Having (finally!) sorted out that irritating problem with the website layout (as mentioned inna previous blogpost), I thought that I’d get things kicked off properly with a twofer. ‘Tis the season and all that, winter is closing in and the days are getting shorter, so I was in the mood for something really meaty. By a stroke of luck I had occasion to drop into the excellent Loch Fyne Whiskies on Cockburn Street, and they had this on special offer.
Glendronach Original 12yo
Dense and rich, clearly with a lot of sherry influence going on. The label talks about PX and Oloroso casks, and it’s pretty obvious from the first sniff. It smells like Christmas—which suggests that I was right when I picked this one out. Lots of dried fruit and a prominent acetone note, giving that really strong pear drops vibe. Behind that there’s a big hit of Xmas-themed spices: cinnamon and allspice and everything nice.
I’d had a pretty stressful day and I was very, very much in the mood for a drink when I got home. This whisky was exactly the sort of thing that I needed. I could happily sit here with my nose in the glass for a good long time while my natural bonhomie returns. (Yes, I do have a natural bonhomie. It’s just that very few of you ever get to see it, which, frankly, is on you.)
Adding a drop of water softens the spiciness and brings out a very sweet note—but it’s the kind of confectioner’s sugar note that I’d expect in grain whisky. Because of the acetone vibe from before I can’t help but think of licking the dust off the outside of a pear drop. No, wait, it’s travel sweets. Remember those? They came inna little round tin and you could get them at motorway service stations. When I was young I always preferred the dust in the bottom of the tin.
Despite that additional lightness there’s still a lot of complexity in this dram, deep rich raisiny notes from the sherry, and some hints of oaky vanilla. It improves on pouring a second glass.
I’m feeling a lot better now.
Smokehead “Rebel” rum cask finish
I got this bottle from work. My boss has this notion that I’m a fan of the smoke bombs, which isn’t remotely true, but I think he gets it from the fact that I’m always asking for something peatier to go on the range that we have there. I’m not asking that because I want to drink it. I’m asking on behalf of the guests. This seems to have given me a reputation as a smoke fiend, which isn’t my usual style at all, but I do appreciate a smoky one on occasion.
Let’s assume that this is one of those occasions. Smokehead is, typically, a beautiful proper single malt that comes from an undisclosed Islay distillery. (Last time I checked, the scuttlebutt suggested that it was Ardbeg, 10yo vatted with a little bit of 12). They make great whiskies but, for whatever reason, they won’t tell you where it comes from. I can only presume that this is something to do with the marketing department.
In any case, what they do at Smokehead is heavily peated face-melters that can carry a “single malt” label and still be generic enough to go well with a mixer. And this expression is one where they seem to have lost their way a bit. If anything, it’s too good.
A rum finish would normally give a strong brown sugar note on the nose, but this one tempers it with a fruitiness that I’d normally expect from a very inland kind of Highland malt—that kind of rum-and-raisin ice cream kind of thing that Balvenie used to do so well. My first impression was of chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate. There’s a lot of smoke obviously, but it’s not overpowering and it just serves to highlight a bunch of other flavours that are going on in there. Drunk neat there’s an odd kind of thin, sharp line to the smokiness, but once you add water all the sweetness comes out and the astringency fades into the background.
On the bottle, there’s a line on the tasting notes about “bursting with fiery peat smoke, burnt marshmallows and softened with caramelised fruit”. When I first tasted this I wasn’t getting any of those things, but this evening, sitting and spending a bit of time with this one, I’m definitely getting some marshmallow once the water’s opened it up. In my opinion a good smoky whisky should make you think of campfires, and this one goes beyond that and tastes like s’mores.
It’s almost too good to drink with a mixer. But I’m writing this review and this is a Smokehead so it’s only right that I go all the way and test this properly for you. So, against my better judgement perhaps, I went and got some coca-cola.
It works as a drink with Coke—and that’s really all I’ve got to say. It’s nice. A line of the smokiness comes through. It plays nicely with the cola flavours. But it’s better drunk on its own. This is one that has enough going on by itself not to need a mixer. And that’s something that I would rarely say about a generic Islay whisky, so I suppose that from me it comes as high praise.
Now I’m off to try it again neat, just to see what else is in there.