The Grill Aberdeen

THE GRILL & FACEBOOK

2011-10-26T11:02:00.001+01:00

I've just set up a Facebook page, where I've posted the updated Whisky List under photos.
Here's the link
http://www.facebook.com/thegrillaberdeen

NEW ARRIVALS & MALT of the MONTH

2011-10-04T14:39:00.003+01:00

We've just received a package with the new Laddie 10yo, one of the first off the line on 9th September. This is the first 10yo to be bottled using only spirit distilled after the distillery reopened. Also in the the same parcel was the latest Port Charlotte, PC9.

Other recent additions include a couple of Glendronach single cask vintages, a 17yo from 1994 and a 21yo from 1989.

Malts of the Month for October are
Smoky - Birnie Moss from Benriach
Non-Smoky - Benriach no age statement

SEPTEMBER WHISKIES

2011-09-03T12:53:00.003+01:00

As noted before on the blog, September Malt of the Month is something slightly different. We are featuring two malts which are not renowned for the smokiness, but which in their own way use it to promote a complex flavour.

Glenfarclas 10yo (from the official tasting notes)
Nose - Tempting sherry-sweet malty tones combine with delicate smokiness, releasing subtle spices. Warming the glass reveals honey, vanilla and pear drops.
Flavour - delicately light, with a mouth-watering combination of maltiness, smokiness and sherry sweetness. Hints of dried fruit, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves tempt the taste buds further

Fettercairn Fior (from the official tasting notes)
Nose - Aromas of crushed pear, toffee apple and hints of cinnamon and vanilla together with a kiss of peat smoke, hazelnuts, orange rind, ginger and coriander.
Flavour - bold dark chocolate, roasted coffee beans and peat smoke fused with nutmeg, mint, citrus fruits and truffle.

To complement these two excellent malts, we are also featuring some older whiskies.

Glenfarclas 40yo - we have a number of old malts on sale in The Grill, but as far as Official Distillery Bottlings go, this one is up at the top. First released in 2010 to industry wide aclaim, this is perhaps the only OB at this age which doesn't come with its own designer "suitcase". And that's good news for the consumer. It means that we can reflect that in the price, £37.50 for a 40yo whisky. And our friends at Glenfarclas have thrown in an engraved Glencairn Whisky Glass for every dram purchased.

We also have some other excellent 40yo which are worth mentioning, all of which are competitively priced.

The award winning Black Bull 40yo Blend (90% malt and only 10% grain) and several single cask bottlings, all bottled by independent Duncan Taylor - Bowmore, Bunnahabhain,Glenrothes, Macduff, Tamdhu & Tomatin.

Whilst we are featuring Fettercairn, its worth mentioning we now have in stock the 24yo and 30yo bottlings.

NEW ARRIVALS AND MALTS OF THE MONTH

2011-08-15T11:17:00.002+01:00

Recent new arrivals include the following

Kilchoman 100% Islay - still only a 3 year old, the whisky has been produced from barley grown, malted, distilled, matured and bottled at the distillery. Limited supplies.

Laphroaig Triple Wood - not previously available to the pub trade, this one is going down a storm with new and old Laphroaig lovers. An excellent alternative to the 10yo for those of a milder disposition!

Bruichladdich 4x Futures - the quadruple distilled rocket fuel (well, sports car, see Oz Clark & James May) is now 5 years old and bottled at 64.6% abv. We also have the immature spirit to compare it with - ask the staff.

Shakleton's Recreation - this is the recreation, by Richard Patterson, of the Mackinlay whisky which Ernest Shackleton took with him on his unsuccessful but epic endeavour to reach the South Pole. Dismissed by some as a gimic, it hasn't disappointed our customers despite the fairly hefty price.

Our current MALTS OF THE MONTH are
Highland Park - Smoky
An Cnoc - Non-Smoky

Next Month (September), we are doing something slightly different. Both Malts of the Month are going to be smoky, but not the in-your-face style of smokiness. Fettercairn Fior and Glenfarclas 10yo both have a subtle smokiness which, depending on your palate, you may not be immediately aware of. Try them and let us know what you think?

DALMORE RIVERS COLLECTION

2011-03-05T11:12:00.001Z

Following on from the successful launch last year of The Dalmore Dee Dram, we now have all four bottlings in the series which helps to support the best of Scotland's fishing rivers - Spey, Dee, Tay & Tweed. More info here.

Steven McConnachie will present a tasting of the Rivers Collection on Sunday 1st May at The Spirit of Speyside Whisky festival. More info here.

MORE RUM!

2011-01-31T17:06:00.000Z

This isn't a blog in the true sense of the word - more a way of keeping our online lists up to date. So no lecturing, posturing or controversy here. Suffice to say that yes, rum does seem to be getting more popular at The Grill. That may be due to an overall increase in popularity or just down to the fact that we offer some variety here. We don't do cocktails, so unless the rum is served neat with ice,the only alternative is with coke and a wedge of lime.

Our latest additions, courtesy of those excellent people at The Whisky Exchange, are as follows

Antigua - English Harbour 5yo
Brazil - Beija-Flor Reserva 10yo Cachaca
Guatemala - Botran Reserva Solera Aged
Guyana - 5yo, 8yo, 12yo & 21yo (we already stocked the 15yo)
Haiti - Barbancourt 4yo & 15yo, to add to the popular 8yo we already stocked.
Panama - Ron Abuelo 5yo
Peru - Cartavio 7yo Gran Reserva
St Lucia - Admiral Rodney Extra Old

NEW ARRIVALS

2011-01-31T16:43:00.000Z

Here are the new additions to our selection. Some are proving more popular than others, but they all stimulate discussion!

The new Burn Stewart standard bottlings which are non-chill filtered and with a new abv of 46.3% - Deanston 12yo, Tobermory 10yo and Ledaig 10yo.

Glen Garioch 12yo and a Small Batch Release 19yo from 1991.

Glenmorangie Finealta - recreation of early 1900's taste.

Some single cask bottlings from Duncan Taylor - Royal Lochnagar 1986 22yo, Macduff 1968 40yo, Glenrothes 1969 40yo Octave Cask, Tamdhu 1968 40yo, Tomatin 1965 43yo, Bowmore 1968 40yo (just heard that the distillery are to release a 40yo version with only 50 bottles available worldwide - the Dons could probably get a new central defender for less than the cost of this one!), Bunnahabhain 1968 40yo. And a couple of their finest blended whiskies, Black Bull 12yo 50% and the 33yo Rarest of the Rare which contains spirit from several closed distilleries.

Several bottlings as selected by the Bladnoch Forum - Balmenach 1983 26yo, Cragganmore 1991 19yo & Dailuaine 1983 26yo.

One that may only be available in Travel Retail - Balvenie 14yo Caribbean Rum Cask.

A 38yo Speymaly-Macallan from 1971 which replaced a 27yo from 1975 in our six decades of Macallan flight.

Several of the popular Whisky Exchange Elements bottlings - Ar1, Lg1 & Lp1, plus a return of the 1999 heavily peated 5yo Jura.

The last, I presume in the annual Port Charlotte bottlings from Bruichladdich - An Turas Mor.

The latest in the series of unpeated Caol Ila's, this one is 12yo, plus a 12yo from Hazelburn of Springbank (this one has been on the shelf for a while).

A couple of beauties from Compass Box - The Peat Monster and Spice Tree.

And finally, another one of our own exclusive label bottlings, a 25yo Caol Ila, finished in an octave cask and bottled for us by Duncan Taylor. Great peat offset by sweetness!

Good News and Bad News

2011-01-18T22:48:00.000Z

The bad news is that following the rise in the rate of VAT our prices have been increased as of today.

The good news is that being forced to produce a completely updated Whisky List has allowed me to introduce several new whiskies, to replace ones that may no longer be available, aswell as more of our ever popular Whisky Flights.

Full details will be listed here in the next couple of days.

NEW ARRIVALS

2010-11-25T10:58:00.003Z

We just took delivery of Texas's very first whisky. Called Baby Blue and distilled in Waco, Texas by Balcones Distilling, it uses only Hopi blue corn, so it's not a bourbon. The result is a fresh, young and complex dram!
We've also taken in Stanahan's Colorado Whiskey for the first time.

And a couple of the new Glendronach releases which I was going to hold over for our new list - the 14yo Virgin Oak Finish and the 20yo Tawny Port Finish 171010

Oh, and Jim Murray's World Whisky of the Year for 2011, Ballantine's 17yo Blend - we used to hear a lot about the geese who guarded the bonded warehouses at Dumbarton. Are they still there? I'm sure I had a tie celebrating the geese!

Back in Stock & New Whiskies

2010-10-29T11:56:00.005+01:00

I'm please to report we have some very rare whiskies back in stock.

Lagavulin Distillers Edition
Rosebank 12yo Flora & Fauna Bottling
Macallan Sherry Wood 30 yo
Black Bowmore 2007 Release.

The only new whisky I have added to the shelves recently is

Balvenie 17yo Peated Cask, a most un-Balvenie like offering according to Serge at the Malt Maniacs 281010

I am currently preparing a new list(menu)for release at the start of the year - to coincide with the new increase VAT rate. Unfortunately this will result in price increases, our contribution to the global financial crisis. The good news is that there will be a number of new whiskies on the list - and at the rate the distillers are pushing them out there will be more than I had anticipated.

WHISKY LIST

2010-07-26T15:00:00.003+01:00

The new Fettercairn is just in, along with an addition to the Glen Deveron range.

Fettercairn have recently rebranded their whisky and launched a range of older malts, including a 24, 30 & 40 year old. Coming from the same stable as The Dalmore and Jura, these older whiskies will have been carfully selected under the careful nose of Master Blender Richard Patterson. Although it's one of our local distilleries, it has a fairly low profile in these parts. The new packaging looks smart and the name, Fior (Gaelic for "Pure & True") will atract attention. The choice of NAS (no age statment) will also attract attention and for a limited period we still have some of the old 12yo for a comparative tasting.

The Glen Deveron is a 15yo version of this underrated malt from Macduff distillery.

Whiskies we've had to bid farewell to include

Ledaig Sherry Finish
Bowmore Black - yes the bottle is empty.
Bowmore Dawn - the port finish
Bruichladdich Manzanilla Cask
Caol Ila 1969 Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection
Bailley Nicol Jarvie Blended Whisky

WHISKY LIST

2010-05-18T14:38:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since I last posted anything - busy with the job of running the pub.

Despite a world-wide recession there's no let up in the number of new whiskies being released. I've tried to keep abreast with what's going on and have certainly taken delivery of several new releases over the last couple of months - it's just that I haven't found time to let you know about them!

So here goes, in alphabetical order
(the numbers are a link to Serge Valentin's excellent WhiskyFun.com site)

Amrut Double Cask - bottled from two casks that were matured for 7 years in Bangalore, losing 59% to the Angels' Share! Whisky ages quicker in a hot dry climate (hence more young bourbons than old ones) and these casks have produced a "Wow" factor according to Serge at the Malt Maniacs. 300310

Ardbeg Rollercoaster - Yes I did mention this previously! It must have got lost in the pile 'cos it's only now going on sale. 120210

Chapter 6 - one of the first bottlings from St George's Distillery, Norfolk, England! Still a bit young but the first single malt to be distilled in England for over 120 years.190410

Dalmore Dee Dram - a special bottling which will help raise funds for the River Dee Trust. The Trust works hard to protect and enhance the environment of this local river which which is famous for its salmon fishing. Not too dissimilar to the standard 12yo.

Glenglassaugh 21yo - one of the first limited releases from the new owners of this previously mothballed distillery. 040809

Glenfarclas 40yo - the oldest of the standard bottlings from this family-owned distillery - and as usual it's amazingly good value. 290410

Glenugie 1977 31yo from Signatory - bottlings from what was the most easterly distillery in Scotland at Peterhead (pe'erheeed as its sometimes called) are now hard to come by. The distillery closed in 1983 and has since been demolished. 131109

The Spirit of Lewis - that's correct, spirit not whisky since this stuff was only distilled 3 months ago! From the Abhainn Dearg or Red River Distillery on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis. The last time whisky was legally distilled on the island was around 1830. The colour is surprising for having been in cask such a short time. More details on the distillery here.

We've also had to say cheerio to some old favourites

Ichiro's King of Spades - now replaced by the Five of Spades
Talisker 20yo - the outstanding sherry cask bottling.
Glengarioch 8 & 15yo - now replaced by the NAS Founder's Reserve, the 8yo was a popular dram.
Port Dundas Single Grain has followed the distillery into retirement.

By the way did you know, WhiskyFun is available in a special iPhone format, and the weekly WhiskyCast podcast is available as an App for the iPhone.

WORLD'S OLDEST WHISKY - MORTLACH OR MACALLAN

2010-03-15T16:00:00.004Z

At the end of last week I received an email from David Urquhart of Gordon & MacPhail giving details of their latest single malt bottling.

Released under Gordon & MacPhail's Generations range, Mortlach 70 Years Old is the oldest bottled single malt Scotch whisky in the world.

The new-make spirit from Speyside’s Mortlach Distillery was filled into the cask on 15th October 1938 by John Urquhart, my grandfather. Exactly 70 years later, the decision was made to carefully empty the cask and bottle the contents.

Each bottle is beautifully presented in a tear-shaped hand-blown crystal decanter with an elegant silver stopper. The decanter nestles in a stylish silver base and is framed in a handmade Brazilian Rosewood box, created using wood from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified sources.

Mortlach 70 Years Old was matured in a Spanish oak, ex-bodega sherry hogshead cask, which yielded 54 full-size (70 / 75cl) and 162 (20cl) small decanters bottled at cask strength (46.1% ABV). The large decanter will have a RRP of £10,000 and the small decanter a price of £2,500.

You may already have read about this whisky since it has attracted a lot of media attention as the oldest bottling of single malt ever offered for sale. If you would like some more information, follow the link below
http://www.gordonandmacphail.com/mortlach70/

For those of you who weren't aware, Gordon & MacPhail had previously bottled a Macallan from 1938 at 65 years old. We currently offer this dram for sale and we believe it to be the oldest single malt ever offered for sale over the bar.

WHISKY LIST

2010-03-11T10:59:00.005Z

Just over a month ago I told you that I had produced an updated whisky list. Well the good news is it's now available to view online at

http://www.thegrillaberdeen.co.uk/whisky.htm

The bad news you could say is that it's already out of date.

The following bottles are now finished
Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist
Caol Ila G&M 25yo Private Collection

Some good news though - we have managed to acquire some new bottlings and will be putting them on sale shortly

the much raved about Ardbeg Rollercoaster,
the specially commissioned Dee Dram from Dalmore (helping to raise funds to protect the environment of the River Dee),
and a cask strength bottling of Kilkerran from Glengyle distillery in Campbeltown, one of the first bottlings from this new distillery and aged for 3 years in a Port Pipe.

OLD MACALLAN

2010-03-01T14:00:00.001Z

A couple of years ago I bought a Gordon & MacPhail bottling labelled as Pride of Strathspey, Distilled 1938. I suspected that this might be a bottling of Macallan since the firm has always had access to a significant number of casks.

I was pleasantly surprised to read the latest blog from The Whisky Exchange which confirmed my suspicions, see the full article at http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2010/02/secrets-from-sukhinders-stash-pride-of-strathspey-1938/.

At £30 a dram this is surely a bargain for anyone wishing to sample an old Macallan.

Malts of the Month

2010-03-01T14:00:00.000Z

Our Malts of the Month for March are

Non-Smoky - Glenmorangie Original.

Smoky - Ardmore 1993 from Gordon & MacPhail & Bunnahabhain from Duncan Taylor.

WHISKY LIST

2010-02-03T15:00:00.002Z

At long last I have produced an updated Whisky List, although it won't be available online for another couple of weeks.

I should like to highlight a number of new additions:

A Dalmore aged for 30 years in a Matusalem sherry cask

The new Glengarioch Founders Reserve

Glenmorangie Signet, a truly exceptional dram

Old Pultney 18yo single sherry cask bottling 58.8%, an old favourite returns

A selction of four of the finest of the Glenfarclas Family casks from four different decades - 1960, 1970, 1980 & 1990

A 53yo sherry cask-aged Mortlach distilled in 1954 (before I was born!)

The Whisky That Cannot Be Named , a 50yo bottling from Speyside by Adelphi that might just be a Glenfarclas

Jura Prophecy, a heavily peated offering which always attract a lot of
interest

One of the first bottlings from Kilchoman, the newest distillery on Islay

One of the early bottlings of Kilkerran, from Glengyle distillery in Campbeltown, the first distillery to be built there in 125 years

Armorik single malt from the Warenghem distillery in Brittany, France,

Mackmyra The First Edition, from this well-known Swedish distillery, after a number of experimental releases which all sold out fairly quickly, we now have what promises to be a regular bottling.

GLENFIDDICH TASTING

2009-11-24T08:28:00.003Z

Glenfiddich will be in the bar this Thursday, 26th November between 8pm & 11pm to conduct a free blind tasting of their single malts. On offer will be the 12yo, 15yo & 18yo.

AN EXPENSIVE MALT

2009-11-23T21:57:00.003Z

Last week I attended a whisky auction at Bonhams in Edinburgh. The highlight of the day was a special bottling of Dalmore, created by master blender Richard Patterson. He used whiskies dating back to the 19th century, similar to those used to craft the legendary Dalmore 62yo - see my blog Whisky Heaven. The resulting malt was then presented in a special decanter and called the Dalmore Oculus. The bottle, the only one of its kind in the world, sold for £27,600 to an anonymous telephone bidder. The room broke into spontaneous applause on completeion of the bidding. Needless to say, I was not amongst the bidders.
For more information, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/nov/22/dalmore-oculus-whisky-record-auction

TAIN TRECK

2009-11-02T15:04:00.006Z

After a weekend which has seen the North East of Scotland receive three quarters of its November rainfall in 24 hours, I was glad it was last Monday morning I caught the train from Aberdeen to Inverness on the first leg of my visit to Glenmorangie Distillery. It was interesting to consider the effect of the railway on the whisky industry as the train rolled through the scenic countryside, made all the more so by the vivid autumn colours.

The number of distilleries within easy reach of the tracks are numerous, and from the train it is just possible to see Ardmore Distillery, the giant Chivas Bros warehouse complex at Keith, Glentauchers & Auchroisk, Longmorn, Benromach and the final resting place of the long-closed Millburn Distillery in Inverness.

I was joined at the distillery by the rest of the party, representatives of some of Scotland's best whisky venues. Andy MacDonald, the distillery manager, proceeded to show us round the recently enlarged distillery - 2 new stills have been added to an extended stillhouse, however everything has been built to look as if it had always been there. We finished up in one of the dunnage warehouses where we tasted some barrel samples to highlight the effects of different woods on the spirit. Then we were forced to sample more whiskies in a more formal atmosphere of the conference room. These included the Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or, the 18yo, the 25yo and the recently released Sonnalta PX. The Nectar D'Or has a lovely sweet texture which should give it a wide appeal, whilst the Sonnalta is a bigger, bolder flavour. Only available from the distillery or in Travel Retail Outlets (duty free), the Sonnalta will be up on the gantry shortly.

We then headed over to Glenmorangie House, voted one of the top hotels in the UK, where we were to spend the night. Although it is only some 8 or 9 miles from the distillery, the drive is across country and by this time it was pitch black. We enjoyed a little detour which took in the picturesque village of Portmahomack (it would have been even more picturesque in daylight). Whilst our driver refused to admit he was lost, the following two car-loads of guests were not so sure.

The hotel, which is more like a private house was everything and more we had been led to expect. Before dinner we were treated to the most futuristic tasting I have yet to experience. In order to fully appreciate the creation that is Signet, we were treated to a sound and light show which talked us through a sensory tasting of this wonderful malt, a whisky that truly compares with the best vintage wines.

After a sumptuous meal, which included bread made with Ardbeg (same company), we were treated to some more whisky - Ardbeg Corryvrekan and Supernova. An ideal choice in front of a coal fire - so much so that some of us were seen to doze off! To round off our trip, we spent the following morning trying our hand at clay pigeon shooting.

Thanks are due to LVMH for making this trip possible.

Malts of the Week

2009-10-12T15:00:00.003+01:00

Our current Malts of the Week are

Ardmore Traditional Cask (smoky) - it may come as a surprise to find a peated Highland Malt. As a major component of the Teachers Blend, Ardmore has always been produced using peated malt, but has only been available as an official bottling in the last couple of years. The distillery is in the small village of Kennethmont, some 35 miles from Aberdeen. It is only open to visitors during the Speyside Whisky Festival.

Benromach Traditional (non-smoky) - from the smallest distillery on speyside. This is the fore-runner to the newly released 10yo, which contains only whisky produced by the current owners, independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail. The new 10 yo has a hint of peat, so we could feature it as a future smoky malt.

WHISKY HEAVEN

2009-09-24T14:29:00.002+01:00

I don't know if anyone managed to catch a recent STV production called "Made in Scotland." The July 23rd episode featured the actor David Hayman (Trial & Retribution) on a visit to Whyte & Mackay's Glasgow headquarters for a private tasting session with master blender Richard Paterson.

Richard Is one of the foremost whisky experts in the world and certainly one of its most colourful characters. He has been responsible for blending the Whyte & Mackay portfolio for over 30 years and also looks after the Jura and Dalmore single malts. He recently published the story of his life in the whisky business, "Goodness Nose", and what a cracking good read it is. To read more about Richard go to his site at http://www.themasterblender.com/.

Last year I was lucky enough to win a competition for readers of On-Trade Scotland magazine. The prize was my very own private tasting session with Richard Paterson, just like the one David Hayman enjoyed. After a history lesson on whisky and Whyte & Mackay's place therein, we made our way through to the sampling room - pictures of which can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/42021660@N03/sets/72157622157567893/.
Out of a number of samples tasted were the stunning Whyte & Mackay 40yo blend and a 40yo Dalmore. Richard also let me try a couple of samples of very old sherries to demonstrate the sherry-cask ageing effect. The depth of flavour in these sherries was absolutely amazing and nothing like the stuff they used to serve up at weddings!

As the session was drawing to a close, Richard produced one last dram. What was this he asked as I took my first few drops - "not a 20 year old, not a 30 year old, not a 40 year old, not a 50 year old". OK I admit I had heard of the legendary 62 year old Dalmore, but never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I would be lucky enough to taste it! This is one of the most famous single malts in history, comprising whisky from the 1868, 1878, 1922, 1926 and 1939 vintages. Only twelve bottles were ever produced. In 2005, a guest at an exclusive English hotel bought the bottle they had on display for £32,000 and shared it with 5 lucky friends.He even left the last dram for the barman. 10 of the bottles are in private collections and the last bottle was kept by Whyte & Mackay to be enjoyed by Richard and those lucky enough to share his passion.

Whisky-wise this has got to be my most memorable tasting ever, not just for the depth and range of what I sampled that afternoon, but the passion, knowledge and humour which Richard added to the occasion.

As I travelled home to Aberdeen on the train, the lingering taste and pleasure of the Dalmore stayed with me the for the whole journey. Only once I was back in Aberdeen did I dare let anything other than water pass my lips.I knew, as only an Aberdonian whose turn it is to buy the next round, that I had made my drink last as long as possible!

The programme can be viewed on the STV Player website, here is the link, and select part 4 if you don't wish to see the whole episode.http://player.stv.tv/programmes/made-in-scotland/2009-07-23-2100/

Malts of the Week

2009-09-07T13:31:00.003+01:00

Our current Malts of the Week are

Non-Smokey -An 8 year old Old Pultney from Gordon & MacPhail. Pultney is one of our most popular malts and this bottling from Gordon & MacPhail is a regular in our featured malts. The distinctive sweet & spicy aromas mingling with a distinct hint of the sea.

Smokey - An unaged bottling of Ledaig, the peated version from Tobermory Distillery on the island of Mull. This malt has always pleasantly surprised our customers in the past and hopefully will continue to. Maybe a tad similar to the Pultney but with a definate peatiness to make all the difference.

Malts of the Week

2009-08-25T11:43:00.001+01:00

Our current Malts of the Week are

Bladnoch 16yo, non chill filtered, a fruity dram from this most southerly of the Scottish distilleries. The murky appearance of this malt has created quite a bit of interest with our regulars. I have heard it referred to as the "full fat version".

The Inverarity Islay Pure Malt 8yo, from Inverarity Vaults, a small independent wine & spirit company based in the Borders.

Malts of the Week

2009-07-27T18:08:00.003+01:00

Our current Malts of the Week are

Drumguish (non-smoky), an unaged single malt from The Speyside Distillery referred to in my Inverness Trip Blog, and

The Inverarity Islay Pure Malt 8yo, from Inverarity Vaults, a small independent wine & spirit company based in the Borders.

Whisky List

2009-07-21T09:49:00.005+01:00

The Whisky List has now been updated and is complete as of 20th July.
For those of you who like to keep score, there are 499 Scotch Whiskies, and 73 from the Rest of the World.

Additions to the list which is currently available on the website include
Jura Paps Collection, 3 bottlings at 15 yo with different wine barrel finishes, Barolo, Cabernet Sauvignon & Pinot Noir. More details at http://whisky.scotsman.com/viewnews.aspx?id=366.

3 bottlings from The Whisky Exchange under their Port Askaig Single Islay Malt Range, 17yo, 25yo and the Cask Strength version. As yet a mystery malt?

Hedonism, a blended grain bottling from Compass Box.

A 1972 vintage from Glenrothes.

Glendronach 15yo Revival, the first OB from the new owners. I've also heard they are to release some single cask bottlings as well.

Glenmorangie Signet, an artistic creation from Dr Lumsden with a wow factor, see what others think at http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/product.asp?pf_id=0010000039740.

Several OB's from Bladnoch, including the first of their own distillations, a 6yo lightly peated version, and a 15yo non-chill filtered version which has created a fair amount of interest due to its cloudy appearance. The staff at the distillery tell me it is sometimes referred to as the full-fat version! I intend to feature this as a future malt of the week.

Notable whiskies we've run out of and are no longer available (unless someone knnows of a secret stash?) are Ardbeg's Serendipity, The Dalmore Cigar Malt (now replaced by the Gran Reserva), Balvenie 17yo Rum Cask and Glenrothes 1987.

Canadian Single Malt Glen Breton

2009-07-17T12:07:00.001+01:00

I have just finished reading yet another article on the long running saga involving the Scotch Whisky Association and a previously little known distillery in Canada.

There has been much newsprint and web space devoted to the story and for those interested in further reading, here are some links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Breton_Rare

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=7425231196&topic=7471

http://inebrio.com/thescotchblog/?p=1159

The SWA beef with Glenora Distillery is their use of the name Glen Breton on the label. The distillery is located in a glen at Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada. The SWA argue that use of the word "Glen" confuses consumers into believing the whisky is made in Scotland. I don't intend to get into the politics, there are good arguments on both sides, especially when you look at cases involving Scottish sounding names on Indian "whiskies".

Recently, one of my customers told me had family coming over to visit from Canada. I got talking to him about the Glen Breton single malt and he expressed an interest in trying it.
I said I would order a bottle in for behind the bar and once he had tasted it I would order another to share with his visitors.

His Canadian cousins expressed some surprise when he told them what he was proposing to share with them, since although being well known outside the country because of the long legal battle, the whisky is not that well known in its own country.

Inverness Trip

2009-07-16T11:41:00.000+01:00

Last week I offered to chauffeur my wife to a business meeting in Inverness, a good excuse I thought to visit another distillery.

We had a lovely run up the unusually quiet A96, with the top-down the whole way, and arrived in time to avoid a torrential downpour which lasted for nearly an hour. As I feared at the time, this proved to be the end of the heat-wave.

We awoke to a very grey overcast morning with the prospect of more rain on the way, so that ruled out a lingering thought to walk up Benrinnes with a quick visit to Aberlour Distillery. Not being a prolific walker I wasn't prepared to take a chance on deteriorating weather, and besides, there was every chance the meeting would be finished by lunchtime and I didn't want to be stuck half-way up a hill, with no phone reception, when the chauffeur's call came through.

My next thought was of course a distillery visit. My first stop was Tomatin, 16 miles south of Inverness on the A9 (I had remembered how close it was from a previous visit to Inverness) - if you carry on south on the A9 and turn off to Carrbridge/Grantown-on-Spey you have several options for returning to Aberdeen, all of them more scenic and quicker than the A96. My favourite is probably via the Lecht, although the Cabrach route brings back memories of trips to visit my Grandparents in Rothes.

The location of Tomatin is spectacular, set against the eastern edge of the Monadh Liath mountains and surrounded pine forests. Close by is the impressive Findhorn Railway Bridge. Since time was short I decided not to wait the 45 minutes until the next tour, and after a quick look round the Visitor Centre Shop, which had some miniature whisky barrel piggy banks for sale, I headed off.

I had decided it would be fun to try to find The Speyside Distillery, which because it doesn't have a visitors centre, can be quite hard to find. The distillery is located on the banks of the River Tromie, near the village of Drumguish, and takes its name from the original Speyside Distillery which was located in nearby Kingussie. The vision for the distillery came from a former whisky broker George Christie, whose family also owned the Strathmore grain distillery in Cambus. It was Alex Fairlie, a dry stane dyker, who single-handedly laid all the stonework over a twenty year period, the results of which are a wee gem of a distillery in the most beautiful of surroundings. The distillery first started producing in 1990 and in some parts is best known for the "black malt" it produces, Cu Dubh, largely for the Scandinavian market. The distillery appeared in the BBC TV series "Monarch of the Glen" as the Lagganmore Distillery.

After ten minutes driving round the area I was forced to ask a local for directions, and then I had to ignore the "Private"sign if I wanted to discover the distillery. The only signs of life were at the adjacent house, a couple of cats and some hens running about. The Mash/Still House door was open but there was no sign of activity there, obviously we were in the quiet season. Then I found a door marked "office" so I tried my luck. I was greeted by the distillery manager, Andrew Shand, who couldn't have been more welcoming, despite no doubt having loads of paperwork to catch up on. The distillery is run by only 4 men, and works a 5-day week starting with the first mash at 10pm on a Sunday evening. The distillery may be unique in having all its equipment, mash tun, washbacks, stills and receivers in the one building. The distinctive building is angled to follow the mill lade which originally powered the old mill that gives the site its name. The old mill is actually still intact and in working order! The water, which comes from the river Tromie, is used for both process and cooling in the distillery and is closer to the source of the Spey than that of any other distillery.

We will be featuring Drumguish Single Malt from the distillery as our Malt of the Week shortly

Timing was perfect - just as I took my final picture, my mobile rang, my wife would be finished her meeting in an hour - time enough to make my way back to Inverness.

We took the scenic route home although the weather was grey with squally showers. The Cabrach was closed due to road works so we went via Aberlour and Keith, on the way passing Tormore, my favourite distillery from a visual aspect.

Malts of the Week

2009-07-16T11:30:00.000+01:00

Our current Malts of the Week are
Highland Park 12 yo (smoky) and
Tamdhu 8yo by Gordon & MacPhail (non-smoky)

Welcome

2009-07-08T19:46:00.000+01:00

Welcome to The Grill Blog!

Thought it might be a good idea to use this space to let you know about new arrivals in the bar - whiskies that is. They come thick and fast these days - I have trouble keeping our list up to date.

I'll also post details of my distillery visits and any bits of whisky related news that might be of interest.

Your welcome to post requests,questions and anything else that takes your fancy.

I've used a picture my daughter took of me when we were visiting my son in Houston, it sure was a Texas-sized margarita! Just to prove I have a life outside of single malts!

Slainte Mhath!