Fourteenth Tasting
WhiskyFest Faves
This set of whiskies for our 14th tasting have no common factor other than they were three of the most outstanding drams I experienced on my three-day trip to Chicago for WhiskyFest 2009. The video posted on the website will give you some idea of what went on over the short trip, but suffice it to say it was a blast.
Thanks to Bill Meyers I was able to jump in with both feet and splash around in some great whisky. WhiskyFest itself was only one three-hour evening (four hours if you had a VIP pass), but two other formal tastings and some impromptu tastings at other times allowed me to notch-up 59 tastings over the three days. Believe me there was a whole lot more whisky to be had, but one has only so much capacity for abuse.
One cask-strength new release, a bit on the pricey side and two real bargains make up this triumvirate of favorites. (My fourth fave I’ll save until next time because it is not in the US yet.) On one end of the price spectrum we’ll revisit Glenmorangie with one their newest expressions, Astar. We’ll follow that up with two bargain whiskies, Benromach Traditional, and (forgive me for going to Islay again) a single cask Laphroaig bottled by Whisky Trails, The Real McCoy that is killer.
As you may remember, Glenmorangie has a special connection to Missouri. They select their own trees for casks in the Ozark mountains, season the wood by air-drying rather than kilning and loan the resultant casks to Jack Daniels for four years. 
After the bourbon is matured and bottled, the casks are disassembled and shipped to the small town of Tain, Scotland, (population 4000) where they are reassembled and filled with new-make Glenmorangie. But in the case of Astar, Master Distiller, Dr. Bill Lumsden hand-picks a small portion of those trees with particularly close grain for the barrels that will eventually contain Astar.
Glenmorangie Astar, 57.1% ABV has a very floral and honey nose and bright citrus almond notes on the palate. This is also a non-chill filtered whisky. Although Dr. Lumsden personally doubts that this ads any to the flavor I disagree. I gave this Highland dram an 85-90, and it holds up very well to a small splash of water.
Reviews:
John Hansel, of Malt Advocate rates this dram a 93, the highest rating he gives any Glenmorangie.
“Astar’s flavor profile is similar to Glenmorangie 10 year old in many respects, showing a superb balance of sweetness, fruit, and spice. It’s not as subtle as the 10 year old expression, but it is creamier, richer, and fleshier, with loads of honeyed vanilla, coconut cream pie, toasted almond, vibrant spice (cinnamon, mint), and a basketful of citrus and summer fruits. The fact that it is bottled at 100 British Proof (57.1% abv) just accentuates every flavor and helps to make this whisky quite invigorating. Imagine Glenmorangie 10 year old with a shot of testosterone. I don’t rate very many ten year old (or younger ) whiskies over 90. This whisky has certainly earned it,” says Hansell.
He also rates the Glenmorangie Original 10 a 92.
Jim Murray rates Astar an 89, but rates Glenmorangie Original 10 and Glenmorangie Nectar D’or Sauterne cask extra matured both a 94.
Notes on Astar from the Edencroft Fine Wine site:
“Nose: rich, sweet and spicy with lilting aromatic top notes. At full strength, the aroma is rich in toffee and creme-brulee, drizzled with fresh menthol, warm cinnamon and deep aniseed spices, and served with coconut and toasted almonds embedded in milk chocolate. Mint humbugs and a sweet honey-lemon complex follows bringing a sweet elegance to complement the deep nuts and spices.
“Taste: the mouth-feel is deliciously smooth, rich and luscious, full of sumptuous sweet and fruity flavours. The taste is exceptionally well-rounded and balanced. Initially creme-brulee emerges with a burst of mouth-watering pineapple, poached pears and apricots, smothered with vanilla custard. Later the warm sweetness and gentle oiliness of hazelnuts in soft buttery fudge melts on the tongue. This is closely followed by hints of sizzling cinnamon spice and ground nutmeg emerging with some peachy fruit. Shortly after, the palate is gently cleansed by a hint of cooling mint and fresh menthol.
“Finish: the finish is long and smooth with a lingering mix of honey and almond, coconut ice and traces of aniseed.”
Glenmorangie is the biggest selling single malt whisky in Scotland. The name is pronounced glenMŮRANgee, and translates literally as “Glen of the big meadows,” although they say “Glen of Tranquility” on their label. They pioneered “official” cask-strength bottlings in the 1990s and also led the way in special wood finishes (port wood, Madeira, sherry, and French wines.)
A few years ago, they were acquired by MoĎt Hennessey Diageo. The MHD portfolio includes spirits brands such as Hennessy, F.O.V., Johnnie Walker, Glenmorangie, Baileys Irish Cream, Grand Marnier, Belvedere Vodka, Smirnoff Vodka, White Horse, Gordon’s and Tanqueray. Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Dom Pérignon and Krug are world-class champagnes. MoĎt Hennessy has a unique high-end wine range with Cloudy Bay, Cape Mentelle, Green Point, Terrazas, Casa Lapostolle and Newton.
Since
being acquired they have redesigned their bottles, re-jiggered their offerings and generally upped their prices as part of their marketing effort to position themselves as a premium product.
Another one of Dr. Lumsden’s new whiskies is Signet, which he calls his “Magnum Opus.” It is quite good but runs about $200 a bottle. It is unique in that it is distilled from what they call “chocolate malt,” which is roasted malted barley, much as one would roast a coffee bean. Although most of the whisky is 10 years-old it also contains some 35-40 year-old Glenmorangie.
Awards:
Dr. Lumsden named ‘Industry Leader of the Year 2008’ by Malt Advocate Magazine
Glenmorangie was awarded Whisky Magazine’s ‘Innovator of the Year award’ in their Icons of Whisky Awards 2009
Glenmorangie Signet voted both Best Packaging / Marketing Campaign and Most Innovative New Product at the 2008 Drammies
Silver Medal 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition
Dr. Bill Lumsden, Honorary BUM 2009
$80
In our July 31, 2008 tasting at John’s we had a bonus tasting of a cask-strength 7-year old Benromach aged in a Sherry hogshead cask. Tonight we’ll try their standard bottling Benromach Traditional 40% ABV. Benromach is so small it takes only two people to run the distillery and is one of the smallest in the Speyside region and Scotland. Today, it is owned by independent bottlers, Gordon & MacPhail, who bought the distillery in 1993. In 1998 distilling recommenced and Benromach traditional was launched in 2004. Over its history there have been many openings and closing of this distillery since its inception in 1898. Benromach also bottles: Benromach Peat Smoke – Batch 2, Benromach Organic, Benromach Wood Finish – Marsala, Benromach Cask Strength, Benromach Origins – Batch 1 Golden Promise (a particular type of barley).
Benromach barley is peated at 12 parts ppm (parts per million) to match what the owners think was how original Speyside whiskies tasted. The name is pronounced
benROmach, which means “Shaggy Mountain.”
I 
tasted Benromach Traditional at the Gordon & MacPhail tasting in Chicago at the Clark Street Ale House prior to WhiskyFest. It was tasted with seven single cask bottlings and was better than almost all and significantly less expensive. I gave it and 85-90, which I also gave that evening to a 1994 Ledaig 12-year old. On the nose the Benromach is smoky and slightly mentholish. On the palate it is malty, smoky and creamy.
Their website tasting notes are:
Without water: Nose- Citrus fruits (lemon & limes) with hint of honey and pine resin. Peaty malty notes in the background.
Palate – Smoky with cereal and malt flavors. Dries up with spicy/peppery notes followed by delicate floral edge.
With water: Nose- Sweet, chocolate and fudge aromas. Floral elements and a hint of phenols (germolene).
Palate: Toasted/smoky flavors initially with a sublte fragarance. Some fruity notes develop along with and earthy, vanilla edge.
Reviews:
In 2005 John Hansell of Malt Advocate rated this dram an 81.
“This is first official bottling from the whisky that they [the new owners] themselves have made. The whisky is still youthful, but for a whisky of such youth it shows great balance, individuality, and promise. Notes of vanilla cream, honey, and fruit (pineapple, pear) are peppered with nuances of smoke, herbs, and pine. Youthful, vibrant finish. I eagerly look forward to tasting this whisky with a half dozen more years of aging.”
(I assume what we are tasting is older than the initial bottling in 2005.)
Jim Murray gives this dram an 88 in the 2008 Whisky Bible.
Nose: Young, lively but very peat smoke.
Palate: A natural harmony between smoke, barley and light vanillins.
Serge of Malt Maniacs tasted the 2004 release and gave it an 88 and three stars.
“This
is the first bottling of the ‘new’ Benromach, distilled since Gordon and MacPhail took control of this small East of Inverness distillery.
Colour: white wine. Nose: youthful, very grainy and grassy. Hay, lemon peel. herbal tea, citronella. Interesting whiffs of peat (G&M now uses some malt peated at 8ppm at Benromach). Hints of fresh butter. Nice and fresh! Mouth: sweet and balanced, yet just a little watery. Grainy, caramel and vanilla. Again quite fresh. Notes of violet sweets, butter caramel, Japanese green tea. Medium finish, with quite some smoke and some apple skin. A good and clean malt, even if a little too much on the light side.”
About $49
The brothers Johnston established Laphroaig, on the Hebridean island of Islay, in 1810. Its current owner is Fortune Brands, which purchased Laphroaig in 2005. According to the 2009 Malt Whisky Yearbook Laphroaig has been the best selling Islay whisky for the last seven years, increasing sales by 50% in that time. Laphroaig is one of the few distilleries that still do some of its own floor maltings. 58,000 casks of Laphroaig are aging to perfection on the coast of Islay.
Their standard bottlings are Laphroaig 10, 10 cask-strength, quarter cask and a 15-year old, which will soon be replaced by an 18-year old. Laphroaig is one of the peatier whiskies at about 25-30 ppm. Laphroaig has a unique marketing feature. If you become a Friend of Laphroaig, you are deeded with one square foot of their peat bog. If you should ever go to Islay, they will pay your rent of one airplane-size bottle. You may even go out into the bog (they have wellies for you to use so you don’t get your feet wet) and decorate your plot with a flag. One “owner” built a miniature castle on his plot.
The
version we are tasting tonight is an independent single cask, cask-strength bottling, the Whisky Trails The Real McCoy Laphroaig 7-year old, Cask 4514, 58.2% ABV, distilled 2001, bottled 2008.
After tasting this at Binny’s in Chicago I was in love! The nose has gentle smoke and iodine. On the palate: oily, woody, smoky, mouth filling, chewy. With water it has a super peaty nose. I gave this dram an 85-90.
Whisky Trails and Real McCoy are both names trademarked by Binny’s local wholesaler for independent bottlers, Signatory and Gordon & MacPhail. It’s basically their private label. Brett Pontoni the whisky specialist at Binny’s was with them when they picked it, helping out with the whole tasting process. The cask was sourced from Douglas Laing, the company that bottles Old Malt Cask, which happens to have some excellent Laphroaigs in their stocks. They are going to be meeting with them again in May, and will probably have another cask or two ready to go under this label, which is meant to be high quality, but reasonably priced.
(The term “Real McCoy” comes from the American Prohibition period in the 1930’s when whisky was smuggled into America, some over the 49th Parallel (Canadian/USA border) and others running the gauntlet by sea. Captain William McCoy who shipped Berry Brothers & Rudd’s products (Cutty Sark), earned a reputation as a supplier of real Scottish, quality whisky, entering our language to affirm authenticity, as “the real McCoy”.)
This is an exclusive bottling for Binny’s and therefore there are no public reviews.
$60 plus shipping from Binny’s
“The water was not fit to drink. To make it palatable, we had to add whisky.
By diligent effort, I learnt to like it.” -Sir Winston Churchill
Benromach Traditional 40% ABV
Glenmorangie Astar 57.1% ABV
Real McCoy Laphroaig 7-yr.old, 58.2% ABV
Benromach 7 year old, 58.6% ABV, distilled Sept 1999, bottled July 2007, cask no. 613,
aged in a sherry refill hogshead
Glenmorangie Nectar D’ Or 46% ABV
Fourteenth Tasting - Glenmorangie, Benromach, Laphroaig,
Thursday, May 21, 2009
May 21, 2009 meeting wrap up
Our 14th meeting was at the Mary and Dan’s and hosted by Mary.
We tasted Faves from WhiskyFest 2009 and started the evening with a video diary of the three-day WhiskyFest 2009 experience. The BUMS enjoyed video greetings from Andrew Gray of Bruichladdich, Dr. Bill Lumsden of Glenmorangie/Ardbeg, Karen Fullerton of Dewar’s, Martin Daraz of Highland Park and John Glaser of Compass Box Whisky Company.
In attendance this evening were Dan, Mary, Nancy, my guest, Bill and Mary’s guest, Amshwen. Besim and John were unable to attend. Unfortunately two of our founding members have decided to bow out of the club. Pat and Judi have decided that belt tightening had to include BUMS dues and meeting costs. I’ll certainly miss a fellow peat-head in Pat.
We tasted Benromach Traditional 40% ABV, Glenmorangie Astar 57.1% ABV and Real McCoy Laphroaig 7-yr. old, 58.2% ABV in that order. We also had bonus tastes of a Binny’s bottling of Benromach 7 year old, 58.6% ABV, distilled Sept 1999, bottled July 2007, cask no. 613, aged in a sherry refill hogshead, courtesy of Bill and Glenmorangie Nectar D’ Or 46% ABV, courtesy of yours truly.
Upon first tasting the Benromach Traditional everyone seemed impressed with its full flavor and overall balance, especially for a low priced spirit, but it paled in comparison to the cask strength version, with its all sherry butt aging, which has a tremendous sweetness and richness. In comparing the two I’d give the Traditional a 75-80 (although I rated it higher at the WhiskyFest tasting) and would give the cask-strength Benromach an 85-90.
Traditional has a slightly peaty nose with a hint of spice and malt. On the palate a nice overall balance between slight sweetness and maltiness and light peatiness, not too heavy.
Cask strength Benromach had oodles of sherry on the nose and slight smoke. On the tongue, it is mouth coating and perfect without water even though it is 58.6% ABV.
On to the Astar. We were all very impressed with this flavor profile. Here is a cask-strength, non-chill filtered beauty, which is bold without relying on a heavy sherry or peaty influence. On the nose it is quite floral with heavy vanilla and coconut. On the palate it is very rich and custardy with some nuttiness and butteriness along with some slightly spicy elements of cinnamon. I gave this an 85-90. Hansell gives it a 93.
How to top the Astar? Well of course it is comparing apples to oranges, but finishing with the Real McCoy Laphroaig is one way to go…and we did. Young whiskies can be lacking or too harsh, but this Laphroaig is a really nice contrast to the standard Laphroaig 10. Our choice was, Whisky Trails The Real McCoy Laphroaig 7-year old, Cask 4514, 58.2% ABV, distilled 2001, bottled 2008. It is a gentle giant. On the nose it starts off sweet and smoky and a bit assertive, but on the palate it is a mouth-filling dram that has good balance while still being super peaty. I gave this an 85-90.
Finally, our last bonus dram the Nectar D’ Or, finished in Sauterne casks. At 46% ABV it is much gentler than Astar, but shares some of its outstanding characteristics: very creamy and dessertish, creme bruleeish, and perfect without water. Not quite as spicy as Astar, I would give this and 85-90 too.
The BUMS crew, plus guests, were split on the night’s outstanding dram, having a hard time choosing between the Astar and the Laphroaig. Guess we’ll just have to drink some more and see if we can decide. Until next time…
Slainte! - Mark
Copyright 2010 Mark Friedman
