Redemption in Uigeadail

Holiday time and a trip through duty-free sees me in 'boy in sweetie shop' mode. Edinburgh Airport's selection doesn't seem to be what it used to though. There is variety but much of it seems to be underwhelming 'travel-retail only' from some of the industry's big guns who jump at the chance to proffer a new name or two with no age-statement and the auld ABV of 40%. Some of it is more or less the same stuff you can buy in a local supermarket except that here you have 'trained' sales-rep types mangling the Gaelic names on the likes of Glenlivet or Glenmorangie.... "La Santa? You mean LASanta?!"

I had decided beforehand that the bottle to keep me warm on this holiday would be the Bowmore 100 Degrees Proof or maybe the Ardbeg Uigeadail. The absence of the Bowmore rendered the decision an easy one.

Ardbeg though has been disappointing of late. Last year's purchase of the Corryvreckan was a mistake. It was underwhelming. More so when I had the choice of the Uigeadail. It may be another NoAgeStatement but it's reasonably priced and it's a flaming great dram. It has a fabulously filthy flavour if you excuse the alliteration. Oily with flavours of TCP, dirty leather and the old Portobello swimming baths back when they were filled with seawater from the Firth of Forth. On top of the peat though there's a little sweetness. It's drinkable at the ABV of 54.2% though a smidgen on water does no harm.

Here's hoping Ardbeg get back to the robust and direct approach to whisky that gave us Renaissance and Airigh nam Beist as well as Uigeadail. An approach that married simplicity with complexity without over the top marketing or cask-strength gimmickry.

Bread, beer and whisky from one year to the next

What else do you need for the glum darkness of a Scottish December as it merges into a new year?

I hardly ever make any sort of bread but seeing a recipe on Innis & Gunn's site for their IPA bread gave me renewed confidence in my baking skills. The recipe here, worked a treat. For good measure, I threw in a variety of other ingredients to add interest to the mix and to 'beef' it up a bit - black Greek olives, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and some battered brazil nuts. I'm not usually an IPA fan - tastes too much like a bunch of flowers for me - but Innis & Gunn's habit of maturing their liquid in casks makes this the most palatable.

Around the same time, a triple barrelled package with a combined age of 67 arrived from Whiskybroker. Though myself and others were disappointed that the promised Macallan didn't materialise, due to price apparently, the other releases were both of significant interest and high quality.

Having exhausted my previous bottle of grain, the Invergordon 25yo was a welcome addition to the shelf. It has all the hallmarks of an aged grain - smooth, creamy with lots of vanilla but this one has a little lemon zest in there.

In all my years of imbibing, I had never knowingly drank an Auchroisk. Whiskybroker's 21 year old is an excellent place to start. Smooth, sweet and so damn tasty with a wee hint of wood.

Lastly was the 21yo Ardbeg. Much sought after though more so for the reputation of it and the perceived kudos at having such a bottle on the shelf. The nose is fantastic - lots of peat and saline that takes me back to Airigh nam Beist. As is usual for the age, the peat on the palate is not as pronounced but is there nevertheless. Dignified and quiet and well worth it at the price.

And there's enough left over for an impending Burns' Nicht.

The best peats?

The better half has just finished taking two dozen German gardening journalists and peat enthusiasts (!) around various topical attractions in Scotland. This included a whisky tasting where the peat enthusiasts, but whisky beginners, got the opportunity to taste the difference peat smoke makes to a whisky.

Let's hope they persist in their whisky adventure. Should they in time develop a liking for peaty whisky then perhaps they might want to try the following. The list of course is far from exhaustive and choosing a numero uno is nigh impossible. But as Gaelic lexicographer Edward Dwelly said at the beginning of his 1911 dictionary, "Se obair là toiseachadh, se obair beatha criochnachadh" - Beginning is a day's work, finishing takes a lifetime.

Here we go...

• Laphroaig 10 - the standard Laphroaig and one to be found in almost all supermarkets. Despite its rather Presbyterian 40% abv, there's no doubting the quality of this dram.
• Ardbeg 10 - this lip smacker at 46% used to be found in the supermarkets but its owner, a certain Mr Louis Vuitton , is playing funny buggers with its availability and price - more on this another day. Should you see it at around the £30 mark, go for it.
• Bunnahabhain Toiteach - tasted this at the Whisky Fringe and was bowled over. Not the usual for this distillery but this one has a fat and full peaty palate, oily texture and a finish longer than a Hibs FC losing streak in the Scottish Cup. 46% abv.
• Laphroaig 18 - One of the best activities in the world must be to get the Post Bus to Ardbeg and walk back to Port Ellen, visiting the 3 southern Islay distilleries at roughly one per mile. This I did last year and upon entering Laphroaig was asked in a native Ileach accent, 'What'll you have?'. I was recommended the 18yo which had only come out the previous week. I bought it at the low price of £42 - not sure why but its now £60+ in the shops. 48% of peaty warmth with chocolate and toffee and yon hint of Laphroaig medicine.
• Laphroaig Càirdeas 2010 - limited edition at a reasonable £45 from Friends of Laphroaig. Spicy and dry with a creel full of peat.
• Ardmore SMWS 66.21 - "I can't believe its not Islay". Great title. It kicks up a whirlwind of molasses and smoke on the tongue. 21 yo and cask strength. Sadly, its all gone...
• Caol Ila SMWS 53.131 - "Turbuso humo". Coming in at a whopping 67.9% you might expect this to be made by Belgian monks. Coal, chilli and barbecued haloumi. More peat than Barvas moor. Fantastic stuff.
  
• Ardbeg SMWS 33.83 - "Oh, for the joys of a long winter night". A low alcohol CS compared to the above. Murray mints rolled in coal dust and given a good sucking while wandering around the peat-infused air of an Uig township - say Bhaltos or Cnip.
• The Ileach Cask Strength - a Leipziger whisky connoisseur first mentioned this to my partner some years ago. I bought my second bottle in Pitlochry, see previous post, for around £30. Its 58% and reputed to be a Lagavulin. Need I say more?
  

Others to try or buy if you've still got a job in this banker's midden of a recession...

• Ardbeg - Airigh nam Beist, Uigedail, Renaissance
• Caol Ila - Distiller's Edition
• Talisker 57 North - the best Talisker I've tried
• Springbank 10
• Bladnoch 8yo Lightly Peated
• Benriach Curiositas
• Bruichlaiddich - Infinity, Port Sgioba
• Lagavulin - 16yo, Distiller's Edition, 12yo CS - a house without one of these is sad hoose indeed
  

There's also the gimmicky Ardbeg Supernova and Bruichladdich Octomore marketed at those 'peat extremists' with more money than myself.

Some to avoid buying or at least blag a dram of...

• Ardbeg SMWS - "A dirty dram for Mary Poppins", the label states that its like 'licking an ashtray' and its not wrong. Not pleasant either.
• Benromach Peat Smoke - not unpleasant but it just doesn't have the depth or finish.
• Smokehead - not bad but lacking in something... body, depth and finish perhaps?
• Port Ellen - hmmmm.... its obviously the closed distillery status that creates the interest here but on the occasions I've tried a PE, I've been underwhelmed. I certainly wouldn't be inspired to part with £130+ for a bottle.

Suggested omissions from the above lists are very welcome!