It’s that Islay time of year again. The Whisky Festival started last weekend of May and I’m going over again to do my annual dinner on the Thursday night. A menu full of challenges to match again this year and I’ll say more about it in my June blog.

A couple of things on tasting this month – the new Kilchoman expression and the latest Double Single bottling from Compass Box. A couple of samples from The Lost Distillery Co. have also turned up at the last minute but we’ll save those for next month too.

First, Double Single which is composed of one single grain (Girvan from re-charred bourbon barrels) and one single malt (Glen Elgin from re-charred bourbon hogsheads) in harmony. The Glen Elgin makes up some 78% of the vatting. With all that bourbon wood there should be plenty of vanilla and there is. It’s at 46% and there are only 5,838 bottles available globally so it will set you back about £150. On the nose there is plenty of coconut at first, then some vanilla, pear drops and pineapple. With water it is creamier with a touch of lemon meringue and apricots. The palate is silky and quite herbal and dry with some heather and honey and a waft of oak – and maybe a touch of salt from a grain whisky distilled near the sea.

The Kilchoman is 100% Islay, made from barley grown and malted at the distillery at a slightly lighter peating level compared to the rest of the range and is a vatting of fresh and refill ex Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrels filled in 2010 and bottled in 2017 50% abv. This 7^th Edition, at seven years old, is their most mature expression of the range released to date but for me it’s still too young. The nose is smoky and peaty with sweaty sock – in common with many a peaty whisky and not necessarily a bad thing! It’s slightly medicinal but also malty. With water it’s softer and creamier with a slight scent of warm varnished wood floors. In the mouth it’s oily, smoky and quite peppery even with water and the smoke and malt persist in a very dry finish.

Glen Scotia Distillery in Campbeltown has released a 25 year old single malt. Previewed at the recent Campbeltown Whisky Festival it will be available in June at £250 for a 70cl bottle The whisky is bottled at 48.8% abv and is not chill-filtered. It was matured in US oak and then the liquid for bottling was married in first fill bourbon casks for 12 months prior to bottling. Michael Henry, Master Blender for Glen Scotia owner, The Loch Lomond Group, tells us, “The signature nose has hints of vanilla oak, interwoven with subtle notes of sea spray and spicy aromatic fruits. On the palate, it boasts tangy orange and juicy red apples mixed with a caramel sweetness. Its finish is a long lingering taste of sea salt with a spicy note of ground ginger.” Sounds great but, as with pretty much any 25 year old single malt, it’s not one that most of us will get to taste. Go for it if you can, though.

Lastly, before I get back to you in June, I’m off to France for some whisky work. Last year I helped a French writer of graphic novels, Joel Alessandra, with a book about his wife’s late aunt who was my friend and former business partner, the whisky writer Helen Arthur. They were planning to do a book together before Helen passed away suddenly. Well, the book comes out in France in mid-June and I get to be there. It’s a semi-fictional account of his journey to Islay to find Helen’s ultimate whisky. I’ve seen the first proofs and it looks great. It’s going to be published only in French for now but there may be an edition in English later on. I’ll also be doing a tasting in the south of France at a second set of book launch events. A lot of travelling up and down and events to be at but I’m delighted to help out and I know I’m very fortunate to get to do these things and the book is a lovely tribute to my friend.

If you’re going on holiday overseas by plane from June, look out for the new Glenfiddich virtual reality whisky tasting experience called Glenfiddich Virtual Infinity. The experience allows travellers to discover, virtually, the flavours in each of Glenfiddich’s three Cask Collection whiskies and write their own 3D tasting notes in a virtual world. Smart idea to amuse and inform people with plenty of waiting time at airports. Maybe BA needed one at their check-in desks this last week!

Enjoy what I hope will be a warm and sunny June. See you next then.

Caroline

5th May 2017

Last week of April saw a large clutch of European and US whisky scribes converging on Copenhagen courtesy of Highland Park. Owners, Edrington, were launching their new expression, Valkyrie and telling us about their new positioning for the brand.

Why Copenhagen? All who know Highland Park are aware it hails from Orkney but maybe don’t know about Orkney’s Viking history. One third of current Orkney residents have Viking ancestry. Indeed, Magnus Eunson, who founded Highland Park in 1798, was a direct descendent of those first Viking pioneers.

Highland Park 12 new pack

So what of this new brand positioning for Highland Park generally?

Well, Global Brand Director, Jason Craig explained that they felt Highland Park needed a refresh (packaging last changed 10 years ago). The old pack wasn’t wrong but it focused on the whisky (rightly at the time) but needed more of an emotional connection with consumers and a reason for them to get into the brand. After all, we all choose and like our preferred whiskies because of something they say to us or a feeling they stir.

Over a thousand years ago the islands belonged to the Viking kingdom of Denmark and Norway and were handed to Scotland as a mediaeval debt repayment guarantee – though the Vikings did not leave. The debt wasn’t repaid so Orkney remained part of Scotland. Following research, Edrington decided to take Highland Park back to Orkney’s Viking roots to tell the tales of its former rulers and the marks that the Vikings left on the islands and which are still around today. So we now have “The Orkney Single Malt with Viking Soul”. All communication on the brand will feature this theme and Jason allayed my concerns that those less knowledgeable will think it’s a foreign whisky. It’s certainly one you’d want to lift off the shelf and look at more closely. The glass for this bottle is wonderful to touch with all the beautiful embossing and easy to hold in the hand.

Urnes stavkirke

The bottle decor was inspired by an old Norwegian wooden church in the village of Urnes, a “stavkirke” which has very ornate carvings and is a World Heritage site.

The legend shown on the pack is that of a lion fighting evil in the form of two serpents. It was designed by Andy Bowman and team at Mountain Design Creative based in Glasgow. If this isn’t in line for a packaging design award then I’d be very disappointed. After much experimentation with leading glass manufacturers, the final result you see here was achieved. It does cost only a few per cent more than the previous bottle yet the price to buy in stores will not increase. The company is absorbing the cost and Jason Craig points out that the costly part of glass design is the mould and that lasts for many years so no need for price increases.

The 10 Year old (not available in UK) and 12 Year Old are in this pack now and the 18 Year Old will follow in July. We had a taste of the 10 Year Old at the Viking Ship Museum and I was well taken with it so do try it if you find yourself anywhere overseas where you can get it. More changes are afoot on 25 Year Old (probably same pack format). It should be noted that there is no change in the whisky inside the bottles, though 18 Year Old will become a batch offering and there will be two each year. There may be a change of age from the current 30 and 40 Year Old offerings and there will be a 50 Year Old to come in November 2017 but only around 300 bottles of that will be available globally. More on those perhaps as they emerge and another new expression, Full Volume, a limited release coming out in the autumn.

Highland Park Valkyrie

The new expression, Valkyrie, has a dark and brooding pack. Anyone who has read Norse mythology will know that the Valkyrie were avenging horse-backed angels who combed the battlefields for the bravest of their fallen warriors. They would then select, from the fallen heroes, who amongst them would enter Valhalla, the afterlife hall of the slain fighters. They also served mead to the heroes and sometimes became lovers of the fallen soldiers. Not entirely the large, warrior women of Wagnerian opera. then.

For this special edition, Highland Park felt the need for someone with authentic Viking knowledge rather than a home based designer who would create maybe a perceived representation or their own, more distant, interpretation of Viking mythology. They discovered leading Danish designer Jim Lyngvild who is a descendant of Vikings and who has his own wooden castle in the countryside a couple of hours outside Copenhagen.

Jim Lyngvild

Jim Lyngvild’s pack design is a beautiful piece of work, featuring red for Viking blood (not, it seems, for any expected assault on certain Far East markets where red is the colour of good luck) and black for drama and stand out as a special edition. Plus the Valkyrie are also sometimes associated with ravens. In fact, this bottle is different from the new core range to reflect the special edition status. The pack design is inspired by two important Nordic sources – a typical Viking pendant from around 300-700AD discovered in Uppland, Sweden and the ancient Hammar Stone of Gotland which details the epic journey of the Valkyrie.

After a morning at the Viking Ship Museum learning about longboats and sails and how the wood is used and shaped in comparison with the oak for casks, we were treated to an evening visit to Jim’s castle and a Viking feast there. Entertainment came from opera singers and local actors played squabbling Viking warriors throughout the evening, culminating in the death of a Viking king and the symbolic burning of his body out at “sea” in a life size model of a longboat. Truly spectacular. Earlier in the day Jason Craig did comment that a lot of whisky writers were at the Speyside Festival those same days and probably weren’t having as much fun or doing anything quite as different as we were.

Martin Markvardsen, Highland Park Brand Ambassador led us in a tasting of the new Valkyrie and pointed out that if Scotland had voted for independence a few years ago, we would possibly have been drinking Norway’s finest single malt as Norway had expressed an interest in its ancient right to buy back the Orkney Isles if Scotland separated from the UK. Bear that in mind if we get another referendum!

And what of the whisky inside? Well it’s not dark and brooding but it does use some of the small stocks of more highly peated Highland Park that the distillery produces which give it an altogether more robust, but still smooth and rounded, feel. The Highland Park DNA is very much in evidence from the usual fine mix of cask types including even some bourbon cask which is not often used by them. There wasn’t a lot of time for scribbling own tasting notes on the evening so those supplied by the company are:

Appearance: Natural colour – bright, amber hue

Nose: Sharp tang of sweet green apples and ripening lemons

Palate: A bewitching mix of oriental spices. Driven by European Oak sherry seasoned casks, American Oak sherry-seasoned casks and Bourbon casks, the flavour profile is creamy vanilla with spicy, sweet, preserved ginger and lingering smokiness with hints of liquorice.

Finish: Exquisitely balanced, the long and lingering finish delivers waves of warm aromatic smoke and richly ripened fruit.

I might add in a few thoughts of my own but wouldn’t disagree with any of that. The whisky is bottled at 45.9% abv, is definitely an enjoyable dram and only around £55 a bottle. Master Whisky Maker, Gordon Motion did give some indication of the age of the whiskies in the bottle and suffice to say that they are well mature and not striplings. There is no age statement on the pack as Edrington want to defend the “no age statement” position of allowing the blending team to play effectively with the whole inventory and create something delightfully drinkable. And it is.

Valkyrie is the first in a series of three Viking Legend special editions. The other two, Valknut and Valhalla will follow in 2018 and 2019. Gordon Motion tells me he hasn’t got far into the development of those yet but they won’t necessarily be built on the Valkyrie base. They could be quite different dependent on the feel engendered by the stories behind them.

Beyond this the brand’s new website has been launched so you can find more information and pictures there on www.highlandparkwhisky.com

CD 5/5/17

Well, the day after this is completed, I’m off to Copenhagen on a Highland Park trip to see presentations about a new Highland Park expression, Valkyrie and more. They’re doing it over there to celebrate the Viking heritage of Orkney where the distillery is situated. I’ll be doing a separate article on that as soon as I come back.

Also on Highland Park, they have launched a Rebus 30 edition, though the whisky is 10 years old, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Rebus’ creation by Ian Rankin. It’s a 10,000 bottle release for just a few of the Rebus fans out there. This one is just £30 a bottle BUT available only to those members of the Highland Park Inner Circle via the brand’s website. If you’re keen you have only a another few days to register to qualify for purchasing one. A few bottles will also be auctioned throughout the year. There is to be a Rebus Fest  at the end of June in Edinburgh and there will be a chance to taste this and some other HP expressions in master classes on 30 June and 1 at The Waldorf Astoria Caledonian Hotel.

Early in the month came news that Craigellachie 31 Years Old had won World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2017 presented by Whisky Magazine. So many congratulations to them too. I tasted through several ages of Craigellachie when they first came out as a collection alongside other Dewar’s malts though this one wasn’t amongst them. The Craigellachie 17 Year Old from that collection is still one of my favourites.

Diageo has been busy too. Acclaimed British designer Tom Dixon OBE has created The Johnnie Walker Blue Label Capsule Series, previewed at Milan Design Week earlier this month. Inspired by the rarity, craft and heritage of the luxury Scotch Whisky, the exclusive Johnnie Walker Blue Label Capsule Series by Tom Dixon encompasses a bespoke bottle design, ice bucket, coaster and bottle cap. We are told, “The copper accents in the Limited Edition Design are characteristic of Dixon’s contemporary designs and are also a deliberate nod to the art of whisky-making, the copper theme evoking the pot stills used during whisky distillation.” It’s certainly different and I really like it. This Limited Edition series will be available to purchase from October 2017 in selected markets across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa and will have will have an RRP from GBP £180.

In less happy news, Diageo is to shed around 100 jobs from its bottling plants in Fife and Glasgow over Brexit concerns and a bit of a row brewing with the GMB union over this though it’s not clear yet how this affects Scotch Whisky bottling. My own bet is that it’s unlikely to change Scotch bottling location but other spirit types may be relocated. I guess we wait and see.

Not a lot on tasting this month though I do have a sample of Benriach Peated Cask Strength Batch 1 at 56% abv. It’s a pretty barley gold colour with brassy highlights and tears that go from initially swift to slower and more clinging in the glass.

Nose: Rich, smoky, peaty, smoked mackerel; some rich fruit notes and candle wax with vanilla touches. With water, there’s more vanilla, rich fruit and waxiness but less smoke and peat.

Palate: A slightly unctuous mouthfeel; very smoky with peat and tar; astringent; heathery, woody herbs; some dried fruits and warm spices like cinnamon and ginger.

Finish: long, smoky, peaty, dry but with sweet spice notes.

Other news wise, we have a Queen’s Award for International Enterprise given to the lovely people at Glencairn Crystal who make the thistle-shaped Glencairn whisky glass that so many have seen and used. They’ve been having a great business year and more to come so huge congratulations to them. I’m told there will be an event for them to attend to receive this in due course.

Next up, Kilchoman is launching its 7th edition of Kilchoman 100% Islay made with barley all grown on the island and bottled there too. It’s a vatting of fresh and refill bourbon barrels from Buffalo Trace, filled in 2010 and bottled very recently. A sample is awaited so more next month, I hope. Launch date is 1st May.

Not quite whisky but next door – Wemyss, producers of Kingsbarns Single Malt and blenders of many good things are repatriating the production of their Darnley’s Gin from London to the Kingsbarns site in a new distillery beside the whisky one. Good news for more jobs and tourism, I hope.

Benromach have released another vintage version – a single cask expression, Benromach 1975, matured in a refill American hogshead and bottled at a strength of 49.9% abv. It’s in a decanter style bottle with copper coloured neck and shoulder portraying the stills and is presented in a wooden box with accompanying book which relates Benromach’s history, including some fascinating stories about the craftsman who have tended to the spirit over the decades. Only 162  bottles have been produced for the entire world and UK retail price will be around £1,250. Therefore no sample. It looks beautiful but is outside my current budgets.

Lastly William Grant & Sons has bought the US craft distilling company Tuthilltown Spirits. They had already bought their Hudson’s brand some years ago. Speaking of William Grant’s I was at a drinks trade event on 20th April and got to taste the Glenfiddich IPA Finish and Glenfiddich Project XX. Both are to be launched very soon. I enjoyed both of them but was particularly taken by the IPA Finish and would recommend trying both to all whisky fans. Their  existing Glenfiddich 21 Year Old Rum Cask Finish was very flavoursome too!

I’d better stop here for April. Back soon with the Highland Park Valkyrie Report.

Caroline