Single Malts - My Journey

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Drinking at home vs. drinking out
2007-08-03 05:08:00
Thanks Graeme for your kind comments on the blog. You asked the question about drinking whisky at home vs drinking out. That is an interesting decision, and the conclusion depends entirely on where you live which determines the available options. About 7 years ago I moved from the UK to New Hampshire. Prior to that move, ...
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Singlemalt.tv is now free
2007-05-02 17:36:00
I have been a suscriber to singlemalt.tv since October last year, and I have been continiuously impre ssed by the quality of programming and in formation available. Yesterday I received an annoucement sayin g that programming is now FREE and will i nstead be supported by an advertising mod el in conjunction  with Pay Per View cont ent. As an existing subscriber I at least rece ive PPV credits, and I am actually happy  that all this content is more widely avai lable as it is an outstanding resource.
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Bruichladdich Links (16th Hole, Augusta) Tasting Notes
2007-04-20 16:50:00
Last week my family went on a short vacation to Florida, and whenever I am somewhere new I try to find something that is not available where I live. There were actually a few bottles of interest, but I eventually settled on the Bruichladdich Link s edition “16th Hole , Augusta”. While I do not normally fall for ...
More About: Notes , Sting

Tartan Screensaver
2007-03-26 15:52:00
A colleague and friend of mine (a talented software guy and big fan of all things Scottish) created a screen saver that programmatically iterates through an infinite array of feasible tartans. Note that by feasible, I mean that the thread patterns and colour ratios follow the rules that tartan designs follow. That does not necessarilly mean that the ...
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Tasting notes: Aberlour 12y.o. Double Cask Matured (Sherry Finish)
2007-03-20 03:11:00
Very occasionally a sad event occurs when most bottles in my collection have dwindled to a few drams. This seems to occur every 3-4 months or so and at that point I try and build the collection back with a few different single malts. This has happened again, and the first new purchase is a ...
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Bruichladdich adds a new distillery to Islay
2007-03-13 14:08:00
Bruichladdich has been a relatively new find for me, given that a new whisky takes a while to make it into the (state owned) liquor stores here in New Hampshire. I was first drawn by the magic words on the bottle “non-chill filtered” and “colouring free” on the label. This is typically a sign that ...
More About: Stil , Still , Islay

Filtering and Colouring
2007-02-22 01:35:02
More and more often now we are seeing whisky manufacturers take a more purist approach by avoiding chill filtering and colouring of their products. But what exactly are these processes, what is the reason for them and how does it affect the end product? Firstly, lets talk about colouring. As the single malt whisky industry grew, its clientele began to expect a level of consistency between any two bottles of the same labeled product. One large area of inconsistency comes from the flavourings and colourings imparted by the cask used to mature the distilled malt whisky. As I have mentioned in another post, the flavour aspect is controlled by the skillful blending of whiskys across casks and even ages from within the distillery. The colour tone can also be normalized in this manner, but more typically a standardized rich golden tone is provided with the addition of caramel for colouring. Chill-filtering has an entirely different purpose. Say for example, you poured directly from a cask ...
More About: Ring , Colour , Filter , Teri , Erin

What would you like to see?
2007-02-22 01:35:02
I have been jotting down notes over the last few weeks since starting this blog, and a few of those have eventually turned into posts. In the same time the number of readers is slowly increasing. I’d love to find out what you’d like to hear about here. Would you like more tasting notes? More discussions about the production of single malt scotch? Are my posts too long, or not long enough? Please feel free to add comments so that I can gauge how well I am doing, and get a feel for what i should keep talking about. Alternatively you can send me an email to  whiskyblog@comcast.net
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Edradour Tasting Notes
2007-02-15 01:30:05
I purchased this bottle (among a few others) while on a recent trip to San Francisco. If you are in Northern California this small store,The Whisky Shop , is well worth checking out and alongside the more regularly available single malts are a number of rare malts. I settled on a Tobermory and a Signitory Vintage 10y.o. unchill-filtered Edradour, specifically Bottle 263 (of337) from case #229. This bottle is marked as being distilled on 23rd May 1995 and bottled 24th Feb 2006.   Being unchill-filtered this Edradour has a wonderful warm nutty brown colour do it. In fact the colour is rich and suprising given the lack of caramel or other additives to enhance the appearance. The aroma is complex and satisfying, with florals and heather alongside a faint touch of orange and vanilla. The flavour is very robust with a rich comforting warmth. I get caramel toffee and a faint chocolate forthe initial flavour, and the finish is medium with a gently receding warmth and ending with ...
More About: Note , Notes , Sting , Rado

Laphroaig Quarter Cask Tasting Notes
2007-02-10 13:27:01
Now that my cold is receding (after 5 hor rible days), I can move onto my next tast ing. I first tried Laphroaig (pronounced laff-roig) Quarter  Cask a few months ago after it ap peared in the local liquor store here. The term ”quarter cask” refer s to the fact that it is matured in a sec ond smaller (quarter sized) cask after th e original maturation in a regular oak cask. This adds an extra depth of flavour and aroma to an already fine malt. One feature I particularly appreciate is  that it is non-chill filtered, allowing t he whisky to retain more of its real char acteristics along with the natural oils t hat cause the whisky to cloud up slightly  when water is added. Note  that I recomme nd the addition of water for this particu lar single malt given the bottled alcohol  strength of 48%. 1. First impressions: Appearance and aroma The color of Laphroaig Quarter Cask is deeper from my recollection of the regular Laphroaig, which is to be expected given the additional cask maturation....
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Tasting Notes delayed
2007-02-07 13:25:05
I had hoped to add a few more tasting notes this weekend, but have instead been stricken with a cold. Once my taste buds are back and my nose is unblocked, I’ll write up a few more notes.
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Blends vs Single Malts
2007-02-07 13:25:05
When talking about a Scottish Whisky (Scotch), there are two main categories of product - blends and single malts. The difference between the two is simple. A single malt is made entirely by distillations from a single producer at a single site, whereas a blend is created by mixing distillation from multiple producers. Blend s are typically also a mix of malt and grain whiskys (though there are exceptions), whereas a single malt is obviously only made from malt whiskys. Blended whisky was first produced in the mid 1800’s, and the main goal is to produce a consistent marketable product. Typically the bulk of a blend is made up of grain whisky which is cheaper to produce, lending itself to a more cost effective product. The grain aspect is an unmalted cereal such as wheat or maize and it lends itself to a harsher flavour than whisky from malted grains. One thing to note is that over time, the availability of the base components of a blended whisky might become unavailable (either...
More About: Sing , Single , Ends , Lend

Blackadder will be available in the US
2007-02-04 01:23:01
I mentioned in a previous post that my collection contains two bottlings of Aberlour by Black adder. Blackadder whiskys are special because the buy casks directly from the distilleries and literally pour them straight into a bottle. The resultant whisky specifies the actual barrel (hogshead) number along with the year of distillation and the year of the bottling. Because Blackadder avoid the chill filtering process, and also do not blend various ages together for consistency (I’ll talk more about the reason for both of these processes in later posts) the resulting single malt is very inconsistent in terms of colour and flavour but yet has many spectacular characteristics of its own. Each bottle is essentially unique and a masterpiece in its own right, never to be repeated. I originally got into the Blackadder bottlings around 7 or so years ago after moving to the US. As I was still making a number of flights back to England I was always finding myself in London’s H...
More About: Will , The U , Lack , Available

Current Collection
2007-02-02 13:21:01
Currently the set of whiskys I have at home are Oban, 14 year old Bowmore, 12 year old Lagavulin, 16 year old Glenlivet Nadurra, 16 year old Laphroig Quarter Cask, 16 years old Aberlour A’bunadh (no specific age) Edradour (Signatory Un-Chillfiltered Coll ection - distilled 1995) Balvenie Portwood, 21 years old Aberlour (Blackadder raw cask collection, distilled 1990, bottled 2002, Hogshead #3317) Aberlour (Blackadder raw cask collection, distilled 1990, bottled 2002, Hogshead #3318) Recently I have finished off bottles of the following Aberlour, 10 year old Talisker, 10 year old Tobermory, 10 year old Ardbeg, 10 year old Bruichladdich, 10 year old As I continue to enjoy these I will collect my tasting notes beginning with Oban. Bear with me at the beginning, as my skills in this area get sharpened.
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Oban Tasting notes
2007-02-02 13:21:01
Note, that this is the first time I have put tasting notes on ‘paper’, and I’ll revisit Oban in the future as i get more used to extracting the essential features out of a whisky. Rather than using a whisky tumbler I always taste (and drink) my single malts from a small white wine class surpisingly similar to the tulip shape and size of the famous Glencairn tasting glass. This allows the aroma to remain contained, and easier to taste without getting overwhelmed by the scent of the whisky. As I mentioned in my intro, I have visited the town of Oban and toured the distillery. Situated on the west coast of Scotland, the town of Oban is (if i remember correctly) the main port to Islay. There is a fun and busy vibe about the town, and a great pub near the port that has a spectacular array of whiskies to sample - or at least there was 15-16 years ago. Anyway, onto the tasting: 1. First impressions: Appearance and aroma Oban is mid toned in colour with a glossy gol...
More About: Note , Notes , Sting

Welcome
2007-02-01 01:19:02
Welcome to my new blog. I am hoping that this becomes a useful resource over time, and will welcome suggestions or requests in the comments section. Firstly, an introduction to myself. My name is Mark, and I do not promise to be a total ‘expert’ on the subject of Single Malt Whisky, and also do not expect to hit the heights of such folk as Michael Jackson or Charles Maclean. However, I have been enjoying the ‘water of life’ since the age of 18 and continue to expand my experiences with this amazing beverage. It is those experiences that I would like to share as this blog evolves. My original introduction to Scotch was from an employer of mine, Russell Abbott - the owner of a local milk delivery company in Rushden, England -where I worked weekends doing milk delivery. His tipple was Bells Extra Special blended scotch whisky, and he quickly introduced me to the taste. Of course, first impressions were not good to my young and inexperienced palette and beer or ...
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Water, Ice and Other?
2007-02-01 01:19:02
One big ticket discussion item that often comes up is the topic of ice (Scotch on the Rocks?),water and mixers as ways to enhance the experience of a good single malt. Here is my personal take on the addition of these items to a good single malt. Other Ginger ale and Cola are the two most common requests I had as a bartender for (flavoured) mixers to a scotch. Usually these were additions to a blended scotch, such as Bells or Grants, and I do think that Ginger Ale in particular can enhance the harsher flavour of a blended whisky (malt and grain) when used in moderation. Cola on the other hand never made any sense to me. While Cola can accentuate certain drinks - such as rum - I don’t feel it brings anything to a scotch, whether it be blended or single malt. Would I add a mixer to a single malt? Absolutely not! The beauty of any single malt comes from the (sometimes subtle) differences in flavour from producer to producer. These different flavour notes are a com...
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