Category: review

A little bit of Welsh whisky action

Posted on by pajh

We concentrate on scotches here at dramb, but not exclusively. And this week I find myself on the coast of North Wales, sharing a caravan with my family.

When travelling, wherever one goes, it’s always a good idea to try the local tipple. For Wales, Penderyn has been gaining accolades left and right since they established themselves, but I’ve never really developed a taste for it.1I tried their first expression when it had only just come out, and they hadn’t got it quite right yet, and I wasn’t impressed. Aber Falls, though, is a distillery I know almost nothing about, but I’ve frequently found their whisky on special offer in the supermarket, and I’ve come to regard it as a reliable old standby—which is a pretty impressive feat in just eight years.

So, while wandering along Llandudno Pier the other day2At 700m, it’s Wales’ longest pier and the fifth longest in the UK!, as one does, I was pleased to find amongst the stalls a tiny little shop offering tasters. We had a quick swig of their gin, which I’m going to have to investigate more thoroughly in the future3Beautifully balanced and citrusy with some salty grapefruit notes, a great seaside gin., but naturally I was most interested in the whisky.

pajh checking out the merchandise
Checkin’ out the merchandise.

And they’ve got a new one! Just released, the new madeira cask finish is a bit of a departure for Aber Falls, and the lovely lassie in the shop was justifiably quite excited to show it off for me. And then I bought a bottle without hesitation.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper Aber Falls tasting unless I could compare my new acquisition against their core spirit. Also, I’m British and thus genetically unable to ask for free stuff. Fortunately, the lassie in the shop gave me super-secret inside information on how to acquire Aber Falls at sale prices. Apparently, when you’re in Tescos and it doesn’t look like it’s available, ask anyway—it’s supposed to be available at Clubcard prices all the time, but Tescos might not make it obvious.

Fortunately (again), even that wasn’t necessary. We dropped into Sainsburys on the way back and the Nectar card offer was even cheaper than I’d seen it elsewhere. So now I have two excellent Welsh whiskies for a comparison tasting.

There is one further consideration when attempting a tasting session inna caravan on the north Welsh coast. The glassware in these caravans is never of what you might call the highest calibre. And I’ve recently discovered that I have sensory issues that require me to have a nice, chunky, heavy-based glass that I can hold properly. Sainsburys to the rescue once again.

This is why we have expense accounts, people.

pajh inna caravan with two bottles of Aber Falls.
As you can see, I’m having a lovely time here in Wales.

So here’s a look at both of them:

Aber Falls single malt Welsh whisky

Salt and pepper with something spicy, like cardamom. Bourbon vanilla and a smokey hint, very subtle, from the wood. A sweet note of canned peaches in syrup.

Aber Falls single malt Madeira cask

It’s 7% higher ABV and it makes that very clear on the nose. The sweetness from the madeira just serves to exacerbate the spicy note, but there’s a really strong hint of candied, roasted hazelnuts.

I love them both of course, but while the core expression is an absolute banger for a supermarket special, the new madeira cask is something to break out on some sort of important occasion. Fortunately (again), I’m on holiday this week. Cheers.

Footnotes

  • 1
    I tried their first expression when it had only just come out, and they hadn’t got it quite right yet, and I wasn’t impressed.
  • 2
    At 700m, it’s Wales’ longest pier and the fifth longest in the UK!
  • 3
    Beautifully balanced and citrusy with some salty grapefruit notes, a great seaside gin.

Dramming home for Christmas

Posted on by pajh
Glendronach and Smokehead Rebel rum cask on my kitchen table, ready for drinking.
Tonight’s entertainment is brought to you by these drams and the fact that it’s time to get all the bloody Xmas cards written.

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.

Smokehead Rebel and a glass of Smoke-an'-Coke. I do this for you.
I hope you folks are appreciating this.

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.