peated whisky

Whisky #433: Port Ellen 30 Year Old 1982 Single Malt – Old and Rare Platinum (Douglas Laing)

Leave a Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

img_7993.jpgPort Ellen 30 Year Old 1982 Single Malt – Old and Rare Platinum (Douglas Laing). ABV: 53.1%. Tasted at home, $145 (100mL bottle split).

We have come to the end of Peat Week here at Whisky a Day, so it’s only fitting we pull out the big guns. A 30 year old Port Ellen single malt should do the trick!

Colour: Rich gold.

Nose: A satisfying nose prickle; rich honey and smoke, quite earthy…think dusty bookshelves.

Palate: Smokey, yet a juicy fruitiness. Blueberries and prosciutto – salty meaty notes with a hint of sweetness.

Finish: Finish goes on for days…smokey, salty, tangy citrus, plenty of heat, and some spicy tomato soup flavours in the fade.

Comments: Some readers may be unfamiliar with Port Ellen, that’s likely to be due to the fact it is a defunct distillery from Islay which was shut down in 1983. They still do malting on site to supply other Islay distilleries, however the stills have long since ceased production. This Douglas Laing bottling of Port Ellen was from an outturn of only 139 bottles and was distilled in 1982 (only a year before the distillery was shut down).

With the existing Port Ellen stocks owned by Diageo, there are very limited releases, making Port Ellen both highly sought after and also pricey. This was a $1000 bottle of booze, so with some of my fellow whisky nutters from Dram Full Perth, we decided to splurge and grab a bottle of this and split it 7 ways. I’ve held on to this one for quite a while but decided to crack it open tonight.  A fitting climax to Peat Week, and a highly enjoyable dram.

And yes, I drank it all in one sitting…

Whisky #432: Bowmore 18 Year Old Single Malt

Leave a Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

img_7987.jpgBowmore 18 Year Old Single Malt. Islay, Scotland. ABV: 43%. Tasted at home, $185 (bottle).

As we near the end of Peat Week at Whisky a Day, we return to the centre of the peated universe – Islay – to savour the Bowmore 18.

Colour: Deep, sexy copper.

Nose: A delicate nose, yet lots of aromas. It has a rich, sweet smokiness – caramel, burnt toffee, and some faint smokey remnants of the campfire that was burning the night before.

Palate: Again a light smoke compared to many other Islay whiskies, which allows the other flavours to really dance on the tongue. Dried sultanas and raisins, freshly buttered fruit toast, rich treacle, dark chocolate with a high cocoa content (the ones so high the chocolate is quite earthy).

Finish: A long finish, with caramel fudge and some oaky tannins in the fade. The salty tang in the fade is subtle yet bookends some of the soft sweeter flavours tasted earlier.

Comments: The peat is more apparent in the finish on this whisky, enabling the enjoyment of so many other delicious flavours. It really is a layered, nuanced dram – one you can easily sit back and contemplate on. So easy to drink, even on a sunny spring afternoon like I’m doing right now. Recommended.

Whisky #431: Talisker Storm Single Malt

Leave a Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

img_7978.jpgTalisker Storm Single Malt. Isle of Skye, Scotland. ABV: 45.8%. Tasted at home, $85.

Day 5 of Peat Week at Whisky a Day sees us return to more familiar climes, this time docking our tastebuds on the shores of the Isle of Skye on the Scottish west coast to check out the Talisker Storm.

Colour: Luscious Amber.

Nose: Sea salt and hessian sacks. Some soft woody notes and a touch of caramel fudge.

Palate: Butterscotch and smokey creaminess in flavour, but it’s not a creamy or oily mouthfeel. It’s a smooth entry, but quite thin on the palate.

Finish: Quite a drying finish, some lovely creamed honey flavours and a soft smokey fade.

Comments: A No Age Statement (NAS) release, this is really quite enjoyable. At 45.8% ABV it’s nicely balanced, the flavour intensity is there and yet it’s quite easy to drink. Not my favourite Talisker expression, but eminently drinkable and a great stepping stone into more heavily peated whiskies – be that in the one sitting, or if you’re just starting to explore the peated genre.

Talisker distillery on the stunning Isle of Skye. Very fortunate to have visited there on such an amazing day.

Whisky #430: The Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve Single Malt

1 Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

img_7974.jpgThe Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 40%. Tasted at home, $130 (bottle).

Continuing the theme of peated whisky, for Day 4 of Peat Week I’ve again chosen a slightly different style of peated whisky…a Speyside peated expression from Glenrothes. It’s not actually peated spirit, but rather the whisky was finished by maturing for a short time in ex Islay casks. 

Colour: Dull gold, unpolished.

Nose: A very light nose; oaky lemon notes, but it’s extremely subtle. Also quite fresh – a bit like when you tear off some fresh leaves from a plant.

Palate: Juicy mouthfeel with a biscuity sweetness. Like taking a bite of an Arnott’s Nice biscuit, the ones with the sugar on top. Some citrus flavours too, like a ripe juicy mandarine.

Finish: Some gentle smoke finally appears, but again it’s very light. A drying, woody finish.

Comments: It’s quite lightly peated, in fact I found myself almost searching for some peat at times just because I know it’s a peated whisky. If you’re looking for a big, peaty, smokey whisky – these are not the drams you’re looking for. But as a slightly different twist on your typical Speyside style, it fits the bill. I’m not convinced that at $130 it presents great value, but it is certainly a very easy drinking whisky. Though I’d be much more inclined to grab a bottle of Monkey Shoulder at $55 a bottle for a somewhat similar flavour profile (but without the peat). It’s ok, but unfortunately doesn’t reach any great heights.

Whisky #429: Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky

1 Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

img_7968.jpgJohnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky. Edinburgh, Scotland. ABV: 40%. Tasted at home, $55 (bottle).

Peat Week, Day 3. Why should the single malts get all the peat? The Johnnie Walker Double Black is a blend with plenty of peat.

Colour: Light copper.

Nose: A little uninspiring; it’s a very light nose.  A hint of smoke and some sweet oaky notes, but you’ve really got to work hard to get many aromas.

Palate: Exceedingly smooth entry, an oily mouthfeel yet quite thin on the palate. Soft smoke and creamy woody notes – a bit like sucking on a ice cream stick after you’ve finished the ice cream.

Finish: Butter menthols and a gentle smokey fade, medium length.

Comments: Contrary to popular misconception, the Double Black is not merely the next step up in class from the Black Label in the Johnnie Walker range. While it is built upon a similar base to the Johnnie Walker Black Label, the Double Black adds peated Scottish west coast and island whiskies, some aged in casks that were deeply charred.

I found it to be a very lightly peated and somewhat lightly flavoured dram, yet very easy to drink. The kind of whisky you could drink and enjoy on auto-pilot when you get home from work. Perhaps not unsurprising for a blended whisky at 40% ABV and priced so keenly at $55 /bottle.

But in that respect it does have a place in your whisky collection. If you’re on a tight budget or are taking your first few tentative steps in exploring peated whisky, this is a good way to dip your toe in the water. Ditto if you want a cheap quaffing whisky for midweek drams, or for those friends who come around and you don’t want to pour a dram of your $300/bottle Bruichladdich Octomore Edition 6.3 Cask Strength Single Malt. Overall, a respectable whisky to have on hand, but certainly not one to race out and have at all costs.

Whisky #428: Lagavulin 200th Anniversary Limited Edition 8 Year Old Single Malt

1 Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

img_7955.jpgLagavulin 200th Anniversary Limited Edition 8 Year Old Single Malt. Islay, Scotland. ABV: 48%. Tasted at home, $100 (bottle).

Colour: A very pale straw.

Nose: Sweet lemon sherbet, some faint floral notes – think rose petals. A few subtle bread and biscuit aromas…like opening a packet of buttery shortbread.

Palate: Such a smooth, oily mouthfeel as you take the first sip. The warmth and flavours quickly quickly build – a smokey, savoury, food-like saltiness. It reminds me of a crispy skin smoked salmon fillet; sea salt flakes sprinkled atop and the crispy caramelisation of the skin giving a few sweeter notes. Some bok choy with hoisin sauce on the side to provide that rich salty tang.

Finish: A few aniseed notes in the fade, black jelly beans or those Allen’s black cat lollies. A long drying finish, plenty of .

Comments: Light on for peatiness in the nose, but it saves its punch for the palate and the long, glorious finish. For me, it’s not an overly smokey whisky – but it packs loads of punch in terms of peaty, organic notes.

I actually found this one a bit challenging to review – it took a few drams to really unpick all the layers. Looking back on my tasting notes, maybe I was just over-analysing it…this is a reasonably simple whisky with some great flavours vying for your attention. It’s not as smooth or as smokey as the Lagavulin 16, nor as flavoursome as the Lagavulin 12 Year Old Cask Strength, but it definitely complements the lineup and doesn’t tread on the toes of its elder siblings. The Lagavulin 12 Year Old Cask Strength is still by far my favourite expression though.

Peat Week! 7 Days of Peated Whisky

Leave a Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

img_7936.jpgIt’s Peat Week here at Whisky a Day! 7 days of peated whisky.

It’s been a rainy Sunday here in Sydney, one of those long lazy afternoons that you just don’t want to finish. Not because it’s been a particularly spectacular day, but mainly because it’s been a relaxing day that is soon to be cut short by the notion of heading back to work again tomorrow morning!

So with the last vestiges of cool weather lingering, I thought it the perfect excuse to have a peated dram. Which led me to think – bugger it, why not have a whole week of peated whisky? Exploring a few different styles of peated whisky?

To a lot of people, peated whisky equates to whisky from the island of Islay in Scotland. While there are many fine examples of peated whisky from Islay, I thought it would be interesting to also explore a few peated whiskies produced in other regions around Scotland as well as a little further afield.

So here’s this week’s lineup…

Some Australian whisky to start as we explore the peated range from Limeburners. Closely followed by the recently released (and much anticipated) Lagavulin 8 Year Old to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lagavulin distillery. The Johnnie Walker Double Black then gets a call-up, highlighting that it’s not just single malts that get all the peat. Moving across to Speyside where we’ll dabble in some Glenrothes, followed by zipping back west to the Isle of Skye to sample the Talisker Storm. Then it’s back to the home of peaty whisky – Islay – for the Bowmore 18 Year Old, before finishing off the week in style with a very rare Port Ellen 30 Year Old bottled by Douglas Laing.

So strap in your tastebuds, slip into those comfy slippers and turn off the fire alarms…it could get a little smokey in here this week.