Right, whisky. This months theme was the not-particularly-opaque ‘Grain and Grape’, focusing on the use of old wine casks in whisky production. As usual Mr Rook, The Whisky Guy, led us through the whiskies, with the guiding influence of Jason and Andy from the darkened end of the table. The history of using wine casks to mature whisky is about as old as aged whisky production itself. Bourbon started appearing in the USA in late 1700s and their barrels didn’t make it over to the UK until a while later, so the casks used by the early Scottish distillers would have been whatever else they could have got their hands on – barrels originally used to transport brandy, port, sherry and wine. Barrels were expensive and thus it made a lot of sense to reuse them. This led to stories of whiskies matured in fish and nail barrels (it wasn’t only liquids that casks were used to store) but in general it meant that once booze had been emptied out of the cask someone would buy it for reuse, in Scotland this was often for whisky maturation.

Speyside is not only a whisky production hub due to the water, ease of hiding from the taxman and pretty hills, but also due to the areas proximity to the mouth of the Spey and the port of Lossiemouth. It was once a local trade hub, providing sea-access for the market town of Elgin, although it has declined in recent years as road and rail links have taken over from the sea as the main transport links in Scotland. One of the commodities that would have flowed through the port is booze and the casks would have ended up empty in Elgin after their contents had been sold, giving the many local distilleries a hub not only to trade their whisky but also to pick up much needed maturation wood.

These days the use of non-bourbon casks has dropped across the industry for both reasons of flavour and also economics – the US laws requiring bourbon to be filled into new casks mean that there is a ready and cheap supply of barrels flowing from the west of the Atlantic. The economic reasons are especially notable when it comes to the cheaper end of whisky production, with bourbon casks coming in at $50-$70 each (although that number varies every time I’ve heard it mentioned) and wine casks often hitting $200+. Wine casks are often also different sizes to bourbon barrels, often being much bigger (port pipes and sherry butts getting up around 300-400 litres), which can also mean that they influence the whisky more slowly due to a lower wood/spirit ratio, although that is merely one factor in the speed of maturation.

Along with the drop in using wine casks for the full length of maturation there has been a rise in the use of casks to ‘finish’ whisky, with the spirit being transferred from their original cask (often a bourbon barrel) into a different casks for a secondary (and in some cases tertiary) maturation before bottling. These extra periods have no legal requirements, with my idea of using a sherry barrel as funnel probably constituting a sherry cask finish, but generally will last from months to a small number of years, enough time for the cask to have some influence on the whisky. While this does have economic reasons it does also have the flavour related bonus of not allowing the often strong flavours imparted by wine casks to overpower the flavour of the whisky, adding another dimension. There are a number of detractors within whisky fandom, with the standard complaint being that if the whisky is good in the first place then finishing it isn’t necessary. While I’m certain that there are many substandard whiskies that have had their rough edges hidden by finishing (although the received wisdom is that finishing a bad whisky isn’t going to make a great whisky) it is just another tool in the distiller’s box to create the flavours they want from their various products. Anyways, onto the tasting.

We were tasting blind as usual and the first whisky had a nose of vanilla, spiced apple, apricot and pastry, with Mr Matchett starting off his run of predictably surreal but worryingly accurate tasting notes with ‘Imperial Leather’. To taste it started syrupy, with hints of orange blossom wine, and had a body of blanched almonds with tannic edges (a touch of nut skin?). It lingered on the finish with a delicate sweet and perfumed woodiness. Water brought out more spice in the flavour and some sweet grape, giving us an idea of what sort of cask this had sat in. The paper came off to reveal that our suspicions on the finish were correct – it was Glenmorangie Nectar d’Or, finished in Chateau d’Yquem casks. D’Yquem is a one of the world’s most sought after sweet wines, the only Sauternes to be given a rating of Premier Cru Supérieur. It is, like Glenmorangie, owned by booze and handbag company LVMH which makes it the obvious cask choice for many of the experiments conducted by their master distiller Bill Lumsden, one of the pioneers of finishing whisky. This was one of their first commercial wine finishes and has changed a little over the years, now carrying an age statement of 12 years where before it was NAS and generally thought to be 11-13 years old. It’s a great example of what wine finishes can add to a whisky – it’s sweet and delicate with a nice balance between the bourbon influence and the wine finish.

Number two was one that I brought along – we had a sample bottle turn up on my desk at work a few weeks back and it sat unloved until it went into my bag for the evening. On the nose it had damp hay, smokey cheese rind, buttered corn, cream and floral syrup – a combination christened as ‘Jorvik Viking centre‘ by the room. But in a good way… To taste it was sweet, with grape juice, light fruity liqueur and rose Turkish delight. It finished quite pungently with celery and pepper, backed up by a sweet white chocolate. Interesting and not what I expected at all – it was revealed to be Glen Moray 10 year old Chardonnay cask. It’s not entirely released yet and we’re not entirely sure if that’s what they’re calling it as there seems to be no information about it other than what was scribbled on the label of my sample bottle – it’s 10 years old, bottled at 40% and was matured solely in Chardonnay casks. This is not the first time that Glen Moray have produced a Chardonnay matured whisky, as they used to be owned by Glenmorangie and were often used as the location of Bill Lumsden’s experiments, but this is the first that they have produced since their 2008 sale to La Martinquaise. I’ve tried a number of their previous attempts through the SMWS (also owned by LVMH) and have found them to be overly savoury and meaty, not something I generally look for in a whisky. This one, however, is rather tasty although the 40% bottling strength does feel a little low. Hopefully it will actually appear on the market shortly – they’ve had a launch party, but I’ve heard nothing more…

Number 3 was our first pink whisky of the night, a category of whisky that both Jason and I have been examining with the idea of one day doing a tasting consisting of purely pink drink, but have as yet not found enough decent ones to fill a roster. This one had a nose of ‘Turkish delight jelly tots’ (from my notes), sour fruit, and a faint mustiness. To taste it was sweet (again) with rose petals, sweet strawberry and grapes. It finished with a nice mix of sour wood, nuts and more rose petals. The cover was removed to show that it was Arran Amarone, one of their now standard wine finished whiskies in their range. Amarone is a high strength red wine made from partially dried grapes, giving it a big raisiny flavour while still remaining dry (I need to try some – the descriptions from the internet intrigue me).

Next was one that jumped out the glass with struck match sulphur and ‘cow shit methane’. A meaty nose that didn’t entirely appeal to everyone. To taste it had cherry, vanilla, butter and cinnamon, finishing with calvados, more cherries and almonds – a hint of Cherry Bakewell. The cover came off to reveal that this was Benriach 17 year old Burgundy Wood Finish. Benriach have been known in recent times for doing slightly mad things with maturation and finishing, so this is, strangely, a slightly more sensible variant. Other than the ridiculously sulphury nose (and I’m a sulphur fan), which did burn off a bit as the whisky sat in the glass, it was quite nice, with a lot of the wine flavours coming through.

Number 5 was presented with Darren letting the cat out of the bag a bit early, by letting us know that the bottle on the table wasn’t the actual whisky bottle, as the real bottle was quite distinctive. Combined with the wine finishing theme that sort of gave away which distillery it was from… On the nose it had toffee, sour raspberry and cream. To taste it had astringent wood, tannins and sugared strawberries, with a finish of very jam, chocolate and light smoke. The real bottle was brought out and I was slightly shocked – it was Bruichladdich Black Art 19 year old, 2nd edition. It was shocking as last time I tried it I didn’t like it at all, but this time I was significantly more favourable. Bruichladdich are a little bit obsessed with the wine finishing, coining the term ‘ACEd’ (Additional Cask Enhanment-d) and sticking their whisky in almost any kind of cask that master distiller Jim McEwan can find. I’m not even sure what sort of casks have been used to finish this one…

The last whisky on the table for the night had a nose of coal smoke, brine, fresh lime juice, samphire and general ‘sea on the rocks’-ness. To taste it had big wood smoke to start, with underlying grape, syrupy sides and menthol, finishing with a strange but tasty combination of smoky cheese and sweet winey wood. Adding water was a good plan, with more sweetness appearing and it getting more buttery and oily in the mouth. The grand reveal showed it to be Longrow Gaja Barolo, a bottling from Springbank (Longrow being their smokier variant) and the latest edition of the whisky that made me realise that Longrow was a brand I should keep an eye on. This is aged for 5.5 years in bourbon casks before being switched to casks that formerly held Barolo (a traditionally heavy Italian red wine) for a further 1.5 years. I’d not tried this one for a few years and it reminded me how much I like Longrow in general – I’m writing this in Edinburgh (where I’m on holiday for a week) and I’ve already made a trip round the corner to Cadenhead’s (the shop owned by Springbank) for some of their living-cask Springbank (quite Longrow-like at the moment – sherry and smoke) and will be returning for some Longrow before I leave.

The next Whisky Squad is already sold out, although depending on the venue there may be some more spaces appearing (keep an eye on the website), and will feature Grant’s global ambassador Ludo Ducrocq and an interesting take on their whiskies. More than that I cannot say (mainly as I’m not sure what’s going on…).

Glenmorangie Nectar d’Or
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 46%. ~£45

Glen Moray 10 year old Chardonnay Cask
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 40%. Price unknown…

Arran Amarone Finish
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 50%. ~£45

Benriach 17 year old Burgundy Finish
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 46%. ~£45

Bruichladdich Black Art 2nd Edition
Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 51.1%. Discontinued

Longrow Gaja Barolo
Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 55.8%. Discontinued

Charly beat me to the conveted spot of ‘first post about this month’s whisky squad’ and has a write-up over on her blog.

Balvenie 12 Years Doublewood – a whisky grabbed as a chaser round the corner from the Sci-Fi-London film festival after a day of packing bags and herding punters. It had a grassy, olive oily nose with hints of sugary spice and a touch of wood. To taste it had a woody sweetness with some cinnamony spiciness with a bitter fruity finish. As it developed in the glass the sweetness increased and turned towards candyfloss.

Thatchers Old Rascal - I popped into the branch of Byron Hamburger that’s now hiding in the building that used to house The Intrepid Fox (I may never have drunk anything but Newcastle Brown or bottled cider when visiting, but RIP anyway. The new location just isn’t the same) and grabbed a quick bottle of cider to accompany my tasty burger. Described on the label as ‘Full bodied medium dry Somerset cider’, I would have stuck it more towards the medium sweet end of things. Anyways, it was quite nice – more mulchy farmyard flavour than you usually get from a mainstream cider as well as a nice tartness contrasting with the underlying sweetness. One to remember.

The SMWS release a new tranche of whiskies every first Friday of the month, so I stopped by to try a couple. Well, more than a couple after I got talking to the bar staff…I am weak:

SMWS 35.38, Fire in the hole! (Glen Moray) – Chosen specifically because of my interest in strange wood maturations, this one was matured for 9 years in a 2nd fill chardonnay cask. Wine finishes are generally badly thought of by whisky connoisseurs, but a few interesting ones do get out into the wild – this one is a bit of a mixture. A strange nose, with a slab of wood as well as a strange chicken and ammonia combination (to be honest there was a hint of the pub bog to it). To taste it was almost meaty, with overripe fruit and a bitter woody finish. With a bit of water it softened out, becoming more wine-like with some vanilla from the wood and an oily sandalwood flavour coming through. One to try, but not one I want a whole bottle of.

SMWS 93.38, Stirs the atavistic soul (Glen Scotia) – The intended final dram of the evening, this was to sate my love of Campbelltown whiskies, although as there are only two remaining distilleries, Glen Scotia and Springbank, this is quite a limited love. Luckily Springbank have a couple of brands they distill giving a slightly wider field for me to taste my way through. Anyways, this reminded me, from my notes, of a damp wood fire in someone else’s garden – smoke at a distance with a touch of damp woodiness. There were sour grapes and cured meat on the nose as well. To taste there was a touch of sweet wine as well as tannic wood, almost like a fruity rioja. A drop of water softened the wood, bringing out more sweetness and hiding the tannins. Overall the main memory I have is of a tingling menthol like finish down the sides of the tongue. Quite definitely from Campbelltown and really quite nice.

SMWS 27.80 (Springbank) – no name for this one as I can’t find it on the website. Continuing the Campbelltown kick I went for a recommended dram of this new (I think) Springbank. It had salt and a light sweetness on the nose, as well as a plimsoll-like rubberiness. To taste it had more salt and rubber as well as a sweetness and a prickly, numbing sensation. Water brought on more sweetness and a slick, buttery mouthfeel, along with more rubber and fisherman’s friends. It reminds me very much of the bottle of single cask Springbank I got from Cadenhead’s while at the Edinburgh Festival last year, although this one is even better. I may have to pick up a bottle on my next visit.

SMWS 53.140, Swelling, crashing, waves of flavour (Caol Ila) – a deliberate evening ending choice, although I was offered an even more peaty Ardbeg by the ever helpful barman. I declined, but made a note for my next visit. On the nose it had a sweet peaty smoke with a hint of disinfectant, mulch and parma violets. To taste it was crisply smoky with candy floss and citrus fruit, but rather complex and overpowering and in need of dilution. Water saves your palate from certain destruction, with the flavours combining to give a sweet wet ash smokiness, a touch of orange and a tingly finish. It’s good I stopped after it as I was still tasting it when I got home an hour later.

And my favourite of the week:

Fuller’s Bengal Lancer – I’ve tried this IPA on tap, but not grabbed a bottle yet, however, I’m glad I did. It’s a bottle conditioned, very heavily hopped IPA which is light on the palate but still wonderfully bitter, with the great taste of citrusy hops dominating in a rather pleasant way. As the hops die back there’s a nice touch of fruity malt and it finishes with the same bitterness that most Fuller’s beers display. Very good and one that I’ll be stocking up on when I find someone to drive me to the shops.

My week up in Scotland recently not only introduced me to Benromach whisky, but also to the idea of putting whisky in new casks. Now, this may not sound like a particularly wild idea, but the majority of whisky is matured in casks that have already held some other form of booze – bourbon and sherry being the current mainstays before you get on to ‘wood finishing’. The first fill of booze will temper the barrel and remove a lot of the transferable woodiness, letting the second fill pick up different flavours and not be overcome by the wood. However, while up in Scotland I heard of three different whiskies using brand new wood – Benromach Organic and two from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, a Glen Moray and a Glenmorangie.

I’ve written about Benromach before, but its use of new wood intrigued me enough while at the distillery that I quizzed our tour guide a bit about it. The wood comes from a US forest which, while maybe not intentionally planted as such many years ago, has been kept up to Soil Association ‘Organic’ standards and that certification suggests a reason why they are using new wood – in order to be certified as Organic they would have to use products that have not been subject to any processes that are not up to scratch, something that I suspect Jack Daniels (the usual first spirit in whisky barrels) don’t really aspire to. While the wood choice may be in part forced on them by their move to make the first organic whisky, it has also pushed them to make an interesting production whisky – the other two I found from new wood are single cask bottlings rather than generally available. The wood comes across clearly in the Benromach, appearing at the start of the taste as a tannic kick and adding vanilla to the aftertaste as well as a lingering woodiness. With water an oaky creaminess pops up and the tannins mellow slightly. During our tour the guide commented that the new barrels add a hint of bourbon flavour to the whisky and now that I have tasted it I can now tell some of the elements of Bourbon that come directly from the wood – some of the sweetness, the slight bitterness on the center of the tongue and the vanilla creaminess that you often miss if you drink your whiskey with ice. I rather like the Benromach organic and am slightly sad that it has almost disappeared in it’s original incarnation, currently replaced by the peated Special Edition, but Sandy the distillery tour guide did assure me that it will be reappearing soon.

While visiting the Edinburgh SMWS rooms on the way back from my sojourn in The Highlands I tried to grab a dram of their new Glen Moray, intrigued by the talk of new wood and my new found liking for the Benromach. However, due to an issue with the bottle labels (either they had the wrong ABV or they’d been stuck on the wrong side of the bottle, depending on who you spoke to) it hadn’t turned up in time and I was directed towards a Glenmorangie bottling using a similar idea – 125.31, Tropicana then luscious poached pears. At the recent Whisky Exchange Glenmorangie tasting I learned about the ‘designer casks’ that they had put together for the their Astar – specially selected trees, grown slowly so as to have the right consistency to allow the whisky to be flavoured by the wood in the manner they wanted. However, Astar is not matured in new wood – the barrels are sent over to Jack Daniels for the first four years of their lives, arriving at Glenmorangie after the whiskey has been removed. With a litle reading between the lines on the SMWS website it seems that it is a whisky matured in an Astar barrel untouched by JD. Rather than the upfrontness of the Benromach, the Glenmorangie’s wood was all at the end – it’s a sweet whisky with a slight prickly spiciness that lands in a mouthful of twigs. I wasn’t all that keen, but it wasn’t in any way unpleasant.

Glen Moray have until recently been part of the Glenmorangie family and were a testbed for some of their crazy ideas – according to the barman at the SMWS, if you saw something strange come out of Glen Moray and do well then you could be sure that it would probably appear from Glenmorangie shortly after. I finally managed to find a dram of this final new wood example at the London tasting rooms, after the bottle wrangling had been completed – 35.34, Moroccan Tea-room Masculinity. On the nose there was salt and aniseed, and not a lot of the woodiness I was expecting. To taste there was more wood and tannins, but also toffee, salt and peppery lemons. With water the wood came out more, with a chunk of vanilla, but it wasn’t quite so overpowering as it is in the Benromach. Interesting, but not one for me to add to the collection.

I also found another whisky which uses some new wood while wandering around Whisky Live – Compass Box Spice Tree. While chatting with the guy on the stand about the company’s obsession with wood, we talked about the process that led them to the current methods for getting woodiness into Spice Tree. First there was a stage that I heard about elsewhere, where they put wood chips in the marrying barrels – a process well known in the wine industry, even if it is seen as a little dodgy. This was quickly stopped by the SWA, who don’t like it when people do strange things and try and call their product whisky, but they carried on the idea by putting whole new wooden barrel staves directly into the barrel, another trick pinched from wine. This was, again, quickly banned and they came up with their latest trick (not mentioned on their website yet, which tells the tale of their run-ins with the SWA) – new barrel ends. Rather than making a whole barrel from new wood, which would have a bit more of an effect than they wanted, they just replaced the ends of the barrels with the new wood, giving the whisky some contact while at the same time not breaking the rules. The folk at Compass Box are smart. And a bit mad. The Spice Tree is a 100% malt blend, currently made up of Clynelish, Teaninch and Dailuaine (I think that’s right on the last one – I had been drinking by then and my hearing was going) and it’s pleasantly spicy, as the name and intention suggest, with a rich sweetness and some woodiness from the new oak.

It seems that new wood is one of the latest experiments in the whisky world that’s starting to rear its head after a decade long maturation process. Without thinking about the time the whisky has been in the warehouse it almost seems as if the distillers are reacting to the work of people like Compass Box, who are doing interesting things with wood, but after some consideration (as Compass Box are only a decade old) it looks like it’s all part of the long cycle of whisky experimentation. I’m interested to see what other single barrel bottlings appear from new wood but am also intrigued as to what this new flavour might contribute to regular bottlings. Glenmorangie have already made a bit of a splash with Astar, I’m keen to see who’s next.