Ken Schramm
Ken Schramm
On a recent visit to Edinburgh, I had the chance to shop a bit at Royal Mike Whiskies. This was, of course, very dangerous, but I managed to stop before losing the house. I took some notes last night. These whiskies are not for the faint of heart no lowlands here. There are some who view the various barrel finishes as spoof, but in so many ways, whisky can only be arrived at through a series of massive interventions and manipulations, so I tend to cut that all some slack. I do lean toward unchillfiltered bottlings, and Im not so big on caramel or color additions.
Highland Park 1990, 18 yrs, Cask Strength (55.8%/vol) Cask 15692, Bottle 320.
Fiery and intolerant (to the point of belligerence) before addition of water. Some citrus but intimidatingly alcoholic and tight. Vanilla, light smoke and honey with two splashes of spring water, opening up to sweetness on the tongue over time. Sherry note only comes through when the swirl is covered and opened just before nosing. Enjoyable but not compelling, a disappointment considering the ticket, and the pleasure Ive derived from other HPs.
Ardmore 1999 (11 years, 10 months), Speyside. Un-chillfiltered Signatory bottling. 46%/vol.
Lots going on nose shows plenty of peat and smoke over top of butterscotch and dates, and the palate follows in suit, but with deeper tones of dried fruit. Balanced, integrated and refined. Finish is long, full and satisfying: pushes the mind to savor the density of it all. A bargain wish Id bought more. Needed no water at all. Spectacular.
Edradour Straight from the Cask Chateauneuf de Pape cask, 1997, 12 year. 57.2%/vol.
On pour: big, peppery, evolving nose, fruity, almost tomato-like, considerable oak. With water firm oak and dried fruit, butter/toffee, almond, faint curacao orange notes. Virtually smoke and peat free. There could be more smoke than Im giving it credit for, but after the Ardmore, its tough to find. Candied fruit finish. Very good, but a hard turn away from classic Highlands. My friend Leos comment is peppered strawberries. I cant disagree.
Edradour Straight from the Cask Gaja Barolo cask, 1996, 13 year. 56.1%/vol.
Really giant, pushing the boundaries of Scotch. At pour, cognac-like nose. On the palate: enjoyable, even welcoming at cask strength. Stunning depth and complexity: dried cherries, maple syrup, muscat raisins. Better with some water, but only just slightly. Leo likens it more to good brandy than scotch. Magnetic in the way it pulls the nose back to the glass. Plum and malt. Huge. Screw the purists. This is delicious.
BenRiach Authenticus, 21 year, 46%/vol, peated malt.
Iodine and seaweed, peat smoke, confoundingly complex nose pepper, wood pile, brown sugar, Ceylon cinnamon. Everything and more in the mouth dense, even chewy - fantastic. Powerful, but correct. Finish lingers contentedly on the palate and retro nasals for long minutes. Impressive. Those who love smoky Scotch should seek this out. Best of the flight, unquestionably. The folks at the shop said as gas and electric kilns made softer styles possible, peated malt went out of vogue. BenRiach crafted this batch as a return to their original, authentic peated malt recipe. Heres to learning about the past.
Bowmore Tempest, 10 yrs, 55.3%/vol
Before any water: hot, quite woody, load of vanilla and plenty of peat notes. With a first slash of spring water, toasty malt and a variety of baking spices come out, but angular, petulant and edgy in comparison with the BenRiach. Second splash of water brings out sweetness. An impressive buffet of fresh and dried fruit smells and flavors emerges: Lyles Golden Syrup, more vanilla, dried apple, golden raisin, fennel, pepper. Campfire smoke and iodine. Youthful and impetuous.
The Ardmore should definitely have been placed later in the flight, before the Bowmore. The BenRiach should have been the last one tasted there was so much smoke left in the nosing glasses that we needed to go rinse them thoroughly in the sink before we moved on to the Bowmore.
My top three in order: BenRiach, Ardmore, Edradour Gaja finish.
It was a good evening. I still have an Ardbeg bottling to conquer, and another Edradour. More to come.
Highland Park 1990, 18 yrs, Cask Strength (55.8%/vol) Cask 15692, Bottle 320.
Fiery and intolerant (to the point of belligerence) before addition of water. Some citrus but intimidatingly alcoholic and tight. Vanilla, light smoke and honey with two splashes of spring water, opening up to sweetness on the tongue over time. Sherry note only comes through when the swirl is covered and opened just before nosing. Enjoyable but not compelling, a disappointment considering the ticket, and the pleasure Ive derived from other HPs.
Ardmore 1999 (11 years, 10 months), Speyside. Un-chillfiltered Signatory bottling. 46%/vol.
Lots going on nose shows plenty of peat and smoke over top of butterscotch and dates, and the palate follows in suit, but with deeper tones of dried fruit. Balanced, integrated and refined. Finish is long, full and satisfying: pushes the mind to savor the density of it all. A bargain wish Id bought more. Needed no water at all. Spectacular.
Edradour Straight from the Cask Chateauneuf de Pape cask, 1997, 12 year. 57.2%/vol.
On pour: big, peppery, evolving nose, fruity, almost tomato-like, considerable oak. With water firm oak and dried fruit, butter/toffee, almond, faint curacao orange notes. Virtually smoke and peat free. There could be more smoke than Im giving it credit for, but after the Ardmore, its tough to find. Candied fruit finish. Very good, but a hard turn away from classic Highlands. My friend Leos comment is peppered strawberries. I cant disagree.
Edradour Straight from the Cask Gaja Barolo cask, 1996, 13 year. 56.1%/vol.
Really giant, pushing the boundaries of Scotch. At pour, cognac-like nose. On the palate: enjoyable, even welcoming at cask strength. Stunning depth and complexity: dried cherries, maple syrup, muscat raisins. Better with some water, but only just slightly. Leo likens it more to good brandy than scotch. Magnetic in the way it pulls the nose back to the glass. Plum and malt. Huge. Screw the purists. This is delicious.
BenRiach Authenticus, 21 year, 46%/vol, peated malt.
Iodine and seaweed, peat smoke, confoundingly complex nose pepper, wood pile, brown sugar, Ceylon cinnamon. Everything and more in the mouth dense, even chewy - fantastic. Powerful, but correct. Finish lingers contentedly on the palate and retro nasals for long minutes. Impressive. Those who love smoky Scotch should seek this out. Best of the flight, unquestionably. The folks at the shop said as gas and electric kilns made softer styles possible, peated malt went out of vogue. BenRiach crafted this batch as a return to their original, authentic peated malt recipe. Heres to learning about the past.
Bowmore Tempest, 10 yrs, 55.3%/vol
Before any water: hot, quite woody, load of vanilla and plenty of peat notes. With a first slash of spring water, toasty malt and a variety of baking spices come out, but angular, petulant and edgy in comparison with the BenRiach. Second splash of water brings out sweetness. An impressive buffet of fresh and dried fruit smells and flavors emerges: Lyles Golden Syrup, more vanilla, dried apple, golden raisin, fennel, pepper. Campfire smoke and iodine. Youthful and impetuous.
The Ardmore should definitely have been placed later in the flight, before the Bowmore. The BenRiach should have been the last one tasted there was so much smoke left in the nosing glasses that we needed to go rinse them thoroughly in the sink before we moved on to the Bowmore.
My top three in order: BenRiach, Ardmore, Edradour Gaja finish.
It was a good evening. I still have an Ardbeg bottling to conquer, and another Edradour. More to come.