What Does John Know?

A package showed up unexpectedly at the Malt Advocate office today from Beam Global. It turns out to be a sample of a 30 year old Canadian Club which will be released later this year.  As far as I know, this is the oldest Canadian whisky ever released.

The purpose of this special release is to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Canadian Club. I see that it’s bottled at a standard 80 proof, but other than that I don’t know any more about the whisky. Until I try it, that is, which I hope to do this sometime this week. I’ll post up my thoughts afterwards.

I don’t usually write about a whisky that’s not sold in the U.S. It’s gotta be really good or really bad. This one is really good, and am I hoping that if I rave about it enough they’ll actually start importing it to the U.S.  So here goes. (Note: It sells for around 85 Pounds Sterling in the UK.)

Cutty Sark, 25 year old, 45.7%, $n/a
Well structured and masculine with its rich malty backbone and mouthcoating fruit. Yet, there’s a silky, seductive underbelly that’s very compelling. Notes of sultana, honey-drenched mandarin, ripe peach, thick toffee and anise, with a peppering of spice throughout, especially towards the finish where a hint of smoke emerges. The grain whisky enhances the blend’s allure by cutting through the whisky’s viscosity, making it very more-ish. I love the combination of drinkability, flavor, complexity and balance to this whisky. It’s one of the best blended scotches I have ever tasted. Single malt drinkers will thoroughly enjoy this whisky.

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 93

William Grant announced a few days ago the release of the the new Balvenie vintage. I just realized that I didn’t post any info on it. This one’s from 1976. Here’s the details from the press release I received:

I’m very pleased to tell you that The Balvenie Vintage 2008 has now been released. Selected by Malt Master David Stewart, together with a team of our very own Balvenie craftsmen, The Balvenie Vintage Cask 1976 is a bottling of two oak casks that had lain undisturbed for over 30 years. With a yield of just 433 bottles, which are expected to be quickly snapped up, don’t delay if you fancy a bottle.

Cask numbers 6568 and 6570 were singled out for their characteristic Balvenie honey notes and rich, fruity, vanilla sweetness; and together yielded just 433 bottles.

The Balvenie 1976 vintage is a limited annual release bottled at full cask strength (53.8% and 52.75% ABV respectively). Available from specialist whisky retailers as well as our online shop.

 The Balvenie on-line shop lists the whisky at 400 Pounds Sterling.( http://www.balvenie.com/shop/vintage1976.html)  These vintage releases are often quite extrordinary. However, the prices have also shot up over the years. (But then again, all whiskies have.)

I’m hoping to get a review sample and will offer my thoughts at that time.

I just received an invitation to a Compass Box lunch with John Glaser later this month. The reason for the lunch? Two new whiskies which he will be releasing this Fall in the U.S. All I know are the names right now, but they look pretty impressive. This is straight from the invitation:

Yes, you guessed it — John is at it again!  Out of a passion and desire to make even greater Scotch whiskies — Compass Box is introducing two NEW releases for Fall 2008:  Hedonism Maximus and Peat Monster Reserve.

My mouth waters just thinking of these whiskies. It looks like I might miss the lunch, because I’ll be out of town. But, I wanted to pass on this info to you as soon as possible. And as I get more info, I’ll post it up here.

One way or another, I’ll get review samples and pass on my thoughts after I taste them.

Auchentoshan is getting a new look. More importantly, the line is being extended with two new whiskies. I received the information yesterday, but I waited to get some answers to questions I had before posting.

The two new whiskies are Auchentoshan Classic and Auchentoshan 18 year old. My first question to the Morrison Bowmore folks is whether the Classic (their new entry level whisky lacking an age statement) is merely a renaming of Auchentoshan Select. Their response:

Classic is not just a new name for Select . It is a new creation from 100% Bourbon matured barrels-it is exceptional quality, especially for the price.

The 18 year old is also new. Yes, if you have been drinking Auchentoshan as long as I have, you may remember an 18 year old Auchentoshan packaged in those old short rectangular bottles with the metal screw top. That was probably 15-20 years ago, so I think it fair to say that this 18 year old is a new release, not a re-release.

Unfortunately, all of my U.S. readers will have to be a little patient. Here’s the launch schedule, as told to me this morning:

The launches are taking place in England, Scotland, Germany, other European countries last week, this week, next week.  But the U.S. is slated for September/October and is still in the planning stages.

I’m hoping to get review samples sooner than later and I’ll pass on my thoughts at that time. I’ll also update you to the exact launch date in the U.S. (and pricing) when I get it. Auchentoshan 12 year old , Three Wood, and 21 year old remain in the Auchentoshan portfolio.

Hirsch bourbon, which is the last formal bottling of bourbon from the old Michter’s Distillery in Schaefferstown, PA, is going out with a bang. Henry Preiss of Preiss Imports (the owner and distributor of the last remaining bottles) told me this yesterday:

I am taking the last 900 plus bottles of export package A.H. Hirsch 16 yr. old in 700ml bottles and dumping them back into stainless. We ordered and now have on hand from France 1000 hand blow old fashioned glass bottles, custom made t-top corks, a custom made Cigar humidor (arriving late July early August). We will create an old fashioned scroll and then combine all the components the Hirsch rebottled into these great hand blown bottles in a Custom Cigar Humidor Gift Pack. Each one will have a unique number and be a slice of American History to put away or enjoy. The price will be approx $1,000 - $1,500 each depending on all our final costs for the project.

 The Hirsch 16 yr. old bourbon is a fantastic whiskey from a distillery with a lot of history. Yes, this is a lot of money for a bourbon, but it will help to give Michter’s the honor and respect it deserves.

Henry also has a couple of other whiskeys up his sleeve, including 25 and 28 year old bourbons he’s soon going to release. (250 cases of each.)

I am back from vacation, and I wanted to shed some light on the fate of Michael Jackson’s Complete Guide To Single Malt Scotch (titled Malt Whisky Companion in the UK).

Fellow whisky writer (and a damned good one at that) Dave Broom and I have been in discussions with Michael Jackson’s literary agent for several months now about putting out a new revision of the book. We organized it so that I would review new releases to the U.S., and Dave would review whiskies released outside of the U.S. He and I would divide up the whiskies that go both places.

Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to happen. The main point if disagreement was the degree of revision to the book. The books publisher (DK) wanted to put out a relatively minor revision of the book (with a small budget to support it), while Dave and I wanted a major revision of the book to reflect the new releases since the last revision of the book. Essentially, we wanted a revision that Michael would be proud of, not just some patchwork effort.

That’s where we left it, and the discussions have broken down. I don’t know what will be the fate of the book now. All I can say is that I won’t be involved, and I don’t think Dave will either.

Every year I get offers to write a book, but have yet to write one. I turn them down because I have been focusing on my core business (Malt Advocate magazine and WhiskyFest). This is one that I seriously considered.

I’ll be at the Jersey Shore for the next week. Yes, I will have whisky (and whiskey) with me. No, I do not plan on working. That includes blogging. I’ll be back in one week, with plenty to talk about. Have a great week everyone!

In an attempt to “make malt whisky more accessible,” the Wemyss Vintage Malts company just introduced two new whiskies to the U.S.

In the same vein as the Jon, Mark and Robbo (JMR) label several years back, Wemyss Vintage Malt marries a blend of malts and gives them names that describe what the whisky tastes like.

The first one being released is “The Smooth Gentleman,” followed by “The Spice King”. A third expression called “The Peat Chimney” appears later this year.

CEO William Wemyss  describes his philosophy:

“By using the aromas and tastes of the individual whiskies to uniquely identify each one, the consumer is able to easily understand what style of whisky is being purchased.”

The whiskies were selected by whisky writer Charlie MacLean and are bottled at 8 years old. I have samples of the two whiskies just released and they tasted as they are described, with the youthfullness you would expect in an 8 year old whisky. If you want to get more information, you can contact William at wjw@wdco.co.uk.

While touring Speyside distilleries last month, my wife Amy and I really enjoyed a dram of Cutty Sark 25 year old–a whisky not available in the U.S. Here’s how I described it in my blog a few weeks ago:

Glenrothes is a key component to the Cutty Sark blend. I tasted the Cutty 25 year old while I was in Speyside and it was amazing. I loved the combination of drinkability, flavor, complexity and balance. It’s one of the best blended whiskies I have ever tasted. Even my wife, who doesn’t normally drink whisky, finished her entire dram. And if she hadn’t, I would have finished it for her! The only problem: it’s not sold in the U.S.

Well, my comments found their way to one of the Cutty Sark PR people and he sent me this message:

I met with David King [Whiskymaker for Glenrothes and Cutty Sark] yesterday and he is particularly pleased with your comments regarding Cutty Sark 25 year old – to the extent that he is considering launching it in the USA.

Watch this space! My fingers are crossed.