A Flowery Song

Background: Matured entirely in ex-sherry casks, this Speyside whisky is the most widely available of the many, many expressions the distillery produces.

Nose: Lightly smoky, with vanilla, dried citrus peel, and raisins.

Taste: Rich dried fruit, gingery spice, a bit of sweetness, then a middling amount of smoke in the finish. Nice long finish.

Overall: Lots of sherry influence, very smooth and sippable.

Background: “Solera” is a term more commonly encountered in discussions of sherry production, and describes an aging and blending process which uses a series of barrels. Each year a portion of the final barrel is bottled, and that barrel is topped up with sherry from the next one down the line, and so on until the first barrel, which is topped up with the new sherry. Glenfiddich use a modified version for this expression, where the whisky is first aged normally in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and new oak casks then married in their “Solera vat”, which is never emptied more than half way.

Nose: Flowering heather, apple, rose petals.

Taste: Honeyed apple, charred oak, hints of sherry and spice. Medium-length finish is very drying and almost bitter.

Overall: Smoothish, but the new oak influence is heavy (almost to the point of overpowering) and the finish is slightly grating. Still, an interesting little dram.

The Mission: “You’ve got three weeks, is what I’m saying: go find a smoked beer.” Direct and to the point.

Probably the most well-known example of a smoked beer is the German rauchbier, where a portion of the malt used is dried over a beechwood fire. The other widely available smoked malt is peated malt, while various craft brewers have smoked their own malt over anything from apple wood to alder wood (okay, so that’s not all that far).

A less traditional method, while not something I’ve heard of being used, would be to directly smoke the beer itself.

The second beer I’ll be covering is an example of second-hand smoke. I’m sure everyone’s heard of barrel-aged beer, but how many of you have considered that it introduces two possible sources for a smoky flavour? First, whisky barrels are usually charred before use, which can carry over into any beer aged in them. Second, what if the barrel came from a heavily peat-smoked whisky like Bruichladdich or Lagavulin? Even a less smoky whisky such as Highland Park introduces some smoke character.
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Background: The big brother of the Special 16 Reserve, this is bottle 7071, bottled in September 2007.

Nose: Heather and honey, a hint of smoke.

Taste: Sweet smoked game meat first, with hints of vanilla and tar. Dry, oaky finish.

Overall: Another excellent beer from Harviestoun, though a bit pricy at $15 for a 12 oz. bottle; were I independently wealthy (and if the only place I’ve seen this beer hadn’t closed down) it would be nice to do a horizontal tasting with the other versions.

Background: From Harviestoun, Ola Dubh (or 'Black Oil') is a series of special bottlings of their Old Engine Oil; each one is aged in selected casks which previously held Highland Park's single malt Scotch whisky (12, 16, and 30 years old). Bottle Number 9918, bottled in September 2007.

Appearance: Dark black fading to brown at the very edge, creamy tan head.

Nose: Vanilla, caramel, smoke, a hint of iodine and peat accompanied by a smooth fruitiness.

Taste: Sweet and nutty, light oak influence. Peat smoke and heather, a hint of dry cocoa.

Overall: Oh, that's nice. Mmm. Ooh, yeah.

…

I'll be in my bunk.

Background: From Tuthilltown Spirits in New York. Yes, you heard me: New York. What? You thought bourbon had to be made in Kentucky? You were wrong. Two runs through a pot still, then aged in small, charred American oak barrels for an unspecified length of time (around three months, I believe). Bottle 25, Batch 7, Year 2007.

Nose: Quite spicy, with allspice and vanilla predominating over a background of sweet grain.

Taste: Young and brash. Smoky oak influence, some resiny notes reminiscent of pine, spicy rye notes, and some fresh corn.

Overall: Nice young whisky. While its fresh youthful bravado is enticing, I can't help hoping that Tuthilltown will eventually also release older expressions of some of their spirits.

Background: From the Laphroaig distillery on Islay comes this peaty whisky, bottled without dilution or chill-filtering at 55.7% ABV after aging for a minimum of ten years.

Nose: Full and rich, displaying smoke, iodine, medicinal phenols, fruit, and tar.

Taste: Like the nose. Rich nutty peat background, hints of sea air and a powerful smokiness. Long finish with tons of peat.

(Dilute, I suppose.)

Nose: Sweeter and fruitier, with the smoke displaying some fatty barbecue-like notes.

Taste: Strong iodine attack, earthy and meaty peat middle, strong smoky peat finish.

Overall: 'Tis whisky. Strong and takes no prisoners, but wonderfully complex and tasty. If you like peaty Scotch, you're going to love this.

Background: Another Speyside malt; Tamdhu is the only Speyside distillery that does all of its malting on-site.

Nose: Mild and fruity, with some fresh grain influence.

Taste: Spicy oak, vegetal barley. Medium-length oily finish.

(Along came H2O)

Nose: Fruity. Sweet apple and pear.

Taste: Smoke, toffee, caramel, grass, lemon, and vanilla present.

Overall: Uninspiringly mild whisky. Some water helps to open it up.

Background: Clear Creek Distillery in Oregon imports peat-dried malt from Scotland to make this whisky. The malt is brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing and after distillation is aged for three years in ex-sherry casks. Additional maturation is done in local Oregon oak barrels. According to the maker, this is an attempt to produce a whisky in the style of an Islay Scotch.

Nose: Smoke, generic fruit, peat, and alcohol.

Taste: Sweet, with some soft fruit, smoke, and mild peat. Prominent new oak influence, slight rubber character.

(Now we dilute)

Nose: A bit of vanilla, a bit of caramel.

Taste: More peat, less oak.

Overall: Young, and had a bit too much time in new oak to really resemble a normal Islay. Still, it's drinkable and peaty. Quite promising; I've had better whiskies at this age, but I'd definitely like to see what the distiller could do with more time in wood.

Background: The standard bottling from the Dalmore distillery in the northern Highlands of Scotland is aged for a minimum of twelve years; the split in the barrels used is 50/50 ex-bourbon/ex-sherry.

Nose: Aromatic spiciness, orange citrus, and some sherry nuttiness.

Taste: Rich and tasty. Sweet sherry, citrus, some vanilla, and a bit of oak. Some light vegetal notes, with barley coming through in the finish. The finish is long and dry, with some dried fruit and nuttiness from the sherry.

(Plip plip plop little water showers)

Nose: Caramel and a hint of smoke.

Taste: Mild peat influence is detectable. Rounder and fruitier; the citrus notes are less sharp and more laid-back.

Overall: Well-structured, but not extremely complex. A comforting sipping whisky.