Number 16

The last friday we've had our last spring whisky tasting at Kottkamp, the next one will be in September. And once again it has been a very warm feeling to be welcomed by my friends. It's really a very good community.

Due to the long time until we meet again I wanted to buy a new malt for my collection. My first thought has been the Benromach Peat Smoke I've tasted in February. But this time it hasn't been so good as I've had it in my mind after the first tasting. So I've tried the new Dallas Dhu Signatory 1975. This 31 years old Speyside is very dry, with notes of vanilla and butterscotch, salt, and citrus fruits. Very nice, but not the one I want. It seemed that my gusto this evening should be for Islays. So the next one has been the Bowmore Vintage 1989, a very good 16 years old malt matured in a bourbon cask and non chill-filtered. The flavour has notes of butterscotch, candied fruits, marzipan, and smoke. The palate contains vanilla, soft fruits, and some peat. And the finish is soft and very elegant.

I've almost decided to take this malt when I've got a hint to taste the Bruichladdich Infinity. This Islay has no special age, it is mixed out of three malts of the years 1989 to 1991, all matured in sherry casks. The flavour contains creamy notes of sherry, dried fruits, and some chocolate, very nice. It continues with more fruits, mostly citrus, malt, sherry, and traces of pepper.  The finish is complex, spicy, with dark fruits. A very good Islay, so I've decided to make it my number 16.

The last one this evening has been a Banff Signatory 1975, a old and special Speyside. It has been good, with plum, honey, hay, cinnamon, and sweet herbs. The finish is warm and soft. But after the Islays I've had no real feeling for this malt.

So at the end of the tasting I said goodbye to my friends, took my Bruichladdich, and cycled home to test, if the contents of my bottle tastes like the one I've tested before. *smile*

Second 2008 tasting

So much work, so few time. The second single malt tasting at Kottkamp has already been on March 28th. But I needed until today to write some notes about it. *sigh* Once again it has been great fun to meet friends, talk, and taste good whiskys. Since you need an entrance card the audience changed a bit. The limited cards - the store is simply too small - are sold out very fast. So you've got to reserve your card early.

Sadly I forgot my little form for my tasting notes. So I'll try to remember how the malts have been. I hope I'll be better organized next time. *smile*.

The first one has been the best one, once again a Glenrothes 33y Signatory, sherry butt, cask strength. A rich complex nose with orange and honey, the palate is warm and fruity with some vanilla, and the finish is warm, creamy and long lasting. A great malt, but sadly also expensive. The second one has also been very good, but not as good as the Glenrothes. It has been a Clynelish 1973 33y Signatory with 54%. There nose contains notes of peat, nuts, and citrus fruits, the palate contains honey, fruits, salt, and smoke, and the finish is very long with some salt. The third one has been a Highland Park 1985 21y, always a good choice, followed by a Laphroiag 10y. The last one this evening has been a good Speyside again, a Banff 1975 29y. But I haven't been able to pay the right attention to it, after the Islays before. *smile*.

End of April we'll have the last spring tasting. You'll read about it.

New malt in collection after first 2008 tasting

On Friday we had our first 2008 whisky tasting at Kottkamp. Once again about 150 friends of this golden water of life met to select between 70 single malts of Schottland and Ireland. Many of them have been the same as always - like me - and also new guests joined and enjoyed the evening. So I've started at the Speyside bar with an extraordinary Benromach Peat Smoke. It is young (6 years), it is cheap, and it is real good. As the name already implies it has a note of peat together with the typical warm Speyside character. This one will definitely find its way into my collection.

But this time ist has been a different one. My next malt has been the Edradour "Straight from the Cask" Chardonnay Finish. And wow, it's a warm, long lasting malt. The nose contains much of the wine and the cask and the taste has notes of pepper. So this is now the second Edradour in my collection, together with an Edradour tasting glass. 

The third malt this evening has been a Teaninich 1983 which is more expensive than the first ones and has also cask strength. But for me it is to mild, there's nothing noteworthy about it. So I tried my first Islay this evening, a Port Charlotte PC6. Not too bad, a cask strength with 61.6% and lots of peat and smoke. It's better than the Teaninich, but also not worth the money. In contrast to my second Islay, a Coal Ila 1995 Destillers Edition. Peat, smoke, spices, a complex malt for a fair price.

My last malt has once again been the Benromach, while standing behind the Speyside bar and talking with friends about the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Yes, as you can read this time I've had the opportunity to be part of the team behind the bar from time to time. It has really be a great fun to talk with more guests than usual and giving tips which whisky matches best to their individual preferences. Now I really look forward to the next tasting on March, 28th.

New malts

Even if I didn't had the chance to take part in the last whisky tasting at Kottkamp in November there are some whisky news. The first one is that a colleague bought a cask of Arran - a bourbon cask, first fill - that will be bottled in 2017! Additionally he made share certificates for it, each valued with 5%, and sold them to interested members of our local whisky community. Needless to say that I've got mine. So we now have to celebrate a countdown party each year until we'll receive our about 11 bottles of finest straight single cask. I allready can't await it.

The second news is the 13th malt in my collection, a MacPhail's Christmas Malt. It's a nice 40% Speyside malt, with flavours of vanilla, fruits, and spice. The finish is warm and round and slightly smoky. Maybe it's not the greatest malt but it's a very good value for the money.

Whisky tasting season started

Last friday our autumn tasting season started. *hurray* The time to wait has been long enough. So it has been a real great pleasure to meet all my single malt friends again. My first whisky has been the Ingower 1980 26y Signatory. And it has been the best this evening. The Inchgower is a single cask whisky with 55.6% matured in a sherry butt. The - natural - colour is dark amber, the nose very rich with sherry, dark chocolate, some toffee, raisins, and very few peat. The palate is very warm and complex, but not too spicy. It's like a small explosion and contains fruits, like oranges, and caramel, chocolate, and cream. At the end the Inchgower pleases with a long and warm finish. Really, a very good malt whisky. It has been damned hard for my not to buy it - it costs about 120 Euro. *sigh* Maybe next time.

Additionally I've tasted several malts more. But I've had nothing to write down my tasting notes. Currently I'm creating a new, better tasting card. Next time I'll concentrate on a few malts and immediately write my percepts of nose, palate, and finish down.

Whisky specialist Michael Jackson is dead

The world wide known Whisky specialist and most important author for this topic died on August, 30th, in the age of 65 years after a long illness. That's a very sad moment. *sigh*

Slainte Mhath, Michael.

New malt in collection

As a result of our last tasting on March, 23rd, I've bought a new malt for my collection. This time it has been an Isle of Arran Lepanto PX Brandy Cask Finish. The distillery is very young, opened in Lochranza on the Island of Arran in 1995. I've tasted it because of my good experiences with cask strength malts from the islands. This one matured the last seven months in a brandy cask of the famous Bodega Gonzales Byass after the first years in a sherry cask. Now it is sold in a limited edition with a strength of 61,3%.

The Arran surprises with an intensive aroma of butterscotch and mint-toffee, together with a little note of wood. The palate is fruit-laden with nuts, cinnamon, and some spices. In the finish this malt is very complex and warm. A lot of spicy and fruity flavours suit and it lasts a long time. Together with the real fair price - around 55 Euros - I havn't been able to resist. Now I've got twelve malts. *smile*

My other tastings last friday have been a Glenrothes 1972 Signatory, a Glenkinchie 1987 Signatory, a Clynelish 1973 Signatory, and as a classic to fill my card a Lagavulin 16y. The three signatories are also cask strength malts. The Glenrothes is also a real good one, with honey and oranges in the aroma, and additionally vanilla, chocolate, and malt in the palate. The finish is warm, soft and creamy, and long lasting. Unfortunately it costs about 190 Euros. *sigh*

Tasting Notes Bowmore 1970 and Bunnahabhain 1978

Last friday we've had our first tasting at Kottkamp in 2007. It has been a great pleasure and beside well known single malts some new upper class whiskys were provided. One of them has been the 34 years old Bowmore 1970 Signatory matured in a oloroso sherry butt, cask strength (56,6%) and limited to 440 bottles. it hasn't been cheap, but really worth the money. The colour is a very deep amber, the nose is a complex mixture of sherry, vanilla, and few notes of terpentin. But as the whisky gets warme while you're holding it in your hand the nose gets more peaty. The palate is also complex, warm, and spicy. It has some subdued notes of hazelnuts, bitter chocolate, and smoke. The long finish of the Bowmore is warm and soft with some smoke. I really would loke to compare thes malt dictly against the Springbank 1969.

The second one has been a great surprise. OK, it is also not cheap, but by far less expensive than the Bowmore. It has been our last malt this evening, the Bunnahabhain 1978 Signatory. 27 years old, matured in a sherry butt and also cask strength (55,6%). The colour is nature, the nose warm and complex, mostly sherry with strong notes of vanilla, toffee and nuts. The palate of the Bunnahabhain is warm and soft, with flavours of nuts, malt, raisins, and a little bit toffee. The epicure ends his treat with a very long lasting finish, again overwhelming complex, warm, and soft. This whisky will definitly find its way into my collection.