Coldorak and Ainulindalë's blog about whisky.
We already tried on these pages a Glenglassaugh, but one that was independently bottled, during one of the several Whisky Cellar Tweet Tastings I was able to attend. It’s time to see and learn a bit more about this distillery, by trying their core range. Well, the recent liquid part of the core range, as you’ll learn why below. So let’s have a quick look of the distillery’s history, then we’ll try the Glenglassaugh Revival, Evolution and Torfa expressions.
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We’ve already reviewed a few Aberlour on these pages. Aberlour is a distillery with a strong presence in France, which is not surprising as it is owned, through Chivas Brothers, by Pernod Ricard. Aberlour’s range is kind of separated in two parts. The first part is the ‘supermarket range’, with age statements but low 40% ABV and quite affordable prices, and the second part is more like the ‘off-licence range’, with higher ABVs up to cask strength and single casks, but mostly non-age statement expressions, like the famous A’Bunadh. We’re reviewing today a recent (but not the latest) batch of A’Bunadh, the #65, and put it against a single cask Aberlour 2011 bottled by Cadenhead’s.
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Tormore Distillery was constructed in 1959 by Long John Distillers, with Sir Albert Richardson as the designer. The distillery began distilling in 1961, and its make was mainly used in Long John’s blends, which were popular in North America. Tormore’s stills were extended from four to eight in 1972, and in 1989, Allied Distillers purchased Tormore, which was previously owned by Whitbread. Pernod-Ricard (Chivas Brothers) took over the distillery in 2005 after acquiring Allied Domecq. Tormore 12 Year Old was released in 2004, and in 2014, it was replaced by 14- and 16-year-old bottlings. Tormore completed the installation of a shared gas pipe with The Glenlivet, Cragganmore, and Tomintoul in the same year. Today, Tormore is one of the malts used in Ballantine’s, which has a long-standing association with the distillery. Finally, Tormore was sold to Elixir Distillers in 2022. We’ll be reviewing both Tormore 14-year-old and 16-year-old.
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Recently, I celebrated my birthday and decided to indulge in some excellent whisky. To start my evening, I savoured my cherished Balblair 1979 OB before moving on to Springbank. Since I plan to visit Springbank for a few days in July, I want to be adequately prepared. Surprisingly, I haven’t yet reviewed any Springbank whisky on More Drams. Therefore, let’s begin with a bang: the 2022 release of the yearly Springbank 30-year-old. I will also compare it to a Springbank 1969 bottled by Signatory Vintage, which I could taste last year and fill a sample.
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Wolfburn Distillery is located in the most northerly town on the British mainland, Thurso. It was first established in 1821 by William Smith and was the largest producer of whisky in Caithness in the 1820s. However, the distillery was closed in 1837 and remained inactive for over 160 years. In 2012, a private consortium from Caithness called Aurora Brewing received planning permission to rebuild Wolfburn, 350 m from the ruins of the original site and using the same water source, the Wolf Burn. Production commenced on January 25, 2013, marking the revival of this historic distillery. We’re trying two of their core releases: Wolfburn Northland and Morven.
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It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to participate to a Tweet Tasting, thanks to Brexit and the pain it is to ship whisky, even samples, from the UK to Europe, especially France. More paperwork, duties, taxes… many distilleries don’t include European tasters any more in their Tweet Tastings. Sometimes just French ones, because it’s even more of a pain here, thanks to Customs and our taxes agency. No thank you to all those responsible! But Keith Bonnington, The Whisky Cellar founder, that we now know very well here, wanted me to be able to participate anyway, so he had the same tasting pack (and tee-shirt) sent to me as the other tasters. Thanks again Keith! No Whisky Cellar release this time, but five drams, four whiskies and one rum, from his other brands: The Easy Sipper, Brig O’ Perth and Pintail.
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Back in September, my friend Dave Worthington, That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s brand ambassador, gave me a mountain of samples, and I’m still working my way through them. Hard work, I know. This time I’m trying something from a Taiwanese distillery I have never tried anything before: Nantou. Nantou Distillery was founded in 2008, becoming Taiwan’s second whisky distillery. In 2015, Puli Pan, the distillery manager since 2012, releases a first whisky called Omar. This core range will become known as Yushan Signature and will be joined by Yushan Blended Malt. Since then, they also released whisky under the Nantou name. For now, only two independent bottlers released whisky from Nantou apart from the official bottlings, and we try Nantou batch 2 from That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC).
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Benriach Distillery, located in the heart of Speyside region of Scotland, was founded by John Duff in 1898. However, the distillery’s story is not without its twists and turns, as it was one of many that fell victim to the Pattison crash of 1899 and was forced to close just two years after opening. It remained dormant for the next 65 years, until it was finally restarted in 1965. Despite being part of Seagram’s Classic Malts range, it struggled to gain recognition among whisky drinkers. In 2003, it was bought by the Benriach Distilling Co. and under the leadership of Billy Walker, it has become a strong performer on the global market. The distillery was acquired by Brown-Forman in 2016, and it is now back in full production, with the floor maltings reopening in 2013. Benriach renewed its core range in 2020 with two ten-year-old and two twelve-year-old, each of those in peated and unpeated versions. We’ll be reviewing the latter two, the Benriach Twelve & Smoky Twelve.
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Kavalan is a Taiwanese whisky distillery that was founded in 2005 by Mr. Ting, Chairman of the King Car Group, which is known for its production of food and beverages, as well as its involvement in transportation and renewable energy. Located in Yilan County, Taiwan, Kavalan takes its name from the indigenous Kavalan people who have lived in the area for centuries. The distillery is known for using locally grown barley and water from the Snow Mountain and Central Mountain Range to produce its whiskies, which are aged in a variety of barrels in a hot and humid climate. It is worth noting that Kavalan whiskies are often bottled at a young age due to the rapid maturation process that is induced by Taiwan’s climate. But in this review, we will be tasting a 12-year-old Kavalan 2008 Conquête whisky that was selected by LMDW.
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In terms of whisky, 2022 has been a pretty good year…
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