Port Ellen

The maltings at Port Ellen, taken from the ferry between the mainland and Islay.

Glenfarclas 21

Glenfarclas is a giant of the whisky industry, at least for a family-run distillery, now on its sixth generation. It has a very loyal following, which stands to reason as it continues to produce fine whisky at a very affordable price. Glenfarclas recently released a 40 year old at a price that many other distilleries would think twice about for their 25 year olds. The 21 year old is an accomplished, refined whisky that has a lot to offer to those willing to take the time to enjoy, savor, and explore this deceptive dram. I say deceptive, because it is an easy single malt to throw back and enjoy without really understanding its depth. But taking the time to explore its many smells and flavors will pay real dividends. It is bottled at a respectable 43%, and has a greeny-copper color. The undiluted nose has some smoke, old leather, shoebox and books from the back of the used book shop. I also get baked apple with crumble. The mouth is lighter and smooth with just a little burn. Once a little water goes in, it really opens up and displays its varied colors. The nose develops sweet candy, clover honey, sticky sap on a maple tree, and pine tar. None of these are overpowering, and they alternate coming to the fore. The body is still smooth and enjoyable, the finish long. An excellent dram.

Tasting Glen Grant

Another tasting from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, this time a 21 year old Glen Grant from a refill hogshead, ex bourbon, bottled at 49.3% abv. This is the 45th bottling of Glen Grant for the good folks from the Leith Vaults. The color is quite light, perhaps straw. The nose has a nice chocolate note followed by sweet digestive biscuits, some vegetal notes, though sweet as well. Not at all off-putting, but also very similar to some younger bourbon-barrel Bowmores. There's some citrus in there, and I think I get the vanilla from the bourbon as well as nougat. On the tongue, it is tart and milderly tannic, but not a lot going on at first. With water bananas come to the front, with a rich smell. There is an ineffable quality about it, enjoyable indeed.

An apt description -- tasting a 12 year old Highland Park

The good folks at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society called their 137th bottling of Highland Park "Oooh! Ouch! Aaah!", which is pretty close to an apt description, particularly the middle of the three. Bottled at 58.7% abv, this refill sherry butt gave its all and then some to a rough and tumble single malt. The color is a copper-red, deep and luscious. The nose is powerful with notes of Marmite, organe peel, lemon rind (not the zest, though, which would be more pungent), and even sweet twizzler (not quite strawberry, but perhaps some cherry or grape juice like Welchs.) At the first taste, it is firey with some tannic qualities, and just a bit of sweetness like a fresh white grape off the vine. With time in the glass, it calms down quite a bit, but is still robust. The sherry notes come more to the front even without water, but some added water calms it more and the oloroso comes out. This is a brute of a whisky and needs some time in the glass, water, and a strong tongue with a smooth coating of teflon.

Are Craft Breweries Selling Out?

Some folks at the Atlantic are afraid of what the future of craft brews are, especially as larger conglomerates get in the game (er, Killians is actually a Coors product, so they are already in the game). You can see the commentary here: Are Craft Breweries Selling Out? - Food - The Atlantic. My take? Let's only worry about this when the quality of the beer suffers. And I don't think this is going to happen, because the conglomerates know there is a market here that is willing to pay more for quality and is not the Bud or Coors Light kind of crowd. If we look at the whisky industry, especially in Scotland, we can see that there is significant room for optimism. On the one hand, a number of small producers and non-conglomerate partnerships are around and doing well (Glenfarclas is still family owned, Bruichladdich is doing well under independent ownership) and the conglomerates (Diageo, Suntory) know they mess with a good thing at their peril, especially these days when a much broader consumer market is sophisticated and well-informed.

My first sourdough rye

Inspired by the Kneading conference, I started my own rye sourdough this past week using Daniel Leader's recipe ("formula" in the trade). This is a transitional bread in the sense that it uses some commercial yeast in addition to the sourdough starter, which I think is a good way to test the waters. It turned out quite well, as you can see. Hopefully as the starter matures more I can get stronger flavors and some more rise out of it.

Visiting Bowmore

Picking a favorite is often an arbitrary thing. Why is that your favorite book or movie or place to go on vacation? And favorites are fickle things -- they can change so often, though some are fanatical in their choices and hold onto them like rabid dogs. My favorite Scotch is Bowmore, though why it is so is a difficult thing to explain. I often find myself reaching for another whisky. Ardbeg is bolder. Aberlour is often more refined. Highland Park's saltiness is heightened. But Bowmore somehow speaks to me in ways that others do not. It is not as peaty as Ardbeg, but it is not as mild as Bunnahabhain. But being in the middle does not make Bowmore boring by any stretch.

When we took our recent vacation to Scotland, number one on my list was a visit to this "favorite" of distilleries on School Street in downtown Bowmore on the island of Islay. I signed us up for the exclusive tour, which originally was designed for corporate clients, but has now been opened up to the general public to choose. This is no ordinary distillery tour, and the price tag is the first to tell you this. I gladly signed Leslie and I up for 40 GBP per person to spend what ended up being more than three glorious hours touring the distillery on a bright, sunny day, tasting two Bowmores straight from the barrel in the famous warehouse number 1, and relaxing with almost the full range (up to the 25 year old) overlooking the bay.

The highlight of the tour for me, though, was indeed trying two Bowmores straight from the cask (see picture below of the two drams). One was an 11 year old bourbon matured in Heaven Hill barrels, the other a 15 year old oloroso sherry butt matured Bowmore. The color difference is striking and shows the influence of the wood on not just the taste. As the warehouse manager, Ginger Willie, said -- it just tastes better straight from the barrel (and I don't think that's because it is pre-tax whisky!).
The Bowmore line-up is more than the standard Legend, 12, 15 and 18 year old one sees in most stores. Also available to taste were the Feis Isle bottlings from the last two years (an 8 year old Bordeaux-finished Bowmore that was very pleasant and sweet and a 9 year old bourbon and wine matured whisky that was not my favorite, respectively), a 16 year old wine-finish (a bit strange) a 21 year old port-pipe matured whisky that was phenomenal, the maltman's selection (also fantastic) and the 25 year old. Sadly (but not surprisingly), the Bowmore gold, white and black were not available for tasting.