#Heelslayer: 1995 Ben Nevis (Blackadder Clydesdale Label, 15 Years, 59.5% ABV NCA/NCF)

     Well it's been a while, and a crazy summer for myself!  It seems like it's hard to settle down and write something meaningful and eloquent when it's so nice outside.  Instead of penning another ode to a dram, I've searched my open bottles and decided to write out some notes on my heels.  Below is the first of my tasting notes on a selection of drams from my #heelslayer weekend project.

     First up come form the dew of Ben Nevis... or so they call it.  Long John McDonald founded the distillery in 1825 at the foot of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the United Kingdom, where the cool mountain air condenses into the two pools from which the distillery draws her water. Popular enough that by 1878 a second distiller had to be built next door which eventually was amalgamated back into the Ben Nevis of today.  The most recent change of hands in 1989, was to the Japanese Nikka company, who still produces the malt to this day.

     The bottle that I'm reviewing today comes form the Clydesdale independent bottler lineup under the Blackadder label.  Aged 15 years in sherry cask (likely a refill), number 0350/2626 and bottled at a whopping 59.5% ABV without any chill filtration or colouring.  I tried this bottle many moons ago and was astonished that something so high on the ABV scale could seem so approachable.  This was my first foray into cask strength drams, and it was a more that pleasant experience, and cemented my love of independent drams that can actually display the  character of the distillery.

• Colour:  Bright straw gold.  No colour added.

• Body:  Thin to medium.  Very tiny drops and thin legs, slow run back to the glass.  No chill filtration happening here either!

• Nose:  Bright and lively!  Hay (cut and dried), and fruits., hints of flowers and very subtle malt.  Rich pastry notes with apricot and peach schnapps.  Pineapple upside down cake, hints of vanilla and varnish.  Yellow plums, flint and dry cocoa in the bottom with hints of lemon and mint in the background. 

• Palate:  Surprising power here, but not in the way you'd think.  That almost 60% ABV still comes across as soft and dignified like a 43-46% dram.  The power comes with the wallop of flavour it brings with it!  Spice and wood notes start up with a brine note playing second fiddle.  The malt comes in strong next with more pineapple in tow.  A warm fruit compote with some sort of... what I can only describe as yellow flowers.  Roots and rich gobs of dried fruit (papaya), shortly follow this up with a wood smoke or cocoa dryness.  The cocoa comes in a little more strongly as it transitions towards the finish with just a slight hint of struck match  in the background.

• Finish:  The heat shows up here from the ABV, but it still doesn't overwhelm the finish. Daisy... or maybe cooked daisies with more yellow plums (also cooked).  Good dutch cocoa and more toasted oak here.  Some astringent notes, specifically astringent peach, and a rather hot dryness.  The dryness is very welcome as shortly afterwards your mouth begins watering; yearning for the next sip!

• Empty Glass: Wood smoke and cherry cough syrup.  Coffee dregs and pineapple vodka (not sweet though).  Wood spices and play-dough , citrus and some bitter almond in the bottom.  Almost hints of grilled peach and fruit salts (is there such a thing as fruit salt?  I'm thinking a salt that has a yellow fruit note...).

    What can I say?  This was a fantastic dram, filled with stone fruit, yellow flowers and malty goodness.  Loads of baking spices in the palate and a finish that leaves your mouth watering, leaving  you craving another.  I was amazed that high ABV could come across so smoothly, which attests to the quality of the spirit; it even fooled me on my first tasting.  Water tames some of the wood spices and brings a more soft floral malty note to the whisky, but it doesn't seem to be needed in this dram.  Should you ever see this listed in a bar, I highly recommend that you taste it as I don't think you'll be disappointed.  Until next time: keep your stick on the ice and the ice out of your glass.

A Tale of 2 Taketsuru's

Another review from one of our own members; Tom Alexander.  This time he takes us on a trip to Japan to taste a couple of the older blends from Nikka distillery.


NIKKA TAKETSURU 17 YEAR OLD - 43%
NIKKA TAKETSURU 21 YEAR OLD - 43%

Well, right now I am supposed to be in Park City, Utah - at the Sundance Film Festival. Seeing films. Partying with celebrities. Freezing my ass off. However, my flight was cancelled (at the last minute) and it was impossible to fly out until tomorrow morning, a serious problem both on a personal and professional level. I am seriously pissed. So what to do in the meantime? Well, drink whisky and write about it, of course - what else?!?

Masataka Taketsuru is perhaps the key figure in the history of Japanese whisky, having learned the art of distilling in Scotland, and then bringing that knowledge back to Japan as master distiller for Yamazaki. After he left Yamazaki, he founded Nikka - and this range of blended malts is named after him.

On the bottle, the spirit is referred to as “Pure Malt”, a term that is illegal to use for Scotch distilleries, who must refer to it as “blended malt” - that is, the blending of malts from two or more distilleries (note the term “blend” is not the same as “blended malt”, as blends - Johnnie Walker, Grant’s, etc. - are a combination of malt and grain whiskies, whereas blended malts have no grain whiskies in them at all. Confused yet?) Taketsuru whiskies come from the two distilleries owned by Nikka: Yoichi (a heavier, oilier style) and Miyagikyo (lighter and fruitier). It does not use malts from competitor Suntory (nor vice versa).

Our vertical tasting today compares the 17 Year Old and the 21 Year Old. There is also a very good 12 Year Old, not written about here (but which is available at the LCBO - sadly, the older expressions are not. But you can also get the single malts Yoichi 10 Year Old and Miyagikyo 15 Year Old through the LCBO).

The colour of the 17 Year Old is medium-to-dark amber, with bright yellow highlights. When  you nose it, right off the bat it is very fruity, across a wide range: apricots, plums, dates, blueberries, papaya. Lots of malt. Milk chocolate. Dunnage warehouse with damp floor. Some oak and leather, a little honey and the faintest hint of smoke. With a drop of water, more malt and a little more smoke. Rich, fruity, malty and delicious.

Saltier on the palate than you would expect. Very creamy mouthfeel, and yet you get bitter tea. Very oaky as well, more than you would think from a 17 year old. And lots of malt as well, with tons of honey. Peat is a little more prevalent here, but it is not coming at you in waves of smoke. With water, the heat turns up with some cinnamon and, believe it or not, now the smoke comes! Incredibly complex, layered, ever-evolving in the mouth.

We have a deep oaky finish, pencil shavings, lots of spice and blood orange. This is such a gorgeous whisky - the epitome of malt and wood in all its essence. Not a singular malt style but rather, showcasing the complexities prevalent when the distilled spirit combines with oak. Absolutely wonderful. This won the World’s Best Blended Malt Award at the 2012 World Whiskies Awards.

How does the four more years in wood compare? Well, in the glass, we see dark amber with yellow highlights - only slightly darker than the 17. On the nose we get purely dark fruits right away - dates and raisins, as if pulled right out of a fruitcake. Cocoa. Pure malt underneath the rich oak. Herbal as well with mint and a wee bit of smoke. Again, dunnage warehouse with damp floor. Water tames all those dark fruits and brings out the malt, herbs and smoke.

Saltier than you would expect in the mouth, and with some peat. It then becomes hotter in the mouth and with more herbs like oregano and sage. Wow. Of course, very malty with a honeyed sweetness. A drop of water really spices it up, similar to the 17 year old.

We get more herbal notes on the finish, which is mouth-drying with some brine. Long and deep with lots of oak. This is a huge whisky, very much for after dinner by the fire. Like the 17 year old, this showcases the incredible range of flavours malt whisky can bring, but this one does so under a heavier layer of dark fruits and oak (if you can imagine heavier than the 17 year old). This whisky has won numerous awards, including World’s Best Blended Malt at the World Whiskies Awards three out of four years running.

So how do they compare? Well, to be honest, one seems to have simply aged in oak for another four years (rather than being distilled or aged in a different way). I know the 21 Year Old is finished in first- and second-fill bourbon barrels, and I presume from the taste profile that the 17 Year Old is as well. But these are both absolutely fantastic - rich and fruity, full of oak and malt, sweetness and spice. Do I have a favourite? Well, after spending a good chunk of the afternoon with both of these, I’m giving a slight edge to the 17. In the 21, you have such a richness of oak and dark fruits, it slightly (only slightly) obscures the other qualities that come through from the spirit. In the 17, there is a bit more balance between the spirit and the wood, and hence a further complexity is revealed. But don’t take my word for it - if you ever get the opportunity to enjoy either of these (or the 12 Year Old, which doesn’t quite reach the heights of these two but is very enjoyable), take it. These two are among the best whiskies you will ever have. And now I feel much better about my wasted hours at the airport this morning. Tomorrow is another day.