Query for the Group

Is there a 15yo now, in some markets? The local version is a 12yo. I'd love to know there's another Pure Pot Still whiskey out there.

Irish whiskey was my first love, before I appreciated the Scottish malts and I'm still quite fond of it. Redbreast is one of the best.

Bart

Those are some heavy hitters, I'm envious. The Grants are so protective of their distillery's reputation that we seldom see versions of Glenfarclas besides the owners standard line. Some years ago there were some bottlings by Dram Select - the 12yo was better in my opinion than the 21yo - and Cadenheads had one but I never tasted it. I really like the standard line and wish there were more available. I'd love to see a vintage dated Glenfarclas from the owners.

Bart

Bart

Dave Hinz wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net:

Well, it gets too much traffic, and I wasn't sure what was going on, because only my posts to this group weren't displaying. The problem was that I was using Google from another computer. It delayed my responses one to three days, with seemingly no chronological reasoning. I assumed that none of them were working, hence the three posts. Sorry.

John

Irish Distillers launched the 15 y.o. in november in Germany. I don't know wether it is available somewhere else or not.

It comes with 46% alcohol. The alcohol ist the first impression when you taste it, but then there are lots of fruits. Sweet, like nectar. Never tastet anything like that before.

The other, real pot still, is Green Spot, distilled in Midleton and sold from Mitchel&Son.

I like those Dram Selects too. Good values.

Glenfarclas makes a lot of vintage dated bottlings, but few make it over this way. The current 1968 that made it to the USA is a bit too dear, but the 1976 is sometimes available at Sam's for about $100. Very nice, but not the typical dark sherried dram.

Just got back from Las Vegas and the annual PLOWED Society Ardbeggeddon event. Seven years in a row now! Out of the 250+ bottles available there for dramming over four days I enjoyed a "Friends" bottling of

36yo Glenfarclas from 1968. Stellar. A trio of Springbanks ( '68, '69, '70) bottled for the Limburg Whisky Fair also rocked my world.

Any Ardbeg is usually worthy, but the latest Feis Ile dram from a fino cask was almost as good as the Provenance.

A recently bottled (4/05) Rare Malts Linkwood 30/74 @ 54.9% keeps this distillery on the top of my faves.

Regards,

-Mac

Bart wrote:

I'm glad to hear the Redbreast 15 is so good. Does anyone know if it will become a standard offerieng or if it's distribution will be expanded? Heaven knows we had to wait a LONG time in the US just to get the 12!

Of course more new offerings of Pure Pot Still Irish whiskey came out in '05 than any other year I know of! In addition to the Rebreast 15, the Greenspot 10 and (CS) 12 also were released last year. The (old) Midleton 30yo cask strength may have also been an '05 release, but also could have been late '04.

Regards, John

In fairness, I will exclude whiskies I've only tasted, but don't own. I also attend Ardbeggeddon annually and it would be impossible for me to properly include those in an assessment (for a variety of reasons). Because I keep a lot of bottles open, I'll focus on expressions I first tasted in '05.

Best new whisky I own and tasted would have to be the Green Springbank. I had always wanted to get one. I love old Springbanks especially at CS. I also generally like rum casked whiskies. This 18yo Cadenhead is well deserving of its praise. All you would look for in an older style, CS Springer, plus that something special, rum sweet, hint of malasses influence of the wood.

Honorable mention would have to go to the recent 14yo SMWS Longrows

114.4 & 114.5, one bourbon the other refill sherry (I think).

I did also pick up a Redbreast 12 from the '60s that is awesome, being much more full flavored and a completely different profile than the current (also wonderful) Redbreast 12.

Regards, John

I thought (and wondered) the same thing when I read about this. It would be very welcome as either a replacement or (better yet) a supplement to the 12yo. The size of the U.S. market compared to most European countries (and the troubles of getting approval by the individual states) obviously explains the reluctance of producers to introduce new versions here with the frequency they are seen in some European markets.

I'm Curious. Are any of these available in the U.S.?

Our largest local source for whiskies of interest so over-bought in the late nineties that they have been reluctant to add to their stocks until they shrink their excess inventory. The upside is that a good many old whiskies no longer available in most places were (or are) still on the shelves locally. The downside is that we haven't seen much new for a while.

As an example of the former, a few months ago I found a bottle of the deeply sherried Glenhaven bottling of CS Glenlivet at 17 years old, distilled '77 and bottled in '94 if I recall correctly, and on sale for 20% off. But most of the *new* whiskies haven't been so interesting: the bourbon finished (!) Glendronach, the Tormore, the Speyside 12 (I haven't tasted that one yet), and so forth...

We did get a case of the Talisker 18yo, and I liked that one a lot. It was just like I remember the 10yo being the first time I tasted it: peaty, complex, deep - and priced right too! Does anyone know if this was (is) a one-off like the 25yo, the 20yo's, and the 175th anniversary edition; or is it a regular extension to the line?

Bart

None of these have washed up on our southern shores but it's good to know they're available somewhere in the U.S. What is available in NYC or California or Sam's or Binny's (except for private bottlings, obviously) often shows up here some years later so I'll keep my eyes open. Only last year did I see the Campbelton Loch

25yo...

Sounds grand! I haven't had too many top end bottles this year, except for what I've pulled out of my own old stock. At our local Whisky Fest I did get to taste the new Dalmore 28 Stillman's Dram and it was definitely the star of the show this year. Two years younger than the previous 30yo probably didn't matter, but being unsherried did. Nice palate, but an amazing finish!

Bart

[snip]

If you're willing, I'd like to hear more about this one. This is one of the legendary "Green Springbanks", right? They were never available locally. The one and only rum aged/finished malt I've tasted was the Springbank CS 12yo "Wood Expression" series of a few years ago which seemed odd and "brittle" to me, but I have nothing to which to compare it.

Bart

Hi Bart,

Unfortunately, all the new pure pot still Irish expressions I mentioned are Europe only. I'm sure the whisky exchange could track them down if you're interested. The Greenspots go for several hundred dollars for the 10yo and close to a thousand for the 12yo CS. The (old) Middleton goes for almost 2 grand. As much as love pure pot still Irish (and have paid a lot for expressions released decades ago), I passed on these (for now).

Your friend, John

Hi Bart,

Yes, this is one of the "legendary" Green Springbanks. It is the more common lighter version of the two. I've only poured it twice so I may not be able to add much to I said. I have not been fond of the recent Springbank releases (distilled after they went back into productions a decade and a half or so). I loved the old 15yo, 21yo and of course Local Barley, and other independent cask strength bottlings. Of the recent expressions that I'm not fond of, the 12yo rum cask you mentioned, is the only one that I'm glad I bought. To me, the Green Springbank tastes a bit like a cross between local barley and the rum expression, bringing out the best of each.

Your friend, John

Yep, that's out of my playground. But thanks for the info.

And the more expressions the Irish make the more likely some will eventually be released here. When I discovered Irish whiskey there were only four versions readily available here: Bushmills, Jamesons, Black Bush, and Jamesons 1780.

Now it has it's own small section in most liquor stores, and more than a dozen to choose from. But not much pure pot still: the Redbreast 12 and (maybe still on some shelves) the Jameson 15.

Bart

The current crop of Springers certainly can't stand comparison to the wonderful sherried spirits released in the late 90's, and some (especially the light coloured presumably bourbon aged) expressions from the early 90's and late 80's. But it's almost unfair to expect they would. I think several factors combined to make those releases better than typical. We (if you were lucky enough to be there) were spoiled! Gordon Wright has remarked that sherry casks to be filled of the quality of the casks laid down in the '60's and '70's just can't be found. The extra age of the 90's releases, due to holes in inventory, also helped those bottlings. Other factors played a part as well, I'm sure.

Perhaps Springbank has returned to something closer to the historic average in quality, but I haven't tasted much that was bottled before

1990 - distilled before, yes; but bottled before, no - just some of the black and white label 12, maybe the 15... not sure about the 15.

Of the new expressions I really did like the 175th anniversary. I thought it was a good whisky; but I would have thought alot more of it if I had never tasted the 12/100, the 21yo, the final 12yo, etc...

Thanks. I can almost picture (well, "imagine") that.

Bart