Lemony straw.

Nose: Vanilla and flowers. Vanilla ice cream in a meadow perhaps. Rosewater, turckish delights, and a hint of Nutella (which if you’re ever in Luxembourg you can buy in 5 kilo tubs for €30. Total Bargian!!!) Nice hints of white pepper and orange marmalade. Its a nice nose, no flaws, no off notes, all very summery and pleasant, it just a bit…boring. Even balance but not much thats particularly exciting or complex.

Palate: A bit flat on delivery, some nice buttery fruit character though after a few moments to settle in. Quite a delicate creaminess and something unusually coastal like freshly cooked crabs. More floral notes and bit of citrus fruit. That wink of Nutella is back (man I think its time for a Nutella sandwhich, or maybe just a jar and a spoon) very soft in the mouth, it melts like candyfloss with a very pleasant sweetness, not at all cloying.

Finish: Quite flavoursome and aromatic. With hints of angostura bitters, rotten orange peel and spice. Goes down very easily but the finish does fade quite quickly.

Comments: I like it, its an easy, uncomplicated, very summery dram. I’d say have it over ice on a hot afternoon but I think ice might just kill it stone dead, its quite a delicate dram. Not particularly complex or special but no big flaws either, its just well made, fairly harmless, attractive spirit.

Score: 78/100

Arran 12yo. DL PB. 70cl. 46%. code PBR0063.

Colour: Runny Honey from the supermarket

Nose: Very fresh and invigorating, very Arran. Good quality first fill bourbon, very polished, delicate vanilla, not too over the top. Some lovely notes of hessian and dunnage warehouse with a very attractive rustic maltiness. Then pear drops and white flowers, more delicate aromatics start to come through after a couple of minutes and even a whiff of something smoky, in fact its starting to remind me of an unpeated Ardbeg in some ways. Very clean with a lovely delicate salty tang in the background, a very fresh nose indeed, almost a hint of Manzanilla in it.

Palate: Big notes of polish again but very spicy and creamy as well, this has been in a very good cask by the feel of things, not too sweet, more a lovely integration of spirit and oak. Some green fruit character, bananas, pears, more chewy maltiness. Very rich and mouth-coating, quite a viscous malt. It really is beautifully polished, those flavours of furniture polish, spice and damp sackcloth give it an appearance of maturity beyond its years. Very yummy Arran.

Finish: Big spicy creamy combo with some luscious vanilla. Does quite a long a lively dance, like an arrogant young musician who doesn’t know when to leave the stage, keeps coming back for more applause.

Comments: A lovely Arran and a great bottling by Douglas Laing. Very drinkable and very entertaining, an excellent example of good first fill bourbon, lovely balance between sweetness, complexity and distillery character. One to pour with chums and quaff with gay abandon.

Score: 85/100

Bowmore 9yo. DL PB. 70cl. 46%. code PRB0065.

Colour: white wine

Nose: Wow! Lovely mix of coastal and farmy aromas. Oysters and lemon juice, wet pebbles on a beach, engine oil, tractors and old barns. Some beautiful fruit as well, its almost tropical. It reminds me very much of the old style Bowmore circa 1970. I’ve said it before but its worth reiterating here, Bowmore has really improved since the early 90s, there is not a hint of perfume or lavender in this whisky, just beautiful gentle peat, coastal freshness and fruit. In fact it reminds me a great deal of this bottling. After a few minutes there are some lovely gentle cereal characters, a little vegetal as well perhaps with mashed potato and green malt. Very beautiful.

Palate: Much richer peat, preserved lemons, olive oil, very thick and seemingly mature well beyond its years. Amazing maturity from what can only be a refill hoggie. The fruit is not quite as vibrant as on the nose but its still got bags of beautiful coastal flavour and those farmy characteristics have stayed well put. Quite spicy as well with some flourishes of vanilla and gentian spirit. Just wonderful fullness in the mouth, the peat has that simmering, oily quality that is usually only found in much older bottlings. This sample really isn’t big enough…

Finish: Yet more of that concentrated oily peat character and a beautiful drying, delicate smokiness. Still very coastal. Its not the longest of finishes but it fades slowly and beautifully.

Comments: These young, modern Bowmores can be excellent whiskies and this one is definitely no exception. A wonderful display of farmy, coastal and peaty characteristics as well as a vision of the past in terms of distillery character. Well worth seeking out a bottle of this one in my opinion.

Score: 90/100

The DL premier barrel 9yo is not unlike this old beauty, maybe a tad less tropical but a blast from the past none the less.

So there we have it. Some pretty decent drams behind these flagons. The Bowmore is beautiful but the others are also fine whiskies, well worth trying if you get the chance. I don’t know that the quality quite justifies the prices but then it could be much worse, Douglas Laing has a history of being one of the more fairly priced bottlers so we can forgive them the odd hiccup. Its an interesting session, one that has made me curious to see what else might be lurking within these victorian medicine bottles. I’ll try and find a few more samples from this series and do another session soon. In the meantime go find one of those Bowmores and let me know what you think…

Walking to the distillery water source on Sunday morning.

Sunday morning was the beginning of the schizophrenic weather I hinted at in yesterday’s post. We had enjoyed a proper raucous ceilidh the previous night, as the midgies subsided it became a cool, clear and beautiful night. The next morning brought rain and wind the likes of which I haven’t seen for a very long time. It was one of those stormy mornings that wakes you early from a deep and elemental sleep. The wind was fused in roaring channels round the house and the rain came at the windows in spits and hisses, fearsome rags of raging air that seemed to reach in through the first open door and rip you from the warmth of the house. To stand in the droves of rain for only a few seconds would mean a complete soaking, there was little or no mercy to be had when you were out in the thick of it. As I watched it all for a brief moment from the shelter of a bus stop I could see so clearly where the desire for a whisky can come from. There was no other thing I wanted to drink upon arrival at shelter. These are the days that bring home to you the beauty and nourishing value of a warm, cosy bar. A place to sit and blow rainwater off your nose, ideally by a fire, drinking the first mouthful of spirit from your glass, feeling it melt through you as the storm still rages in the growing distance. These are the days that put vitality in whisky, one hour of a brooding storm is worth a thousand tons of office concocted marketing bollocks. The same weather that makes whiskies’ existence possible is the same weather that compels its consumption.

Distillery manager James MacTaggart in Warehouse 1, the dunnage warehouse.

Arran had very kindly agreed to give us a tour at 12.00, by which time the hurricane had morphed into glorious settled sunshine thereby reinforcing the stereotype of Scotland’s ever changeable weather. We were shown round by the very accommodating and knowledgeable distillery manager James MacTaggart. On inspection it became very clear that this was another micro distillery in the style of Glengyle in Campbeltown. All the distilling equipment is in one building with two small warehouses out the back. The water source is only a minutes walk from the distillery and the very snazzy visitors center is adjacent to the distillery building, all this gives it a very neat and compact feel. It is a modern, functional distillery in a very wild and ancient place. In some ways I was disappointed to see so many modern practices like a fairly rapid fermentation (but in wooden washbacks which is a plus), and such a high proportion of fresh bourbon barrels used. However it was also a joy to see such a small enterprise succeeding against the odds out in the sticks. The cost of making whisky on an island, simply in terms of transporting the malt and the casks to and fro, is huge and it all adds up over time. Not to mention the environmental obstacles they face constantly, the regulations over the use of their water source was one particular thorn in their sides. It felt very much like a David slugging away in a world largely populated by Goliaths.

In the very compact Arran still/mash/tun room.

Arran is expanding these days to meet future demand. The implementation of a new rack warehouse in recent years and their own very modern mill have been worthwhile expenditures for them. They plan to extend the core range of Arran to a 14yo later this year along with the flagship 10yo and three permanent wood finish expressions, an 18yo may be on the horizon in a few years time as well. Obviously by this point there is very limited stock from the early years of production in 95 and 96. They mention buying back casks from private owners but this will obviously become costly as time goes on. However they have so far been quite careful with stock management so I’m sure we will end up seeing older bottlings of Arran as the years roll by.

Wayne contemplates the 1 year old peated spirit out of a fresh sherry butt.

One of the things that became apparent in the warehouses was that Arran’s days of experimentation are slowing down. The distillery appears to have found its feet as it were and is becoming comfortable in its own skin. We hardly saw any wine casks in the warehouse, in fact James told us that apart from the three ongoing expressions to be launched later this year, there will be no more wine finishes (commendable decision in my opinion). They are obviously more confident with their spirit now, they know its character and is strengths and they are clearly trying to play to them. Their cask profile is much more focused on fresh bourbon with a small proportion of refill wood and fresh sherry and they have settled on the classic Arran style. This is complemented with a few weeks production each year of the peated distillate, now up to about 20ppm compared with 14 a few years ago. We tasted this as a 1yo from a fresh sherry butt and were surprised by how rounded it was already. Although this is not unusual for young peated malt you could tell it had great potential. I hope they are able to lay some down for a longer period of maturation, I was imagining how it would be after 15 or even 20 years in cask, it was a beautiful prospect.

One of the oldest casks in the warehouses at Arran, a very inviting looking 95 refill hoggie. Yum!

All in all it was a very enlightening visit to a distillery that is, after fifteen long years, just starting to hit a bit of an easier road. You feel it has found its stride and is maybe in for a more comfortable ride in the coming decade than the previous one. It has not been the easiest of paths to this point but Arran is to be commended for achieving what it has. Starting a distillery from scratch is no easy feat, let alone on an Island, and when you actually visit the distillery and spend some time there you can really see what an enormous undertaking it has been for everyone involved.

The Arran 10 first released in 2006.

I really wanted to taste this but I sadly wasn’t able to get a sample in time so I have decided to finish today with my tasting notes for the official 10yo.

Arran 10yo OB. 2009. 46%

Colour: Straw

Nose: A little acidic at first but that clears up nicely after a moment or so and that familiar freshness comes through. Quite flowery and citrusy with some firm, clean maltiness, nutmeg, shortbread and then digestive biscuits again, this biscuit character seems quite common in Arran. There is something faintly cardboardy and porridgy about the nose, which is a little off putting because the aromas are otherwise very pleasant. It clears up a bit after a while then… wow, some lovely notes of guava, white stone fruit and a little spice. This nose seems to reward time.

Palate: Again quite acidic on the attack at first, a difficult delivery. More biscuity notes, this time with quite a bit of caramel as well. Putty, creamy vanilla, wood and spice, lots of fresh bourbon talking now, typical crème brulee character. Still a touch acidic but its rounded out by some very clean saltiness. I like the bite this whisky has on the palate, it probably benefitted greatly from being bottled at 46%.

Finish: Surprisingly long and drying round the sides of the mouth although the sweetness of the flavours remains on the palate. A little nutty now and quite crisp and moreish.

Comments: A good entry level dram for new whisky drinkers, something a little more challenging with more bite and character than your usual bottle of Glen Boring. I can see how they are aiming for a more easy Speyside style but for me it has quite a lot of rugged Island charm. Very good, easy drinking whisky, though its not without a little complexity.

Score: 82/100

Reluctantly leaving the warehouses. One last tempting glimpse at casks yet to be bottled...

As we drove back along the, by now very familiar, winding roads back to Brodick to meet our ferry another ferocious blast of wind and rain had broken out. It seemed very fitting somehow, it had been a break neck couple of days and we were all feeling the weight on our eyes. For me the trip was a frustratingly brief taster of an Island I would really love to get to know better. They call it Scotland in miniature but I think this casual promotional blurb does the island a disservice. Arran is so clearly its own place, a land as deserving of its own character and identity as the other unique Islands that speckle Scotland’s west coast. In the same way that its distillery, while often dismissed as being unlike a true islander, has grown into its own shoes, possessing an individuality and distinction from other distilleries. It is an Islander there can be no doubt about it, one I’ll be returning to for sure.

On behalf of Wayne, Debbie and myself I would like to thank Mike from Blavod and all the wonderful people at Arran distillery who helped make this such a memorable and enjoyable trip. As wild as the weather they laid on for us.