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.

Another jewel from Bladnoch?

 

Purveyor of many a fine single-cask bottling at superb prices, not mention the house dram, Bladnoch Forum has released a new bottle. The Port Dundas 21yo at £33 is not one to be sniffed at. Grain whiskies are somewhat 'in vogue' at the moment as are closed distilleries so its no surprise that this one didn't hang around. As of yet, I await my delivery.

Recent grains have not disappointed though. Aged grains are undoubtedly the most reliable but some recent goodies at around the 18yo mark have come via the SMWS from the likes of North British, Invergordon and the also defunct Cambus. Most are relatively easy going on the sporan too, the exception being the excellent Clan Denny Caledonian 45yo at £120 odds.

Back to Bladnoch though. Most of their Forum Bottlings have been excellent value from money. A 25yo Caol Ila and 28yo Inchgower come to mind. Only a 20yo Glen Ord didn't set the heather alight though for the price - £36ish - I wasn't complaining. Recent releases have been non-existent though. However, the 'Son of Bladnoch' aka Whiskybroker has stepped in with his own range of cask-strength single malts. More power to their elbows.

As mentioned before, if you get a chance to visit Scotland's south-west, a visit to Bladnoch is a must.