whisky

A Taste of Speyburn

Every now and then I like to sit and taste through a distillery’s whisky porfolio, and that’s just what I’m doing here with Speyburn. Built in 1897, founder John Hopkins wanted to fill his first barrel with whisky in order to celebrate the Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Working through some nasty winter conditions, Hopkins and team were able to fill their first barrel in December of that year, just making his self imposed deadline. The distillery itself is located in the Speyside region.

Speyburn isn’t that well known here in the United States, and those that do know it generally regard it as a great value pour. The whisky coming from Speyburn is a light Highland style, so don’t look for huge peat or sherry notes here. Their standard whisky portfolio consists of a 10-year-old whisky and two NAS whiskies, Bradan Orach and Arranta Casks. I’ve seen the 10-year-old on the shelves of stores that have a decent whisky selection, so it’s readily available. It is a blend of American Oak ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Bradan Orach, Gaelic for “Golden Salmon”, is Speyburn’s entry level malt. It is matured in ex-bourbon casks. The U.S. exclusive Arranta Casks matures in first fill ex-bourbon casks.

Speyburn 10-year-old is one of the best selling single malts in the world. At some point it was a top ten selling malt, which may still be the case. It’s bottled slightly above minimum at 43% abv. My very first nosing reminded me of a less sweet Glenmorangie 10-year-old. Both whiskies are delicate in style. Speyburn 10yo features lightly-sweetened malt, slighty creamy caramel and a floral note. There is also hints of sweet nectarine and spice. On the palate, honeyed malt is complimented by hints of candied orange peel, stewed pear, pie crust, and vanilla. The finish is a touch on the dry, slightly oaky side, and doesn’t stick around long. Very much a light, clean whisky, and at about $25 a bottle, it’s a great value to boot! 8/10

Exclusive to the U.S. market is Speyburn Arranta Casks. Like I mentioned before, this whisky has matured in first fill ex-bourbon barrels. It carries no age statement, but features an even higher abv than the 10yo at 46%. It’s priced about $40 a bottle. Those first fill ex-bourbon casks really mold the character of this release. The nose is full of classic bourbon notes of toffee, vanilla and charred oak. Some honeyed malt also shows through, but the richness is cut with grapefruit. Otherwise, it’s less fruity than the 10yo. Arranta Casks keeps a crisp flavor profile, probably due to it’s probable young age. However, it wears its “no age statement” proudly. A foundation of vanilla, caramel and sweet & buttery malt is supplemented by short waves of lightly-brewed green tea, orange peel, and oak spice. That spice carries through to the medium-long, slightly dry finish. I like this as much as I like the 10yo, albeit for different reasons. It’s a touch drier, less fruity, and the higher proof will stand up to cocktails. 8/10

The entry level malt in Speyburn’s portfolio is the $20 Bradan Orach, another NAS whisky. If Arranta Casks utilizes only first fill bourbon casks, my guess is there is mostly second and third fill casks here. Brandan Orach is bottled at 40% abv and is the cheapest of the bunch. Compared to the other two entries, this one is a bit of a disappointment. The nose reveals a very young whisky, with sharp “green” malt, rubbing alcohol, light caramel and ripe apple. On the palate, spiced apple, honey, and a tart citrus note slightly help mask the young malt. The medium finish is a little sweet and mostly clean. Rather okay-ish and without character. With the 10 year old being such a nice whisky at a mere $5 upgrade, I see no reason to reach for Bradan Orach. 5/10

Thanks to Speyburn for the generous samples! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rediscovering Lagavulin

I’m a lucky guy. One of the bedrooms in my house holds most of my whisky collection. I can’t mention that without thanking my lovely wife for putting up with my whisky blog shenanigans. It’s a rather small collection compared to that of a lot of whisky fans/collectors, but larger than the average person has in his/her house. Currently the count is just north of 220 full bottles (and countless smaller sample bottles). When we have people over at the house for the first time, they ask to see the “whisky room.” Most have the same “whoa” moment when they walk in. Non-whisky folks always ask which is my favorite. My answer is always the same. “Picking a favorite whisky is like picking a favorite child.” Mind you, I don’t have kids, and everybody generally accepts my non-answer answer.

But the question does make me think about which whiskies I’d pack in the event of a fire or hurricane evacuation. While I do have my favorites, Lagavulin never seems to make the cut. I’ve tried both the standard 16-year-old and annual 12-year-old expressions, and loved them. A lot. So why do I seem to forget about Lagavulin? Maybe I haven’t spent enough time with the brand, only having a single pour of each of the previously mentioned expressions. After I post a whisky review, I tend to quickly move onto the next whisky. Not that I’m complaining. I do have the great pleasure of tasting a lot of whiskies. Whatever the reason, I needed to put Lagavulin back on my radar. I wanted to reconnect, and at this year’s Tales of the Cocktail, I did so in a most unforgettable way.

THE LAGAVULIN SEMINAR TO END ALL LAGAVULIN SEMINARS

History in a glass: these are the seven Lagavulin samples we tried that day.

Led by Diageo Master of Whisky Ewan Morgan, Diageo Head of Whisky Outreach Dr. Nick Morgan and incomparable whisky writer Dave Broom, the “Ultimate Lagavulin Seminar” was both a crash course in the history of the distillery and a tasting of rare expressions of Lagavulin. And rare they were. We’ll get to that in a bit.

Postcard courtesy of Diageo and Dr. Nick Morgan

An old photo of Lagavulin distillery. Postcard courtesy of Diageo

This year is the 200th anniversary of the Lagavulin distillery. We know there were several illegal distilleries on Islay around for a couple of hundred years before that. 1816 is the date the Lagavulin distillery was registered legally, hence the bicentennial celebrations this year.

The distillery was founded by John Johnston, but it was Mackie family who really positioned the distillery for the future. In 1850, James Logan Mackie became partner and eventually came to own the distillery under his company “James Logan Mackie & Co.” His nephew Peter Mackie, joined the family business and under his leadership the distillery grew by leaps and bounds. Lagavulin still honors Mackie’s legacy to this day. Look closely at the label on a bottle of Lagavulin and find “Mackie and Sons” signature.

During the course of the seminar, we tasted seven whiskies, some very rare. Here’s the breakdown along with some brief notes:

1948 White Horse blended whisky. It was a standard blend of the day, and contained a bit of whisky from Malt Mill, a famous lost Islay distillery. The whisky itself was pretty rich, with tropical fruit, burnt toffee and some slight minerality & a whisp of smoke. There was slight spice on the finish. Now this is how you start a tasting!
2016 Lagavulin 18-year-old Feis Ile (49.5% abv). This expression matured in refill American oak casks and European casks. I found grilled pineapple and toffee on the nose, along with a touch of smoke. The palate carried light smoke and vanilla, along with some herbalness. Pretty vibrant for an 18 year old whisky.
Lagavulin 8-year-old (57.5% cask strength). Heavier smoke compared to the older expressions, as expected. The nose carried aromas of hay, slightly caramelized fruit and lemon zest. Taste-wise, I found spice, lemon zest, salted toffee, sweet malt and a touch of ashy smoke.
Lagavulin new make (63% abv). Malty, smoky and hot! Fruity, floral and smoky best describe this unaged whisky.
Lagavulin 12-year-old (circa 1970s, 43% abv). Smoked mango, light toffee and a vegetal note. It carried flavors of sweet tropical fruit, tame peat smoke, and vanilla. Water brought out more smokiness.
Lagavulin 1995 cask 3326 (45.2%). This one aged in an ex-bourbon cask and had lots of caramel and vanilla, as well as tropical fruit on the nose. Those notes carried over to the palate alongside toasted grain and soft smoke. In this case, water brought out more tropical fruit notes.
1976 Lagavulin 37-year-old (51% abv). Wow. Dark fruit, soft smoke, brown sugar on the nose. The palate closely followed the nose, adding carmelized tropical fruit.

Seems I’ve died and gone to Lagavulin heaven. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be between the Lag 12 from the 1970s or the 18-year-old Feis Ile release. That 37-year-old wasn’t too shabby either. See, I can’t pick just one.

Ewan Morgan went on to cover the production process at the Lagavulin distillery, but I was too enchanted by the drams in front of me to pay too much attention to that part. Sorry Ewan. Between that, the history lesson and the tasting, I get why they called this the Ultimate Lagavulin seminar. Besides visiting the distillery, I couldn’t think of a better way to reinvigorate my Lagavulin love.

Later this week, I’m reviewing the new 8-year-old Lagavulin, and comparing it to the 12- and 16-year-old expressions. In addition, I’ll share some information Dr. Nick Morgan provided regarding this year’s 200th anniversary releases.

Thanks to Ewan and Lia for letting me sneak into this unforgettable seminar.

A Chat with Chef Tory McPhail

Tory McPhail, Executive Chef of Commander’s Palace

One of the events that will forever be etched in my memories is Diageo’s Spirited Dinner I attended at Commander’s Palace. Each year during Tales of the Cocktail, one night is reserved for spirits companies to have a dinner and spirit (or cocktail) pairing at a New Orleans restaurant. Several of these happen all across New Orleans. When the Tales schedule went up, there were a few Spirited Dinners I had my eye on. Some of these are invite-only, and some require a ticket purchase to attend. The one at the top of my list was put on by Diageo. They collaborated with Commander’s Palace Executive Chef Tory McPhail to come up with a dinner that paired with some of their 2015 Special Release Scotch Whiskies.

Some of the night’s whisky selections.

I recently sat down with Chef McPhail to talk about the dinner in a little more depth. Here are some highlights from our chat.

“For us, cocktails here in New Orleans are such a huge part of our culture. At Commander’s, it’s a big deal as well,” said McPhail. Food and wine pairings are common for Commander’s Palace, but this is their first whisky pairing. “To have an opportunity to do this with some top shelf, really rare Scotches is a thrill.”

The evening’s menu.

McPhail told me he is normally a rum guy, but he enjoys all spirits. So when Diageo initially contacted him about a whisky dinner, he jumped at the chance. “They sent me 9 or 10 amazing whiskies (the 2015 Special Releases). Tasting some of the flavors, be it chocolate or leather or brine, or what have you, it was pretty neat to create a menu based on what I tasted at the bottom of the glass.”

We talked about the third course, a Cypress & Sugarcane Smoked Breast of Duck paired with Brora 37 year. “I found the Brora 37 very unique.” McPhail recalled. He wanted to pair those flavors with something special. He said of the meal, “We brined the duck breast in molasses, brown sugar, red chili flakes and salt, then smoked them in cypress that we had upstairs. A buddy of mine is a woodworker, and thinks the cypress was milled in the late 1800s.”

A twinkle hit McPhail’s eyes when the conversation turned to history. He gleefully continued, “Commander’s Palace was built in 1893 and that time NOLA was expanding very rapidly. They cut down the cypress forest in what is present-day Mid City, around Bayou St. John. A lot of that wood went towards building houses in the late 1800s. We estimate a lot of those trees to be around 400 years old when they were cut down. My buddy took that wood out of attics in Mid City after Hurricane Katrina. That wood’s been sitting in my buddy’s shop for 11 years drying. He saved me all the cypress from that time period specifically for Commander’s Palace, and that’s what we used to smoke the duck.”

Cypress & Sugarcane Smoked Breast of Duck, paired with Brora 37 year.

Then I asked about the beef short ribs, and its Cuban tobacco infused sauce. “I knew I had the dinner coming up, and I had the unique opportunity to travel to Cuba,” he said. “I’m a geek for food history, especially love Spanish food. We had the opportunity to see the largest settlement outside of Spain in the new world. There were already 30,000 people living in and around Havana by the time the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. I brought back a bunch of Cuban cigars, and one was reserved for the sole purpose of being in the sauce for the short ribs for the Diageo dinner. So that was cool.”

58 Day Dry-Aged Waygu Beef Short Rib “Grilles & Grits”, paired with Port Ellen 32 year

Finally, Chef McPhail talked about the chocolate dessert paired with Dailuaine 34 Year. “I think whisky is so complex. There are so many nuances. It’s a really unique, artisanal product. Chocolate is the same. So I chose six chocolates from around the world from some of the leading chocolate producers. We did a tasting of all of them, and I wrote down the nuances like I did originally for the whiskies. We laid them left-to-right on the flavor profile. As you taste the whole thing and taste the different scotches that were left, I wanted people to really get a flight in the progression of flavor.”

A Comparative Tasting of the World’s Best Chocolates, paired with Dailuaine 34 year.

When I asked about his overall feeling of the dinner, he smiled and said, “I walked away feeling very proud. We’ve never done a scotch dinner like this before. It’s Tales of the Cocktail! We have all these important friends coming in. For us to be able to do a menu like this plus have them bring very special whiskies is just really really cool.”

His favorite whisky of the night? “The Cally 40 year really stood out to me.” Good answer Chef… Good answer.

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THE LAGAVULIN SEMINAR TO END ALL LAGAVULIN SEMINARS

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