The KOTQ

Good Christmas Eve story from friend of the KOTQ, Doug. His brother-in-law invited him to his special liquor area and told him to bring back anything he’d like to drink. Doug looked for the single malts and found two: a Signatory Dallas Dhu 1975 and LadyBurn 1973; both dismantled distilleries. It turns out that his brother-in-law was friends with the legendary Joe C of Binny’s who gave Doug’s brother-in-law Christmas gifts from Binny’s rare spirit vault every year for a time. In fact the Dallas Dhu was a bottling made from a cask hand-picked by Joe for a special Binny’s release. Every guest at the Christmas Eve party was not a single malt drinker (other than Doug) yet he had them all share in the experience. They were so overwhelmed by the smoothness of the Dallas Dhu yet remaining sweet and mildly spicy that the 8 of them finished the entire bottle that night. Twas the night before Christmas indeed! They were so wrapped up in the Dallas Dhu that they saved the LadyBurn for another time. I heard that they had never opened the LadyBurn and I asked him if his brother-in-law intends on drinking it our investing in it as a collectible. Truth is, I’ve never even seen an LadyBurn and told him I knew a buyer if he was looking to sell 😉

I just spent a week in London with my wife and I was fortunate that The Whisky Exchange was right in the heart of the one of the areas we hung out in. Near Shakespeare’s Globe Theater and the Tate Modern Art Gallery is an elegant and modern wine and spirit exchange called Vinopolis. The Whisky Exchange, a mecca for single malt enthusiasts and a great place to source UK-only or hard to find bottlings, is situated right at the heart of Vinopolis. But, just in case you need reminding they keep this sandwich board advertisement out on the street.

Here I am doing my level best to look the part of a single malt aficionado. This is just one corner of the store. There are at least two glass cases of rare bottlings, one of which you see in this photo. The store is smart and open and you are surrounded by beautiful bottlings. It took me a good while to peruse the store and my wife was very patient throughout and helped me locate certain bottlings.

The shelf full of Talisker was of particular interest; showcasing a number of UK-only Taliskers (the first 2 listed were released in spring 2013) along with the discontinued 175th Anniversary bottling. “Storm” is their 10 kicked up a notch (or two). “Port Ruighe” (pronounced Portree) is their port finish. “57° North” is a limited cask strength bottling. “175th anniversary” we tasted in 2009 which as I remember is a rare beauty. I probably should have snagged some of these as the first three are only currently available in the UK; but I found out after I returned 🙁

I ended up buying three bottles. I wanted to complete Brother Brass’s “Distiller’s Edition” tasting lineup he is designing so I bought the Clynelish “D”. I noticed right away “The Spirit of Lewis” expression which is the first release from the new Abhainn Dearg distillery on the Isle of Lewis which I know you cannot find in the States. I love island distilleries and I was excited to be able to pick this one up. Finally, Fettercairn is a difficult distillery to source in the US so when I saw the Fasque I just had to have it.

I had the wisdom to order 3 oz of Springbank 1965, 39 year and share it with 5 other people at our last meeting. For those who weren’t able to make it this is one time where I wouldn’t be able to describe the experience. I might be able to say that the 39 supplements the wonderfully oily palate of its kid brother, the 21, with a vibrant lemon zest. I might try to describe the romance inside the glass. However, it would all be to no avail. This experience transcended the ability of the woefully limited English language to convey.

Very often very aged expressions bear no resemblance to their heritage and don’t match the hype. At least in this case you can believe the hype and the price tag.

Brother Brass went to our EMEA offices to conduct some training and while in London found his way to The Whisky Exchange’s brick and mortar store. Our distillery pages at our KOTQ web-site are linked with TWE’s on-line store which is so incredibly complete and up to date that I hadn’t even considered a physical store was behind it. Brass spent considerable time simultaneously being tempted and overwhelmed and netted out on a special bottling of Lagavulin. It was special for a number of reasons.

Firstly, because it was actually bottled by the The Whisky Exchange itself. Secondly, for us North Americans, it was available only in Europe. And, thirdly, it was a cool bottle size and style we’re not accustomed to and was not age expressioned. Our European colleague at work, Klaus, informed us that non age-expressions usually mean a youngish whisky and we pegged this one as a 6-8 year. The bottling was cask strength yet some of the group enjoyed it uncut. I cut mine and discovered a large fruitiness to the palate including pineapple, plum, and peach. Depending on where you cut it you could have a smoky, smooth or very spicy experience. Definitely fun, new ground for a Lagavulin.

Thanks to Brass for his diligence in providing a remarkable experience for the Friday afternoon single malt club.

Exciting off-line tasting from Ardbeg Committeeman Brother Bluff on Ardbeg’s new release: Galileo.

The bottle is a limited edition bottling but not hidden in the back room for committee members only. I pulled it off the shelf for $90 without having to give a special wink or super secret handshake.

I just cracked it open and my initial impressions are positive. Bottled at 49%, I only added a little bit of water to open it up. It has all the usual smoke that you’d expect from Ardbeg, but I get sweetness on the nose and reminds me of BBQ Ribs—charred and caramelized.

The palate has all the salt you’ve come to expect, plus some surprising sweet notes that come from the ex-Marsala casks. It’s aged 12 years, so unlike the recent committee bottlings, this release has an age statement…1999, bottled 2012.

Forget about the gimmick celebrating Ardbeg in Space….the whisky is pretty delicious without the hype, and sadly will not be available for long.