Lark and Tasmanian Whisky.

It's great having friends who get to jet around the globe because occasionally, knowing my love of exotic booze, they'll end up bringing something back for me from their travels. As is the case with this little beaut. Walking around near the sea front in Hobart in Tasmania my friend Nick and my sister Kelly managed to walk past the door to the Lark Distillery. Not shy of a drink or two and despite they seemed to be closing they managed  to sample a few of the distillery wares including some malt and some of their rum. So I was both very grateful and lucky (and very excited) when they gave us a  bottle of Lark Single Malt. Obviously the only thing to do was to crack it open immediately and proceed to share it's contents with those good travellers.

Obtaining anything from that part of the world from a supplier in the U.K. is near to impossible (although I'm sure the Whisky Exchange or Master of Malt probably has bottles around £100 mark). So I knew this would be a very special treat.

William Lark is considered the godfather of Antipodean distilling. The Lark distillery was set up in 1992 and is family owned and operated. The story (related from the guy in the distillery shop) goes that he and a friend were playing golf and drinking whisky when the penny-drop moment occurred that they had all the raw materials there themselves to make their own whisky. Water, amazing barley (the field next to them on the golf course), peat in the highlands and the right conditions for maturation.

William has since helped set up and advise other distilleries in the area to create a little micro-distilling scene (for want of a better word) in Tasmania. I believe there are at least five Tasmanian distilleries: Lark (Hobart), Nant (Bothwell), Hellyers Road (Burnie), Tasmanian / Sullivan's Cove (Cambridge) and Small Concern (Ulvertone). Furthermore, Bill has also been involved in a project to set up a distillery in Kingsbarns in Fife. Scotland.

Nick also had brought back a rum which we greatly enjoyed. It was unlike any other rum I've had. I've tried Bundaberg, another Oz rum, and that's very un-rum like. This was equally so and also very unlike Bundy too. The sweetness that you expect from most Caribbean rums starts but then fades quickly to an almost medicinal, dare-i-say almost Laphroaig style peatiness and bitter conclusion. I really enjoyed it but not sure what the others felt - they did say that the samples at the distillery were different to the ones they bought back. Fortunately we didn't smash in all of the Single Malt and so I had a little left to re-taste and give a bit more consideration to.

The single malt comes in a wide, thin, flask type 500ml bottle and looks the part with a large golden embossed distillery stamp on the bottle.

Cask 128. Bourbon aged.
58% ABV.
Hand signed by William Lark.

As soon as you smell this you know it's different. It's hard to pin it down exactly, yes it noses like whisky but all the usual reference points seem to be hanging back. It's unique. You can pick up the sweet barley, the sweet malt from the off. There's a fresh floral edge combined with something else you just can't hit. There's cereal notes, drying haystacks, dusty roads. You can smell the sunshine in a glass. It's that herby, savoury, wild flower aroma that seems to bind everything together that is elusive. You can smell the cask, there's a glance of vanilla and a chunk of spicy oak. There's a headiness as well, almost musk-like. A waft of old timers, heavy perfume.

There's something very clean and fresh, something that reminds of a clear, cold mountain stream. Fresh mountain air. Mountain forest. A faint of pine. Now pencil shavings, pencil lead, graphite. Rock. Then fresh linen. Freshly washed clothes. I think you get the picture on that theme. There could be a hint of the sea, not the brine and salt of Scotland but something more sheltered and placid. As it opens those rolling gentle waves seem to become slightly more defined.

It's creamy on the tongue, coating the mouth. There's a buttery, cream, milk vibe going on. A slant on a biscuit theme - cream crackers. With a dairy-lee wedge. The spice kicks in late on and then it really makes a break for it. Intense and intensive. Searing and soaring, like a huge sustaining power chord increasing. Like a Pacific wave rolling in. Like a surfer catching a wave, It breaks and the spice dissipates. Melts. The mouth-coating oiliness flooding the tongue in it's wake. An oaky wood bitterness that rises in tandem. A slight granular edge as it fractures. Like sand.

Make no bones about it, this is a singularly unique whisky. And like all good whisky (all good drinks in fact) it speaks of it's place of origin. If Japanese whisky reminds me of calm, collectedness, zen, harmony, balance and purity. If Sweden's Mackmyra reminds me of form and function, of totality of good design. Then Lark pictures a drink that takes it's call from nature, the raw materials it's formed from. The air, the land and the water.

Butternut Squash Risotto and Bowmore Tempest.

I like to make risotto. It's a meal that requires 100% of your attention. The ladling of the stock, bit by bit, means that you can't go and do anything else. Ladle, stir, ladle. It's quite zen in a way. Quite a chilled out, half an hour on your own. Anyway, you can pretty much stick anything into a risotto. One of my favourites is beetroot. It turns the rice a lovely purple colour. One of the best things about risotto is the way it totally comes together right at the very end - the addition of parmesan and herbs and a little bit of the stock just to loosen it.

But one of my favourite things, and of relevance to this blog, is the booze finish.   A quick slug of spirit and in the closing moments can really transform the dish. For instance, when using fennel a slug of Ricard really works. The other week, whilst making it with the beetroot I realised that I couldn't find any vodka (beetroot and vodka - classic combo obvo!) in the amongst the many half bottles in the store! In a bit of an inspired move I had some Aviation gin on the side. Aviation is an American gin and is rye based but also not particularly juniper dominated like a traditional gin. It worked a treat.

Yesterday, I was using up a butternut squash in the risotto. The squash and onion, were giving it a sweet edge with the parmesan a touch of salt and sage giving it an earthy balance. What I wanted was a touch of smoke. Fortunately there was a bottle of Bowmore Tempest Batch 3 on the side from a tasting a did a couple of weeks ago. A perfect solution - a Laphroiag would have been too pungent - but the Tempest has the smoke balance along with a beautiful citrus orange touch which complemented the dish bang on. Also as it's cask strength it took seconds to burn off and I didn't need to use as much - which means a little bit more to drink!

Intro to Scotch Tasting.

Well you got to start somewhere.. and last month at the Sheaf View in Sheffield the tasting was an introduction into the world of Scottish Whisky. Or to be a bit more precise Scottish Single Malts. Of course whisky can, and is, made all around the world but Scotland is probably going to be the best place to start for those new to the drink.

Here's the brief: 5 Scottish Single Malts representing different regional areas, different cask types (e.g. sherry v bourbon). Mainly aimed at the beginner but with a twist to keep a couple of old timers excited. In a pub that sells single malts (so no "classic malt series" thanks)  £10 a ticket 25 people max.

Without repeating the night wholesale, and cutting a very long story short - what was explored were:

The Lowlands - represented by Bladnoch 20 (distillery bottling)
Speyside - represented by Aberlour 10 Sherry Cask Finish (French bottling)
Highlands - Clynelish 12 (Friends of Classic Malt) n.b. also representing a bit of a "coastal" vibe.
Islands - Highland Park (G&M Cask 1997) - Small Batch, Sherry Cask, Cask Strength.
Islay - Bowmore Tempest 10 YO Batch#3 - Small Batch, Bourbon Cask, Cask Strength.

So the idea being to compare and contrast a couple of Sherry dominanted casks - the Aberlour and the Highland Park - plus upfront bourbon casks - the Bowmore (1st fill bourbon). Plus Cask strength A.B.V.s (Bowmore and Highland Park). And generally to present 5 malts that try to represent the various geographical and taste profiles of Scotland whilst also being fairly "user-friendly" AND at the same time throwing a curve ball or two in for some people who may have drunk the more obvious malts or had drunk some of the malts that the bar had in stock (e.g. Aberlour 16). So that was the brief. Got it? Ok no bother.. on with the show.


Bladnoch 20
46%

On the nose it's chocolate chip cookie dough and vanilla ice cream. It's light, apples, a touch of spice, perhaps a faint whiff of smoke behind it, crunchy green apples coming back again. Apple and custard. A vibe of a lazy summer orchard, a hot summers day, and so maybe there is that distant smoke from a fire on the wind. But it's fleeting. There's flowers, heady flowers. A touch of 60s love psychedelica, but having said that this is 20 years old and so maybe 90s love beads, baggy and bowl haircuts are more probable!

The taste follows the nose. Apples again. Green and grassy. Melting quickly away. Lollypops. Apple pie and cinnamon spice. The finish is likewise. Smooth, short-ish but tasty. Balanced summer lightness all the way.

Aberlour 10
43%

This particular bottle is a French only release. Finished in Sherry Casks. It kicks off quite closed on the nose. Perhaps even diffident. Perhaps even defiant. Oddly, it feels French. There's an odd element of apples and perhaps Calvados. Different from the Bladnoch - it's not green crunchy summer apples but toffee-red pulped and stewed. There's a malt cereal note. There's a young alcohol and fresh paint note. The sherry cask brings the autumnal leaves in the boating lake. Other Aberlour's, like the 16, feel softer but this has a stricter, tighter feel.

On the palate it's youth and spice. It takes a small while to reach it, an existential shrug, a drying and then the canter of giddy spice. Exuberance and nervous folly. Still structured but around a loose framework. Still space to grow into bones. Finding it's flesh. Like a horse learning to walk. The finish also. Dries with more confidence than the delivery. Gangs on the back palate, making a show, asserting it's presence; it's influence insecure.

Is this the most perfect whisky to go with food? It's anomalies straightened out and synched in? I think so. Scotch but perfectly French.

Clynelish 12 (Friends of Classic Malt)

Ok so this is one for those who've done in the back bar a bit - it's a F.O.C.M bottling. The distillery bottling usually weighs in at the 14YO mark so this is a couple of years of youth young.

This is going to sound odd but on the nose it's grilled chicken breast, wet dog, the embers of a dying fire, that ozone smell of the beach, the inside of a tent at night. A slight hint of sea salt, oily engine oil, fatty deposits - coastal. The fats come back, building up like slightly off butter or a build up on a blocked cooker hood.

On the palate, that inside of a tent aroma is repeated. Not that summer sun hit, but that respite from the cold. There's a chill in the air and you're safely tucked up. It's drier and more mealy than the 14YO. Slightly more dirt. Less polite and a bit more turf, mud and oil. Salt and sweat. There is a tiny hint of fruit. Maybe a shimmy of toffee. Fleeting but more than trace.

The finish carries on what went before. Slight bitter edge. Bitter + oil + salt + bitter + oil. Gluey. Oil.
Underneath it all, there's fruit trying to elbow it's way out. Savoury apples. Bonfire toffee. Salt.

Highkand Park
G&M Cask 1997 (Casks 5825/5826/5827/5828 - 1st and Refill Sherry Hogsheads)
Dist. 17/11/97 Btl. 17/3/08
ABV 57.1%

On the nose it's warming sherry, Christmas cake, Battenburg and icing. Flowery and floral.
There's a touch of smoke - not really peaty. Something much warmer and rounded. Coming up towards the smell of treacle tart. Slightly overdone. Burnt treacle. As expected at this ABV it takes a while to open up but when it does those raisin and currant elements start to shine through. It's thick this nose. Dense. Turned chocolate cake mixture, cooked salami, chunky choc chip. There's a lot to go through and it's changing all the time. Occasional hints of swimming pool and then straight back in to a dry malt, dusty hay loft. Totally heady. So inviting.

Like the nose the flavour profile is several changes up and down. There's a load of various stages. This is a complex dram. More so than the distillery bottling or the last Signatory that we looked at. The Signatory Unchillfiltered was all smashed orange and engine oil, here those Sherry casks really take hold. There's lip tingling spice from the off, less sweet than the distillery bottles. Dry, then smooth, then metal, then savoury then nut, nut in a big, big way. Lingering spice on the finish. Toast. Burnt buttery toast at the end. A tang in the mouth.

Bowmore
Tempest Batch 3 10 YO
ABV 55.6%

Cheating a little as this was put on a Best of 2011 tasting I did back in January at another location. Yeah I reckon this is a proper bang-for-the-buck malt. It's nice to see Bowmore up the gear as well - I've always enjoyed their products but felt that somehow that the last couple of years have not been as good as I used to remember them (but maybe that's just me).

Clean and beautifully golden.
Smoke instantly on the nose but entwined with a lightness and a touch of sparkling orange. There's peat and there's sea, a lovely maritime number enveloped in some tidy fruit and a healthy chunk of chocolate. Like eating a chocolate orange next to a bonfire on the beach.

It's a full on ABV and can quite happily take a bit of water. Without water it's a full on steam roller chugging heavy on the palate and smashing it's way round like a naughty ox. It certainly opens up a bit more, with some water, making the smokiness a little bit more intense even. It's dry to start but the orange theme is reiterated later on. There's an intense rush of spice. Then that dry peat smoke lingers. Giving way to the salty sea.

We had one of the Bowmore Adelphi Bottles a while back and that was Autumn/Winter Islay. Well this is Spring/Summer Islay. It's got sunshine in it's step. Citrus fruit, a twist of lemon and the persistence of peat. It's got a lovely balance and fantastic layered depth. It's no wonder it made the Best of 2011 tasting.

Coffee - Blackburn, Tanzania

This month's instalment from Square Mile. And it's their 4th birthday today. Easter Monday. Happy birthday. Anyway...

This time, according to the literature,  it's a bit of an experimental vibe from Michael Gerhrken in Tanzania. Using Kent and Bourbon beans and a natural process (i.e. not washing them - n.b. I'm yet to figure out exactly what the whole process thing is about but as I'm of an enquiring mind I'll do some reading up on the subject - it's mainly booze based drinks I work in and so getting the monthly subscriptions to Square Mile has really opened up the realm of new flavour possibilities in coffee - for which I am very thankful). The family live on the estate, which borders the Ngorongoro National Park. They work with the environment, allowing elephants and buffalos to pass through, and carrying out minimal and controlled intervention, such as little use of insecticide.

This is quite a pungent coffee, especially compared to last month's sample. On the grind it's really meaty, giving out quite strong beef stock, gravy/bovril aromas. The aromas on the brew follow, being earthy and dark. A little stalky and slightly wet. It's very clean though. Fresh with a lot of depth and a oily texture. A bit nutty with a cram of chocolate at the end. I'm not sure I get the ripe peaches and sweet pineapple (ok maybe a subtle hint of that pineapple) but I do have a slight cold. Perhaps not my favourite one so far but one that is properly enjoyable and with a little more going on than at first meets the eye (or mouth).

Good work Square Mile!

Glendronach 14 - Sauternes Finish

Ok. Let's cut to the chase. Look I know full well that you, Glendronach and Benraich, make some fine whisky. Some of the best. I also know that, for some reason, (and I have my own suspicions) that you insist on travelling down this road of "finishes". Ok, so maybe Benriach takes the lead in this (6 different wood finishes) but in July 2010 GlennyD opened up 4 wood finishes - the "first of their kind ever to be released by the distillery in its 180 year history". So we had a Sauternes, a Virgin Oak, a Moscatel, and a Tawny Port finish. Most of the core range itself has been double dipped in a couple of casks along the way as well. So my question is what is the D.N.A. of the distillery? What is it's signature? What makes Glendronach, Glendornach? Because from this particular dram I'm finding it difficult to ascertain a straight answer.

Straight answers are not what this dram is about. Now, I'm not saying that this is a "bad thing". It's more like a thing I'm struggling with. You know that film "Inception"? Pretty tricky plot. Story with kinks in it. Tasty effects. That's what I feel about this. 

On the nose it's bang, straight into the action with desiccated coconut, chocolate fudge, and back to Bounty Bar ice cream. Sweet. Then after a little while longer up comes the strawberry jam. This cask has obliterated any sign of what may have been whisky previously - it's just sweet, but in an unlike Sauternes way - there's no grape vibe, just teddy bears picnic. 

The odd thing is that on the palate - it's all askew. Like a cake it's layered but with a sweet then bitter then a touch of salt as icing. There's no spice and no integration. It's sweet one way, and then hello bitterness coming from the other. There's no balance. And it just doesn't follow. Yeah, it's a little oily, a bit creamy, which is kinda nice. After a while in the glass it seems to be trying to become more whisky-like, like it's trying to shed off this big over-coat that's cloaking it. Will the real slim shady please stand up! 

Look, I'll be honest, I haven't a clue what this particular dram is up to. I just don't get it. That doesn't mean I don't like it. I like most drinks. But it is like "Inception". There's a lot more questions it throws up than resolves. It's enjoyable, yes. Baffling, yes. But fulfilling, no.

Springbank Rundlets and Kilderkins.

Working in the ale trade we're all too familiar with Kilderkins. 18 Gallons. Sinch. But a Rundlet? Well that's an old measure for wine casks - 18 gallons again, but wine gallons - or 15 imperial gallons today. Well since 1824 when the imperial system came in. Ah, easy eh?

Anyhow, this new Springbank baby is matured in these smaller size casks - not sure for how long though - maybe since it was distilled in November 2001 until they bottled it in January 2012 - it's a good guess in lieu of any other concrete information. And these smaller casks mean that it has more contact with the wood and so therefore should mature that little bit faster. This Springbank is a bit of a limited run, limited to 9000 bottles and apparently they'll be doing a Longrow and Hazelburn version in subsequent years.

Well I got to admit this is a very fine dram. And it especially doesn't drink like one at 49.4% either.
The nose on this is fairly stunning and one that you can have a good half hour getting around.
It kicks off with a lovely barley presence and then, quite interestingly comes the citrus touch - more like preserved lemons - those one's in a jar. After this comes a whiff of smoke, a touch peaty but not overtly so. There's a dryness, brittle wood. Some sweetness, a suggestion of cough sweets. The nose is intense, hitting the back of the senses and making the mouth water. It's beautifully balanced with the wood going hand in hand with subtle smoke waves. There's a touch of sherry sweetness too. A little while on, it breaks down to a hot chocolate chip pudding. Slightly dusty again. Clean, fresh. A final note of a walk in the forest. The forest floor. Pine needles.

The palate continues the theme of the nose. It's a slow builder, taking a while to get going. A long intro. The smoke comes first, then the spice rises later on. The sweetness and a little touch of bitterness. There's a touch of nut, some orange and those preserved lemons make an appearance again. The wood and smoke are, like the nose, balanced against the spice. It finishes long, creamy and full bodied with a lick of sweetness.

Tea - Mackwoods.

Tea. I love Tea. First thing in the morning it's the best thing. Now I imagine, that like most people, it's Tea-bag straight into hot water. Mash and add milk. But I've been reading a bit about Japanese Tea making recently and they take tea making very, very seriously. It's a huge thing culturally, socially and it's almost taken as an art-form, taking years to master all the stages of the tea ceremony.
Obviously I like drinking all things and since getting into the various types of coffee beans has opened my eyes and taste buds to a new level of coffee goodness it's probably about time to investigate the world of loose tea and teas from around the world. Should make for quite an enjoyable journey away from all those booze drinks I have to taste and sell.

So first up is a tea that was brought back a present from Sri Lanka. This is from Mackwoods Labookellie Estate. It's a single estate and (so they claim) one of Sri Lanka's finest tea gardens situated 2000 metres above sea level in the hills of Nuwara-Eliya. Founded in 1841 by Captain William Mackwood, today the company is owned by a host of companies with a divergent portfolio of interests. Nevertheless they still retain 27,000 acres of plantation comprising 17 Tea and Rubber estates.

Known primarily for their Ceylon tea, but this is a Broken Orange Pekoe variety. I found it medium bodied, not citrusy or perfumed and perhaps slightly nutty, dry with no real big tannins going on. Refreshing and clean. For me I like a stronger, full-on brew for me first cup but this would be a very nice mid afternoon refreshing quaffer.

Glenfarclas 15

We've got a few bottles of Glenfarclas kicking about. The 105 cask strength, the entry level 10 year old. And there's the oh-so lovely 175 Anniversary edition all beaming proudly on the back bar of the Blake Hotel at the mo. So maybe that's a heads up for a bit of a Glenfarclas family tasting. Well that's certainly what I was thinking when I was out the other night and spotted the 15 Year Old.

I must admit I sometimes forget about Glenfarclas. It's easy to overlook them with so much whisky noise around, but really we shouldn't. For one, they are a family owned business, one of only a handful of Scottish distilleries that still are. And if business provenance is your thing then that's something worth considering when supping your Louie Vuitton Moet Hennessy owned Ardbeg. And two, they consistently make great whisky. No fancy triple wood experiments. No fussy finishes. No pretentious marketing names. Solid and reliable. It's what they've done for generations and it's what they'll continue to do for generations to come. And being a traditionalist is a little bit refreshing when there's so much quasi-innovation around. Of course, none of this would matter if they made bad drams!

Anyway back to the 15 which I had out the other night. In a tumbler it's hard to pin down all the aromas but it's full bodied and inviting. Quite savoury and meaty. There's a oak note and other incense wood, perhaps cedar but I'd have to go back to check that. On the palate there's a reservation of spice, subtle and slowly building. Smooth and delicate and perhaps slightly feminine. It's a way off the brash 105 masculine vibe. It's clean and goes through a through stages with a particularly interesting phase half way that I fail to pin down. There's a raisin and chocolate orange note along with the classic Sherry wood that you come to expect from Glenfarclas. It's a dainty finish, drying with a mere hint of salt. Beautifully balanced and well constructed.

A definite must and one that will be re-evaluated in that Glenfarclas family tasting hopefully sometime soon.