News from Scotland...

I have just returned from a trip to Scotland, where I visited a few distilleries and tasted a few whiskies... Here is a very brief report.

1. Dufftown. I missed Johanna by just one day. When I arrived at Dufftown I was told that the editor of Single Minded had been there and left the day before. What a shame, Johanna! Still, I got a detailed description of your friend's unorthodox kilt from Ann the Kiltmaker ;-) And I read your journal, which - surprise, surprise - quoted myself among others! Apart from my quote, it's a fantastic piece of work. Well done!

1. Jura. For various reasons beyond my control, I did not visit the distillery this time. I was planning to get a taste of Jura Superstition there, but didn't. And none of the Port Ellen pubs (neither of the two I visited, to be more precise) had it, so I still don't know what Supersition tastes like.

2. Ardbeg. Got to taste - quite extensively I must say - a limited edition of a peated Bunnahabhain, called Moine, no age statement. It is quite a young whisky (apparently 6yo), with a lot of youthful zest, quite smoky, with distinct sherry and peppery notes. Quite an experience, especially if you bear in mind the edition is limited to 310 bottles! Pity it got overshadowed by other whiskies I got to taste there. These included the 1990 OB Ardbeg, the limited edition of the 1976 Committee Bottling (!), plus a number of cask samples straight from the casks in one of the distillery warehouses. One of the evenings was finished with nothing else but a bottle of Ardbeg Provenance OB! The straight-from-cask samples included a bourbon hogshead which was intensively charred, thus creating an exceptionally thick layer of charcoal on the inside. The cask was filled in 1998, but at slightly over 5yo, it tasted exceptionnaly mellow and rounded. And it was as dark as if it had been matured in a sherry butt. Another interesing sample came from a Bordeaux cask. This one was filled in

2002, so the whisky was still more like a wine-whisky mixture, but Stuart Thomson said it was promising. By the way, they've got 12 casks like that, so a very limited bottling can be expected in a few years' time. There was also a whisky from a 1975 sherry cask (9 of these in the warehouse), which will probably be bottled next year (30yo sounds better than 29yo), and the whisky is absolutely exceptional. Stuart said the whisky will probably cost about GBP 400 a bottle - to reflect the finest quality of the whisky. I don't think I will be able to afford it when it comes out, but I know from first-hand experience the whisky is worth every penny...

Cheers, Rajmund

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