Whiskylive Singapore Part 1: Brora 1972, Glendronach 1970 and Port Ellen 18yr

 

Photo courtesy of whiskylive.sg

My favourite, and only large scale, whisky event in Singapore is the annual Whiskylive Singapore organized by La Maison Du Whisky. This year we were fortunate to get access to the Collector Room where there were many (too many in fact!) outstanding rare whiskies to be sampled. Let's get started on some of the highlights! The first three are interesting drams from independent bottlers.

The legendary 1972 vintage Brora

One of the first whiskies that caught my eye was the G&M 1972 Brora. I've always wanted to try a Brora, which is a silent distillery and quite rare to come by. In the world of whisky, the 1972 vintage for Brora was dubbed the finest ever produced (similar to a Bordeaux 1982 vintage) and is what generated tremendous interest in this distillery. While not an original bottling, I suppose I can't complain!

Comments: Salty smoke, grassy, followed by vanilla and lemon notes. Finish is peppery and waxy. What an unusual and complex whisky. Takes awhile to savour and appreciate and really grew on me with every sip.

They call this a dumpy bottle

Glendronach. Increasingly one of my favourite distilleries and go to whiskies if I'm in the mood for a sherry cask whisky. First time trying an independent bottling but this came highly recommended by the experts at LMDW.

Comments: The aroma of citrus and apricots followed by toasted sesame hits your nose immediately. The taste is honeyed with hints of bitter plum and a long smooth finish. Quality.

 

Can you ever go wrong with a Port Ellen?

Port Ellen, how I miss thee. My first Port Ellen was a 1978 4th release from Diageo (reviewed here). I was only just starting out my adventures in whisky and how I regret not buying more at the time particularly looking at the prices today. So naturally, when I saw this bottle my eyes lit up, ordered a glass and took a sip...

Comments: Hmmm....not quite what I expected. Light and grassy with floral and astringent notes followed by a dollop of smoke. Think of a Lowland whisky mixed with peat, a bizarre combination. Just didn't do it for me. Guess the answer to the aforementioned question is Yes. Sigh.

Lagavulin Distiller's Edition (1994 & 1995) and Glendronach 15 Years Revival

Had dinner at one of our favourite sushi restaurants in Singapore after returning from Tokyo. Yes, I love Japanese food. Knowing that the head chef loves his whisky, we brought a bottle of Glendronach 15 Revival to savour as an after dinner drink. Before you knew it, he took out his personal stash of Hibiki 30 (reviewed here, what an amazing dram which was sold out everywhere in Tokyo!) and Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 1994 and 1995 (previous review of 1989 version here).

THE REVIEW

Lagavulin DE 1994: A sherried Lagavulin! Have forgotten what it tastes like already as it has been awhile since I've had the Distiller's Edition version. This one treads the balance nicely between sherry and smoke. The debate will forever rage whether this is better than the 16 YO.

Lagavulin DE 1995: The sweetness in this one overpowers the peat slightly in this one. A little more tannic on the taste buds as well. I prefer the 1994 although I know of people that prefer this one, probably because they prefer less smoky whiskies in general.

Glendronach 15Yr: Not in the same class as the single cask series but nonetheless very impressive for the price point. Fresh floral notes and a strong sherry punch hits you when you taste it with a candied finish. I'm stocking up on this one as an everyday dram!

Laphroaig 14 Years Signatory 1998

Had a happy hour session with my reservist army mates and decided to bring an interesting bottle for them to try. This was a bottle picked up from our good friends from LMDW and came highly recommended.

THE REVIEW

Comments: The cask strength style definitely gives a punch! Grassy, floral waves followed by the inevitable smoked brilliance of Laphroaig. Crisp, medium finish makes it a good nightcap.

Ardbeg Tasting: Airigh Nam Beist 1990 & Uigeadail

 

It's been awhile since we tried the Ardbegs and we were in the mood for something punchy that evening. We had 2 interesting ones in the collection that were waiting to be opened, an Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist 1990, which the distillery calls 'Ardbeg Ice Cream' and the Ardbeg Uigeadail, which won Jim Murray's Whisky of the Year Awards in 2009.

THE REVIEW

Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist 1990: The usual powerful Ardbeg smokiness blends nicely with creamy vanilla notes with a hint of cashews and an oily finish. Solid!

Ardbeg Uigeadail: A full flavoured Ardbeg infused with sweet honey and caramel overtones. Nicely balancing the Ardbeg with sherry casks!

Laphroaig 30 Years Cairdeas

Here's a whisky I broke out for the New Year to celebrate with friends and family - the Laphroaig 30 year Cairdeas. This dram is essentially the award winning Laphroaig 30 year (reviewed here) double matured in Maker's Mark bourbon casks. Sound interesting enough already? Let's get on with the tasting.
Comments: You can definitely taste the Laphroaig 30yr here subdued a little by the oak finish. Depending on whether you are an oak or sherry cask person will determine how much you like this one. Overall an excellent whisky nonetheless worth every penny for special occasions.

Laphroaig 30 Years

Here is the long awaited review of the multi-award winning Laphroaig 30 year whisky that has been sitting around on my shelf for way too long. I think most whisky lovers need no introduction to this one.
Comments: Absolutely sublime! The sultanas, the berries mixed with a burst of sherry followed by an extremely long and smooth finish. Then you realise that there is actually some peat in this one to remind you of its Islay roots. Definitely one of the best I've tried so far!

Port Ellen 1978 - 4th Release

Port Ellen is a wonderful distillery that unfortunately has been shuttered since 1983. However, Port Ellen Maltings still supply the malts to Caol Ila and Lagavulin, which may partly explain why they are excellent whiskies. Diageo (who seems to be buying all the best distilleries out there) is the current owner of the distillery and is slowly releasing stocks remaining in the warehouse.

I managed to find this gem at the Charles de Gaulle airport during one of my travels. It called out to me when I saw it was the year I was born and there are only 5,500 bottles in existence.

The Review

Comments: As you can tell from the high score, we like this whisky very much. Bold and powerful, it that opens up even more when you add a few drops of water. The balance between the peat, malt and oak is immaculate, coupled with a sprinkling of fruity pear and citrus notes. Outstanding stuff.

Ardbeg 10 Year

Ardbeg is another Islay whisky that is popular with most whisky lovers. They boldly proclaim to be the ‘Greatest Distillery on Earth’ on their website (www.ardbeg.com) and is well regarded in the Whisky World. We are quite excited about this one so let’s get down to it.

The Sample

The Review

Comments: This whisky really hits you hard like a crashing wave and makes no apologies about it. The salty tang, iodine seaweed flavour and the powerful smokey, oily peat combination makes any newcomer to whisky do an about turn and politely decline this beast of a dram (yes, this has happened on more than one occasion when a whiff of the pungent aroma was enough to make them run back to Johnny Walker!). Did I forget to mention that it is non-chill filtered to give it an extra 'oomph'? One of our favourite whiskies where we admire it's audacious but yet balanced taste. Slainte!

Caol Ila 18 Years

Islay malts seem to be the rage these days. Whisky aficionados are slowly moving from the traditional Highland Malts (Macallan & all the Glen_ labels) to the more pungent and richly flavoured Islay style. As you must know by now, Lagavulin is one of our favourite Islay whiskies (if not our favourite whisky), although we have yet to do an official scoring of the Ardbeg and Laphroaigs that we own. Stay tuned for those tastings... Tonight, we sampled the Caol Ila 18 years to discover if it is the 'hidden gem' in Islay as boldly stated on the label.

The Review

Taste Profile


The Scoring

Conclusion: This is quite a decent whisky with nice citrus notes combined with the peaty, salty flavours of the sea. It is one of the lighter Islays out in the market.

Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1989

After trying the superlative Lagavulin 16 years, we decided to sample the Lagavulin Distillers Edition to see if they could improve on an already excellent whisky. The Distillers Edition series was created by Diageo to give a new dimension to the classic malts that they own. Essentially, it is the same whisky but 'finished' in a cask which previously held wine. In the case for Lagavulin, it is double matured in a full bodied Pedro Ximenez Sherry cask. My guess is that they wanted to balance this powerful malt with the sweetness of sherry. Here are the results:

The Review


Taste Profile


The Scoring

Conclusion: The pungence of the sherry cask is very apparent when you smell or taste it. Yet the peaty, powerful character of Lagavulin still shines through as these two distinct flavours compete with each other for your attention. An interesting experiment and a great dram that is easy to drink. Nonetheless, we still prefer the original undiluted thank you very much!